Marshall Bruce "Eminem" Mathers III (born October 17, 1972)[2] is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor from Detroit, Michigan. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and (with Royce da 5'9") half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States;[3] Rolling Stoneranked him 83rd on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time,[4] calling him the King of Hip Hop.[5] Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has had ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200. He has sold more than 172 million albums, making him one of the world's best-selling artists.[6] As of June 2014, Eminem is the second-bestselling male artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, the sixth-bestselling artist in the United States and the bestselling hip-hop artist, with sales of 45.1 million albums and 42 million tracks (including 31 million digital single certifications).
After his debut album Infinite (1996), Eminem achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP; the commercially successful second album received his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. His next two releases (2000's The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002's The Eminem Show) were worldwide successes, with each certified diamond in US sales. Both won Best Rap Album Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win the award for three consecutive LPs. They were followed by Encore in 2004, another critical and commercial success. Eminem went on hiatus after touring in 2005, releasing Relapse in 2009 and Recovery in 2010; both won Grammy Awards. Recoverywas the bestselling album of 2010 worldwide, and the rapper's second international bestselling album of the year (his first was The Eminem Show). Eminem's eighth album (2013's The Marshall Mathers LP 2) won two Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album; it expanded his record for the most wins in that category and his Grammy total to 15.
Eminem has developed other ventures, including Shady Records with manager Paul Rosenberg. He has his own channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM Radio. In November 2002, Eminem starred in the hip hop film 8 Mile. He won theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself", the first rap artist to win the award. Eminem has made cameo appearances in the films The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009), The Interview (2014) and the television series Entourage.
