Shady-Under-Siege

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972),[1] known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor who has sold over 75 million albums worldwide. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling hip hop album in history.[2] It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project D12 into mainstream recognition. The Marshall Mathers LP and his third album, The Eminem Show, also won Grammy Awards, and in 2002, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for a song in the film 8 Mile, in which he also played the lead. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004, Relapse, on May 15, 2009.

As Eminem succeeded in multi-platinum record sales, Interscope granted him his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 2000. He followed this by signing his own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice to the label. In 2002, Eminem signed 50 Cent through a joint venture between Shady and Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. In 2003, Eminem and Dr. Dre signed on Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the Shady/Aftermath roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former DJ for Eminem, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute related to the 50 Cent and Jadakiss feud forced him to depart from the label; he is no longer associated with Eminem. The Alchemist is now officially Eminem's tour DJ. In 2005, Eminem signed another Atlanta rapper, Bobby Creekwater, to his label along with West Coast rapper Cashis.[6]
On December 5, 2006, Shady Records released compilation album entitled Eminem Presents: The Re-Up. It started out as a mixtape but Eminem found that the material was better than expected and released it as a full album. It was meant to help launch the new artists under the roster, like Stat Quo, Cashis and Bobby Creekwater.[52]
Around the time of recording Infinite, Eminem and rappers Proof and Kon Artis gathered the group of rappers now collectively in the group D12, short for "Detroit Twelve" or "Dirty Dozen", performing in the manner of the multi-man group Wu-Tang Clan.[53] In 2001, Eminem brought his rap group, D12, to the popular music scene, and the group's debut album Devil's Night came out that year.[54] The first single released off of the album was "Shit on You", followed by "Purple Pills", an ode to recreational drug use. For radio and television, the censored version "Pills" was heavily rewritten to remove many of the song's references to drugs and sex and was renamed "Purple Hills." While that single was a hit, the album's second single, "Fight Music", was not as successful.[55]
After their debut, D12 took a three-year break from the studio, later regrouping to release their second album, D12 World, in 2004, which featured the popular hit single release "My Band".[54] In April 2006 D12 member Deshaun "Proof" Holton was killed in a club brawl involving U.S. military veteran Keith Bender Jr, who was killed by Proof. The eruption is suspected to have been due to an argument over a game of pool. Proof was then allegedly shot by the bouncer Mario Etheridge, Bender's cousin. He was then taken by private vehicle to St. John Health's Conner Creek Campus, an outpatient emergency treatment site, and was pronounced dead on arrival shortly thereafter. Eminem and former Detroit Shady Records artist Obie Trice spoke at the funeral.[56]
D12 member Bizarre said that Eminem is not featured on his new album Blue Cheese & Coney Island because "he's busy doing his thing".[57] In a December 2007 interview with the website DefSounds.com, Bizarre confirmed that the group is working on its third studio album, tentatively titled The Ambition, which he said was "halfway finished" at the time of the interview. Producers include Dr. Dre, Eminem, Luis Resto, and Hi-Tek.[58]

Eminem is a friend of fellow Detroit rap/rock star Kid Rock, and guested on Rock's "Devil Without a Cause" on the track "F*ck Off". Rock made uncredited appearances scratching on some of Eminem's tracks.
The second "E" in his stage name has been reversed on his records since his second album The Marshall Mathers LP. The backwards "E" has become a logo for him, appearing prominently in his videos and stage set.
Several songs were released in response to the track "Stan" off of The Marshall Mathers LP. Enemy rapper Canibus released the track "U Didn't Care," rapping as the Stan character and implying that Eminem doesn't care about his fans. The Pet Shop Boys released "The Night I Fell in Love," in which a male fan goes backstage at an Eminem concert and has a one-night stand with him. Christian rapper KJ-52 released "Dear Slim" and "Dear Slim pt. 2," open letters to Eminem in a similar style to "Stan."
When Dr. Dre first heard his tape, he thought Eminem was black.
Several of his songs have been parodied. The most famous incident was "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of "Lose Yourself," entitled "Couch Potato" and featuring new lyrics about television programming. He has also been parodied twice by the Christian parody band ApologetiX, with "Lose Yourself" ("Look Yourself") and "The Real Slim Shady" ("The Real Sin Savior").
Eminem is left-handed. This can be seen in a scene in 8 Mile where he is sitting on a bus with a pencil in his left hand, as well as in several of the promotional posters for the film, which depict him writing lyrics with his left hand.
Eminem's height: 5'8" (1.73m).
His real hair color is in fact a dark brown, he bleaches his hair with peroxide (as stated in "White America"); he did not bleach his hair in 8 Mile, and so his natural hair color can be seen in the movie.
Eminem wears glasses, which can be seen in some of his interviews, as well as on the music videos for "Mockingbird" and "Stan".
In March 2003, Spin Magazine named him The Most Important Artist Making Music Right Now.
Eminem's rap group D12, short for "Dirty Dozen," has only six members. Many people are often confused by the number. It is "12" because each of the six members of the group has two pseudonyms or "personas." (For example, "Eminem" and "Slim Shady").
Eminem was number 6 on VH1's 50 greatest hip hop artists of all time.
Eminem has been awarded nine Grammy awards. He also received nominations for Album of the Year for both The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show.
The Marshall Mathers LP was the first rap album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards and "Lose Yourself" was the first rap song to be nominated for Song of the Year.
Eminem won a Best Song Oscar for his song "Lose Yourself" from the movie 8 Mile.
In November 2002, Eminem had the #1 album (8 Mile Soundtrack), movie (8 Mile), and song ("Lose Yourself") all at the same time, becoming the first artist/entertainer ever to do so.
Eminem listed his favorite rappers as Redman, Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., André 3000 from OutKast, Jadakiss, Kurupt, and Nas in the song "'Till I Collapse" from his 2002 release, The Eminem Show.
In acceptance of his Grammy for Best Rap Album (for The Eminem Show) in 2003, he credited his rap influences, saying, "I made me a little list of MCs that I wanted to name off that inspired me to, to bring me where I am today - cause honestly, I wouldn't be here without them. So the list goes like this, and it's not in this order, but the list is this: Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kool G. Rap, Master Ace, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Dr. Dre, all of N.W.A., KRS-One, Treach from Naughty by Nature, Nas, Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z. Thank you, 'cause I learned from all of you. Thank you."
Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg (who is featured prominently in several skits on Eminem's solo releases), was once a rapper himself, known as "Paul Bunyan".
Marshall and his wife Kim first met at one of his friends' houses, when Eminem was fifteen and Kim was thirteen. She came over while he was lip synching to LL Cool J songs and jumping on the furniture.
He is a fan of the TV show "Crank Yankers"; puppets from the show were included in the video for "Ass Like That". He has also lent his voice to the show numerous times, and had one of the puppets, Special Ed, host "Eminem's Special Hits".
He loves South Park, and referred to himself as a "twenty-six-year-old skinny Cartman" in the song "Marshall Mathers".
In 8 Mile, an opposing MC, in reference to Rabbit, Eminem's character, said "I feel bad I gotta murder that dude from Leave It to Beaver." Interestingly, the name of the actor who played The Beaver was Jerry Mathers. Mathers is Eminem's last name.