How Has Eminem Risen to the Top?

How is it that a little white boy from Kansas City has become the most well known rapper in the world? Starting from nothing and eventually moving up to a multi-millionaire, Eminem over the past seven years has been in the eye of the public everywhere you look. He has essentially entered a black man's business and gone to the top over the course of a few years, but how?

On October 17, 1972 Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born in St. Joseph, MO by his 15 year old mother Debbie. Six months later his father was gone and this began the struggle for Marshall and his mother; one that was just the beginning. Throughout the course of his childhood Marshall and his mother moved numerous times into different houses from Kansas City to Detroit. The maximum time spent in one house was only 3 months, which caused Marshall to attend many different schools making it difficult to cope to the different surroundings and make friends. Every new school he attended he was bullied as he was the new kid. This was something that he could not change as he was never stationed in one school for a long period of time. At the age of 12 he and his mother finally settled in a house in Detroit. He would later use the bullying to his advantage fueling him to get back at all his bullies through songs.

By the age of 4 Marshall was already beginning to rap and put words together rhyming them. At school he was rather successful considering the circumstances, but it was lunchtime that he enjoyed as he often battled schoolmates through freestyles. At the age of 14 Marshall began to get serious about rapping and felt that he had a shot in the business. When he got to the ninth grade he failed it three times before eventually dropping out as he felt school was not for him.

When he turned 17 he came up with the name M&M for himself by combining the first letters of his first and last name, which later was changed to Eminem. Now that he didn't have school as a distraction, he focused solely on rapping with the goal of making it to the top. He faced constant struggle on the way to stardom as he was continuously rejected by most rappers because of his race, despite his true talent. This grew anger inside of him that he uses in his music today. Knowing that it wasn't going to be easy and that he would have to work, Marshall forced himself onto radio shows and freestyle battles to prove everybody wrong. He eventually got a first album titled "Infinite", but it only sold 1,000 copies. It wasn't until 1997 that Marshall would make a name for himself.

In 1997 he was married with a child trying to support his family with very little cash to do it with. He went to the Rap Olympics in Los Angeles hoping to win the cash prize of $1,500 for first place, but instead was spotted by a few sponsors from Interscope. Furious that he had come in second, he later found out about the sponsors and he gave them a copy of the "Infinite" tape, which was later sent to Dr. Dre. Dre was extremely impressed with the talent of Eminem and got contact of him, where the two recorded his second album; The Slim Shady LP. This album set the tone for his style of rap, as he lashed out on everyone that had bullied him throughout his life. It was a different style than anyone had ever heard, which brought him to stardom.

Eminem is by far the most popular rapper that is seen most in public. He has been seen in Rap Pages, VIBE, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Source, URB and Stress and continues to strive for more. He became the first white person to ever be on the cover of The Source. Throughout his life he has starred in the movie "8 Mile" based on his life growing up, has had over 20 guest appearances on TV, has featured on numerous different rappers CD's, and has recorded 5 CD's of his own. His second LP, "The Marshall Mathers LP", sold over 8 million records in the United States alone, 1.76 million copies in the first week setting a record for a solo artist. This album became the first rap album ever to be nominated for "Album of the Year" at the Grammies. He would go on to win 3 Grammies for the album that night. In the year 2002 he made $29 million in earnings of his fourth album "The Eminem Show LP" and touring for it. Then on March 23, 2003 the song "Lose Yourself" from his movie "8 Mile" became the first rap song to ever win an Academy Award.

While being known for his explicit behavior and horrendous lyrics on his albums and in the eye of the public, it is difficult to overlook all that he has achieved. Coming from where he did and rising to where he is currently, it is remarkable what he has done not only for himself, but the rap world as well. While it is hard for most to like him, there are not many that do not at least respect him for what he has achieved as of now, and what he may do in the future to come.

---

© Jeff Schuman II
http://www.best-mp3-music-downloads.com

Jeff Schuman II is the creator of Best-MP3-Music-Downloads.com where you can buy CD's and find all of the best free music downloads. http://www.best-mp3-music-downloads.com

---

Yo, is Rap Just Another Four Letter Word?

Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When... Read More

How To Change Your Guitar Strings

Changing your guitar strings might make you feel a litte... Read More

Visualization Techniques for the Pianist

Controlling the images of the mind through image projection has... Read More

You Cant Force Play

A student once asked me; "How come sometimes the music... Read More

The Life and Music of Beatle George Harrison

Propelled into fame as one of the Beatles, along with... Read More

How to Make State-of-the-Art Video Singles Cheaply

When it comes to promoting their new music releases, I... Read More

Getting the Best Performance From Your Artist

So now you've decided to record your songs. Good for... Read More

Form - Giving Shape to Your Music

Do you ramble on endlessly with your improvisations? If so,... Read More

Setting Up In-House Retail Sales

Now, that you are familiar and likely connected with online... Read More

Musicians: What Chords Do You Absolutely, Positively Have To Know?

As you probably know, there are thousands and thousands of... Read More

The Dark Side of P2P File Sharing

P2P file sharing programs are free. Period. But there are... Read More

Ibanez SR400 Bass Guitar

The Ibanez SR400 bass guitar is very comfortable to play.... Read More

A Quick and Easy Composition Method

Here's the method I use every time I want to... Read More

Why You Cant Play Piano

It's really not your fault. You see, you've been taught... Read More

How To Play The Violin

This article gives the essential basics for how to play... Read More

Music, the Spiritual Connection

All through the age's music and spirituality as served hand... Read More

How To Make a Fortune Teaching Piano (or Guitar, or Drums, or Singing, or?) To Beginners

"But I'm not in it for the money" you say.Me... Read More

A Brief History Of Gibson Guitars

Gibson guitars have been around forever. It's funny, but although... Read More

Independent Music Promotion on the Web: 3 Steps to Success

Let's face it, the wildfire spread of web-based portals designed... Read More

Benatar and Geraldo - Still Rockin on a High Note

Most people look forward to the summer months because they... Read More

How to Find Musical Ideas

The Russian Composer Igor Stravinsky once said: " A good... Read More

How Many Chords Are There, Anyway?

Since chords (the main component of harmony) are one of... Read More

Is Rhapsody Music Downloads Service Getting A Good Rhap?

Rhapsody music, from RealNetworks is one of several reputable legal... Read More

Music to Echo Your Mood

In what way do the kinds of music (rock, rap,... Read More

JOHN LENNON - The Man and His Times

John Lennon wasn't always my favorite Beatle; at first it... Read More