The Real Slim Shady

   Some call him legendary, others call him vulgar, but he is known to everyone worldwide as the famous white rapper Eminem.  Wherever Eminem goes, controversy follows. Whether it's for his explicit lyrics, his daughter Hailie, or his infamous on and off relationship with ex-wife Kim, the media is always on Em's case. But looking at his life in retrospect, who could blame them?

     Eminem's story starts not as Eminem or Slim Shady, but as Marshall Mathers. It begins with a classic young daddy who can't handle the responsibilities of an infant, and therefore decides to leave the family. His father, Marshall Mathers Jr. (whom he was named after) left after only the first 6 months of Marshall’s life. That didn't stop young Eminem from trying to reach his dad. He would often draw pictures and write letters to his father, but they were all returned to him (Esling). Later in some of his raps, daddy got some special shout outs for example: "When you see my dad, tell him I slit his throat in this dream I had." You'd think that Marshall would at least be blessed by a wonderful mother, but according to him that was not the case. On top of constantly making him switch schools, she also put him through a number of other odd things. In lyrics, Eminem claims that his mother was addicted to pain medication, for example "Just try to envision witnessin'  your mama poppin prescription pills in the kitchen" (Esling).  Debbie Mathers-Briggs however denies the accusations in various interviews. She claims such things as “having a beauty degree,” and “being there for Marshall’s half brother Nathan” (Esling). However the media has yet to discover legitimate proof to either side of the story.

     Amidst the tough family relationships in his childhood, young Marshall also had a burning love/hate relationship with Kimberly Scott. The two first met at ages 13 and 15, when mutual friends introduced them. Marshall tried to impress Kim immediately by jumping from couch to couch and lip-syncing to different rap songs (All About Kim). Eventually they started to date, and when Kim and her twin sister Dawn ran away from home, it was Debbie Mathers who took them in. Shortly afterwards they dropped out of high school together, but continued to live with Mathers-Briggs (All About Kim). It was only after they had their daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, that they moved into their own dwelling in a high crime neighborhood. Due to financial stress, the relationship was soon spoiled (All About Kim). This first breakup however didn’t last very long, and they were married on June 14^th 1999. This marriage didn’t last long either and they were divorced later that summer (All About Kim). Eminem’s single “Kim” was inspired by the divorce,  it featured him having a back and forth conversation with Kim, he even provided her voice (and eventually screams) himself. The single eventually drove Kim to attempt suicide and be sent to rehab, leaving Hailie in the custody of Marshall. After she returned from rehab, Eminem popped the question a second time, but this marriage was even shorter than the last. Many songs have been written for her since (All About Kim).

     Although Kim was , and is, a large part of Eminem’s life, music is as well. Music not only got him out of financial trouble, but it is also an outlet for his anger. Or really “Slim Shady’s” anger. Slim Shady is Eminem’s alter ego of sorts whom he blames for his angry and sometimes offensive lyrics. Eminem says that the idea for Slim Shady came to him while he was on the toilet (Who's the Real Slim Shady?). Since inventing the alter ego Slim Shady has appeared in many songs such as “The Real Slim Shady” and even has an entire album to himself “The Slim Shady LP.” (Who's the Real Slim Shady?) Unfortunately there was a bump in Eminem’s career after Slim Shady came to be: drug addiction. Eminem couldn’t fall asleep without sleeping pills, which he began to abuse (Esling). His album “Encore” didn’t live up to his acclaimed previous three albums, and his fan base was extremely disappointed. Little did they know, he was battling drug addiction the entire album (Esling). Now it was his turn to leave the kids, and go to rehab. During which he wrote many songs for his album “Relapse” which also failed to please the public. Interestingly his next album “Recovery” which was written when he was completely clean did better than the last two albums combined (Esling).

Supposedly Eminem is working on his 8^th solo album. Not only that but the 8^th installment of his life. The 8^th installment of songs whose lyrics will be examined under a microscope. But mostly an 8^th installment of controversy.