27 Facts About Eminem

A 2015 study analyzed songs from 93 top artists across 25 music genres.A 2015 study found Eminem had the largest vocabulary.Eminem used 8,818 unique words, beating Jay Z (6,899), Tupac (6,569), Kanye (5,069), and Bob Dylan (4,883). The study also checked lyrical density and new word timing.

“Lose Yourself” is one of Eminem's best rap songs.It is one of the best rap songs in history.Eminem recorded “Lose Yourself” in one take, cutting the song during a filming break. Engineer Steven King told Rolling Stone, “He came in and laid down all three verses in one take.”Rolling Stone covers 'He Wrote 'Lose Yourself' On The Set Of '8 Mile'' in '27 Facts About Eminem'.“Jaws dropped—we were like, ‘Oh, my God!’ This story was building up in him.”

Eminem.he told.Rolling Stone. In 2011, Eminem mentioned Elton John, who struggled with substance abuse.Elton John helped the rapper get sober.Elton John helped the rapper when he was getting sober.

I speak to Elton John. He is my sponsor. He calls me weekly to check on me, ensuring I am doing well. He was one of the first people I called to get clean. He pointed out things, like, ‘You will see nature you never noticed before.’ This stuff sounds silly, but you haven't seen in ages, so you just think, ‘Wow! Look at that rainbow!’ Or small things—trees, leaf colors. I love leaves now, man. I feel like I neglected leaves for too long.

Eminem became friends with Jonah Hill on the set ofFunny People.Eminem told the actor that Hill's 2007 movieSuperbad.Hill called Superbad his favorite film.Hill told MTV:

Eminem says his favorite movie is.Superbad., ever of all time. He told me, I’m not kidding—this is not like me being, “I’m cool”—he said if there was an award for the best movie ever, he thinksSuperbad.should win. He shares all the scenes with me.

Eminem experienced what every musician dreams of: chance discovery. He was at theRap Olympics.in Los Angeles and someone in the mailroom at Interscope noticed him. That person then got his mixtape to Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. They liked it (and mixtapes rarely become much).

What is crazier is that the night before, he had to break into his own place after being evicted. He said, “I had to break in. I had nowhere else to go. No heat, no water, no electricity. I slept on the floor, woke up, went to LA. I was so pissed.”

In 1992, Eminem signed with FBT records after years of barely scraping by. He worked as a cook and dishwasher at Gilbert's Lodge, a small family restaurant in Michigan, earning only $5.50 an hour.He worked as a cook and dishwasher at Gilbert's Lodge, a small Michigan family restaurant, earning just $5.50 an hour..

Five days before Christmas, Eminem released.Infinitein 1996, he was fired from the restaurant; it was also his daughter's birthday. He wrote "Rock Bottom" right after that.

The Beastie Boys' success inspired young Marshall Mathers. Vanilla Ice's success in the '90s nearly ended his rap career.he told theLos Angeles Timesin 2000 that hearing Vanilla Ice’s 'Ice Ice Baby' hit in 1991 'crushed' him:

I first felt like I didn't want to rap anymore. He made it really hard for me. But 3rd Bass restored some credibility. I realized it depends on the individual. Vanilla Ice was fake. 3rd Bass was real.

Eminem's rhymes grew angrier after the albumInfinitewas trashed. He needed an outlet. Eminem created Slim Shady while he was on the toilet.toldRolling Stone:

The name hit me. I thought of all these words to rhyme with it. So I wiped my a**, got up, left the pot, and called everyone I knew.

Slim let Marshall Mathers/Eminem vent his angriest, most vile thoughts in another persona.

Eminem described his alter egos' meanings toSpinmagazine:

Slim Shady is my temper or anger. Eminem is the rapper. Slim Shady is the attitude behind him. Marshall Mathers is who I am.

After abusing pills like Ambien, Valium, and Vicoden—the worst period was 2002-2008—Emgot cleanin late 2009. He tried rehab in 2005, but leaving made things worse. He gained weight then. In 2007, he overdosed and nearly died from too much methadone, which hospitalized him. He has been clean since.

Beforedirector Antoine Fuquacast Ethan Hawke in the intense leading role in the 2001 filmTraining DayMarshall Mathers was a likely candidate for the role. After the success of8 Milewhich showed Eminem's great acting skills, many directors looked at him.

Things did not work out on that film. Years later, Fuqua directedSouthpaw,a film loosely based on Eminem's life, which Eminem discussed starring in years earlier.

According toeminem.net, in 2002, Eminem told MTV the first major purchase he made was a house:

I had no idea how famous I was then. The house sat across from a trailer park. Kids came by all day knocking. We had a pool. Kids jumped in it. It was crazy. The house was on a main road, so people would pull up, saying, 'Em, what's up?' I could not go outside. We quickly sold the house, lost money, and bought a new one. That is probably the best investment I made; my new house.

Eminem acted in the 2002 film8 Mile, based on his life, but he alsowon an Oscarfor the movie's theme song, 'Lose Yourself.' It was thefirst rap songwon an Oscar. He shared the award with Luis Resto and Jeff Bass.

EminemtoldSpinmagazineIn 2010, Eminem admitted he did not know how to use a computer and refused to learn.

If I learn how to use a computer, I will spend all day seeing comments about me, and that will drive me crazy.

Eminem loves comic books, and he also likesclassic video gamesHis studio lobby is full of large classic arcade machines, includingFrogger and Donkey Kong, andSpace InvadersHe became obsessed after watching the documentaryKing of Kongand two of his machines got signed by the film's subject and game record holder, Steve Wiebe.

Nielsen SoundScan, which calculates numbers forBillboardmusic charts. In 2009, Nielsen SoundScan announced Eminem was the company's best-selling artist, not just for the year, but for the decade. He sold over 32 million albums in the first decade of the 2000s, beating even the Beatles.

EminemsaidRolling Stonein 2011 that the one book he read cover to cover, multiple times, was LL Cool J'sI Make My Own Rules. Eminem, a big LL fan, said the 1998 autobiography is the only book he has read that wasn't read to him as a child (The Little Engine That Couldwas a favorite in that category.

the fall beforeThe Slim Shady LPWhen the LP was released, Eminem's mother, Debbie Mathers-Briggs, sued the rapper for $10 million, citing character defamation. She still claims everything Eminem said on his records was false and that he grew up in a drug-free home. The court settled for $250,000.

the rappertold theLos Angeles Timesin 2000, when asked how being sued by his mother felt:

He said, "How does it feel? It feels like [expletive]. How would you feel? One thing I can tell you is that every single word I said about my mother and my upbringing was true."

Everyone has some Diet Coke. Eminem, who is obsessed with it, admits to it. HetoldRolling Stonehe even had a fountain dispensing Diet Coke in his studio lobby, serving cups daily. He calls himself a chain-drinker (but avoids cans because of aspartame and cancer fears).

Eminem met Kim, his future on-again, off-again wife and mother of his child, Kim, at age 15. HesaidRolling Stonehe was "standing on their table with my shirt off, on top of their coffee table with a Kangol on, mocking the words to LL Cool J's 'I'm Bad.'" She was 13 then but looked "at least 16."

The Beastie Boys greatly influenced Eminem, EminemsaidSpinmagazine:

That really made a difference for me. I thought, "This stuff is so dope!" That's when I decided I wanted to rap. I would hang out where kids rhymed, and when I tried to join, I got insulted. A color issue started developing, and as I got old enough for clubs, it got much worse. I was not that dope yet, but I knew I could rhyme, so I'd go to open mics and mess up, and a couple of times people booed me off stage.

After failing ninth grade three times, Mathers was done with school. HesaidRolling Stone:

My mother told me, 'Get a f*cking job and help me with these bills, or you're a** is out.' Then she would kick me out, half the time right after taking most of my paycheck.

Eminem puts comic references in almost all his albums.The Marshall Mathers LP 2features a verse in "Rap God"Kneel before General Zod this planet's Krypton / no Asgard, Asgard so you'll be Thor and I'll be Odin you rodent / I'm omnipotent."

Another song is called "Superman" (about not being able to be a girl's hero), so it's no surprise Eminem is a comic fan. He even wanted to be a comic book artistgrowing up.

Eminem talked to Rolling Stonein 2004 about his songwriting process:

I think the beat should tell you the hook. I probably wrote the hook for "Just Lose It" in about 30 seconds once the beat started. That was the last track for the album. We lacked a single then. That song doesn't really mean anything. The beat just told me what to do.

Marshall Mathers's mother, Debbie Nelson, is well known to fans of Eminem. He has rapped about her since his first album. His hit single "My Name Is"even mentions her.

But did you know she almost didn't survive childbirth? Nelson wrote in her memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, that she was in labor for 72 hours. She was only 18 at the time.

While recording his first album, Dre and Eminem often took ecstasy while writing and recording. This practice continued on his second album and became an addiction. According to eminem.net, in a 2000 interview with Music 365, he talked about the drugs and The Marshall Mathers LP:

A couple of songs on the new record were written on X. It exaggerates things. Someone will look at me wrong, and I will flip a table, asking, what are you staring at?! If you are in a good mood and love everyone, but if you are in a bad mood and have things on your mind, you will break down and mess up. The hardest things I've messed with are X and 'shrooms.

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and Eminem have collaborated many times, becoming good friends. Sheeran wrote the song “River,” which is on Eminem's 2017 album Revival, and he also performed “Stan” with Em during the Detroit legend's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2022.

The singer's link goes deeper. Sheeran revealed while on The Howard Stern Show:

I went through speech therapy. When I was 9, my uncle bought me The Marshall Mathers LP, and he told my dad, “This guy’s the next Bob Dylan and you have to let him listen.” My dad did not get it. He just said, “Okay, Ed is going to listen to that.” Learning that record and rapping back to back cured my stutter.