AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Emimem

Artist:Eminem

Song:The Real Slim Shady

Album:Curtain Call: The Hits

Marshall "Eminem" Mathers is probably the most successful rapper of all time. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America. I think he continued what The Beastie Boys started. The 2000 single The Real Slim Shady is not his biggest hit. But it was his first top ten pop hit. It set the stage for bigger things. He was born Oct. 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, MO. After his parents divorce, Mathers moved with his mother to a black neighborhood in Detroit. Though he was not a good student, Mathers wanted to be a comic book artist. He started rapping at age 14 as M&M which became Eminem. He dropped out of high school at age 17 and started performing locally. At the time, he knew that being a white rapper was going to be an uphill climb. Mathers was in the group Soul Intent in the early 90s. They released an EP in 1995. Mathers signed with producers Jeff and Mark Bass and released an album in 1996. Though it wasn't successful, Mathers continued to work with the Bass brothers. Then Mathers created the Slim Shady alter ego which allowed for a much angrier attitude. The Slim Shady EP got him featured in hip hop magazine The Source as "unsigned hype". Then he went to Los Angeles for the Rap Olympics. After placing second, an Interscope Records intern asked Mathers for a copy of The Slim Shady EP. He gave it to Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine who played it for N.W.A. rapper and producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young. Young signed Mathers immediately and began working with him. Mathers idolized Young but also found him great to work with. The 1999 album The Slim Shady LP was certified 5XPlatinum. The single My Name Is only reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 probably because radio stations didn't like the violent lyrics. Young and the Bass Brothers produced the album. So now they have a formula for success. The 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP was certified 11XPlatinum. Young and The Bass Brothers produced the album. The single The Real Slim Shady reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was produced by Young and partner Melvin "Mel-Man" Bradford. They wrote it with Mathers, bassist Mike Elizondo and pianist Thomas Coster Jr. Both played on the album. I think radio stations liked the song's satirical tone. Mathers' next album The Eminem Show was also successful. And his first #1 hit was Lose Yourself from the soundtrack of 8 Mile, a film Mathers starred in. After that he started to fade. He considered retirement after the tour to support the 2004 album Encore. This comp Curtain Call was released in 2005. He did return in 2009 and released another album in 2010. But he just hasn't had the same success. His latest album Music to Be Murdered By was released in 2020. And he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. Don't be surprised if he retires from performing to be a producer. That's what he was going to do in 2005. Here's the video for The Real Slim Shady by Eminem.