'''Eminem''' (born '''Marshall Bruce Mathers III''' on October 17, 1972) is an Academy Award-winning American rapper and occasional actor. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was raised in Detroit.
Discovered by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, Eminem became a crossover sensation with his debut single "My Name Is", and earned respect for his lyrical talent. 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. Eminem is primarly of Irish, English and Scottish descent
He is infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the enormous success of his sophomore album ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' following its release in May 2000, and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic, while others protested that it was also extremely misogynistic and promoted violence.
His most recent solo album is ''Curtain Call: The Hits'', a compilation covering many of his previous 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 for and collaborate with Shady/Aftermath and G-Unit artists as well as rappers under his Shady Records label.
To date, Eminem has sold over 65 million albums worldwide.
[http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/11/12/eminems_encore_is_a_puzzling_act/]Eminem is also, according to the Guinness World
