Eminem: Struggle and Victory

This next post is dedicated to one of the, if not the most influential persons in the Detroit music scene, Eminem. Eminem has been around for years and just his name brings up feelings of controversy, and amazing talent. Eminem was born in 1972 under the name Marshall Mathers in St. Joseph, Missouri. The main reason that Eminem was raised in Michigan, Detroit was because his mother Deborah Mathers was not able to hold a job down for more than a few months at a time and they were forced to move frequently. Eminem had lashed out at his mother for letting him succumb to the lifestyle of having no friends, being bullied in school, and having to change schools up to 3 times year. As time went on, Eminem became solidified at Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan. Eminem at this point in his life failed the ninth grade three different times and decided to drop out officially shortly after the third time. Eminem started to get highly interested in rap music with 1980’s groups such as N.W.A., and other controversial groups coming out at that time. It was his love for language and vocabulary that made him realize that he had a special talent that needed to be exposed. It was not easy for Eminem because around this time, the rap industry was predominantly black and Eminem having pale skin and blue eyes made him stick out like a sore thumb. It did not take long for people to realize that Eminem had spectacular skills in rapping and he soon became one of the most respectable figures in the Detroit underground rap scene. After the birth of Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade Scott in 1995, he released his first indie album Infinite in 1996. This album would not prove to be groundbreaking in the young rappers career and unfortunately attracted minor local attention. Eminem’s life took a 360 turn shortly thereafter when Dr. Dre the legendary rapper from N.W.A. traveled to Detroit to see Eminem perform at a rap battle and was so impressed that he signed Eminem to Interscope Records Label on the spot. Eminem went on to drop impressive, successful albums for years to come that included the Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers Lp, and the Eminem Show, which would prove to be the artist’s greatest contributions to the rap industry.