Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born to Marshall Mathers II and Debbie Mathers on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. His father left him alone with his mother, and Marshall III and Debbie moved constantly, and never at their own homes. Marshall couldn't make friends easily, so he turned his attention to comic books and TV.

Detroit
When Marshall was twelve, his mother finally decided to stay in Detroit, Michigan where he attended Lincoln Junior High and Osbourne High. There he discovered his talent for rapping, and battled other rappers in his schools. There he gained a reputation as a rapper first. But after skipping school too much, Marshall failed the ninth grade, then dropped out of school. For money, he started working at odd jobs, still working on his talent.

Two years later, Marshall and Kim got married, and Eminem's first album, Infinite, was released, but not a great hit. Next year, The Slim Shady LP was released, with the song "Just Don't Give a F*ck" as his new signature.

Apparently, Dr. Dre was the only one who would listen to Em. [When I was underground, no one gave a f*ck I was white, no labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up I was like, f*ck it, until I met Dre, the only one who looked past, gave me a chance and I lit a fire up under his ass - White America, The Eminem Show 2002] But Dre was a great producer and it seemed that this was what attracted the people.

Meanwhile, another CD, The Slim Shady EP, got into the hands of Dr. Dre as well. The Slim Shady EP features the "Just Don't Give A F*ck" as well as the LP.

In 1999, the world was singing along to "My Name Is," but not everyone was a fan. Some were disgusted by the mention of drugs, sex, murder, insults to others including his mother and Kim, and constant profanity, especially in " '97 Bonnie and Clyde" (also known as "Just The Two of Us"), where Em describes taking Hailie to the beach and supposedly killing her mother.

But still, Eminem was the eye of many rap fans and gained millions of dollars in the process. In the year 2000, the next album, The Marshall Mathers LP, was released, and it sold nearly 2 million copies in the first week!

Then came the downsides. Eminem was sued by his mother, arrested for pulling a gun on a nightclub, his wife almost committed suicide, he almost got banned from Canada, he and Kim got a divorce, he was boycotted by the GLAAD, got sued by Kim, and his lyrics were legally questioned.

Even then, Eminem was number one on the charts for eight weeks, and he gained three MTV Music Awards: Video of the Year and Best Male Video for "The Real Slim Shady" and Best Rap Video for "Forgot About Dre."

In 2001, Eminem came out with another song, featuring -- Elton John?! Yes, that's right, Eminem went pop in "Stan," and got three Grammys including Best Rap Album for The Marshall Mathers LP.

In 2002, The Eminem Show was released, along with hits such as Without Me, Cleaning Out My Closet and Superman. Another thing to look for is track 19 on The Eminem Show, "My Dad's Gone Crazy," where Hailie Jade actually sings along with her father.

His most recent album, released on November 16, 2004, is called Encore, featuring "Just Lose It," "Mosh," "Mockingbird" and "One Last Time."

Also look for Eminem's feature film, 8 Mile (featuring the hit "Lose Yourself").

Eminem admits himself that Slim Shady is his "evil side," the foul-mouthed and sarcastic side.

Some have been wondering about his beef with Ja Rule. Em and Ja have been at it for a long time, but never like this. Ja Rule wrote a line that mentioned Hailie. [Heard him say Hailie's name in a song and I just lost it - Toy Soldier, Encore 2004]

Is Slim Shady homophobic? Of course not!

"I am not the first to say the word 'gay' or the word 'faggot' in a rap," Em admits in his MTV News Now interview. "It's just a word, and for some reason, that word meant more than it would to other rappers."