Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, MO), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time and is credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America and contributing to the acceptance of white rappers in a predominantly Black genre. His work in the late 1990s and early 2000s was often controversial due to its transgressive content, but he has also been noted for representing the angst of lower-income Americans through lyrics that include political criticism, social commentary, and technical skill in rap delivery. After releasing his debut album "Infinite" (1996) and the extended play "Slim Shady EP" (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and achieved mainstream success in 1999 with "The Slim Shady LP". His following albums, "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000) and "The Eminem Show" (2002), were major commercial successes, with each selling over one million copies in their first week in the United States. "The Eminem Show" was the best-selling album worldwide in 2002. After "Encore" (2004), he took a hiatus partly due to prescription drug addiction. He returned with "Relapse" (2009) and "Recovery" (2010), the latter being the best-selling album worldwide in 2010. His subsequent studio albums—"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)—all debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. In 2002, he starred in the drama film "8 Mile", earning critical acclaim for his portrayal of a fictionalized version of himself. The song "Lose Yourself" from the "8 Mile" soundtrack topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks, the longest for a solo rap song at the time, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the first hip-hop artist to receive the award. Eminem was a member of the hip-hop groups New Jacks, Soul Intent, Outsidaz, and D12, as well as the duo Bad Meets Evil with Royce da 5'9". He co-founded Shady Records, which signed artists including D12, 50 Cent, and Obie Trice. He also established the Sirius XM Radio channel Shade 45 and opened the restaurant Mom's Spaghetti. Eminem is the best-selling rapper and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales exceeding 220 million records (and some sources reporting over 230 million equivalent album units). He is the first act to have ten consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200 (with his total reaching eleven number-one albums including later releases). He has five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United States, he is among the highest-certified artists, with multiple albums and singles certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His awards include an Academy Award, 15 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 15 MTV Video Music Awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Billboard named him the Artist of the 2000s, and Rolling Stone has ranked him among the greatest artists and songwriters of all time. Studio albums Infinite (1996) The Slim Shady LP (1999) The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) The Eminem Show (2002) Encore (2004) Relapse (2009) Recovery (2010) The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) Revival (2017) Kamikaze (2018) Music to Be Murdered By (2020) The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024)