Eminem (born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on October 17, 1972) is a Grammy and Academy Award-winning American rapper, producer and occasional actor. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was raised in Detroit.

Discovered by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, Eminem got his big break when signing to Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and became a crossover sensation with his debut single "My Name Is" while simultaneously earning respect for his technical and lyrical ability. He is noted for his ability to change his vocal pace and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat, and has been praised for his skill in alliteration and assonance.

He is infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the enormous success of his highly acclaimed album The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others protested that it promoted violence.

Aftermath recently released a greatest hits album from Eminem called Curtain Call: The Hits, a compilation covering many of his previous commercial hit songs, in addition to three new tracks. Mathers has stated that he is taking a break from solo work but is in no way retiring, as he continues to produce and collaborate with his fellow Aftermath artists as well as G-Unit artists and rappers under his Shady Records label.

To date, Eminem has sold well over 65 million albums worldwide. [1]

Eminem is also, according to the Guinness World Records, the fastest-selling rap artist as "The Marshall Mathers LP" went to sell over 1.7 million domestic copies in its first week.