Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is often credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America and breaking down racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him a controversial figure, Eminem has become a representation of popular angst of lower income America and is noted for his conscious lyrics, with political criticism and social commentary, and skilled rap flow.
After the release of his debut album Infinite (1996) and the extended play Slim Shady EP (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), became worldwide successes. Each sold over one million copies in a single week, with the latter being the best-selling album worldwide of 2002 and the best selling hip-hop album of all time. Following the release of Encore (2004), Eminem took a hiatus due in part to struggles with prescription drug addiction. He later returned to the music industry with the releases of Relapse (2009) and Recovery (2010), the latter becoming the best-selling album worldwide of 2010. Each of his subsequent releases—The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018), Music to Be Murdered By (2020), and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024)—have debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart.
