Eminem

Eminem is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor who is also known by his alter ego Slim Shady. He is a member of the Detroit rap group D12 and one half of the Detroit hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, with Royce da 5'9". Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world and is the best selling artist of the 2000s. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines including the Rolling Stone magazine which has ranked him 82nd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number one albums on the Billboard 200. He has also sold more than 42 million track downloads and 41 million albums in the United States alone, and 86 million albums worldwide to date. He has released seven studio albums, three compilations, two extended plays, thirty-one singles, five video albums and one soundtrack.

Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. That first album, The Marshall Mathers LP and his third major album, The Eminem Show, all won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. The Marshall Mathers LP is also considered one of Eminem's best and most successful albums.

The lead single "The Real Slim Shady" became Eminem's first song to enter in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. "Stan" was the most successful single outside of the States, while it failed to reach the top fifty in the rapper's home country.

In 2002, Eminem's fourth album, The Eminem Show, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and reached the top spot on various charts internationally, as it went on to sell over nineteen million copies worldwide. In the same year, Eminem's "Lose Yourself", from the 8 Mile soundtrack, became the rapper's first number one song on the Hot 100 and remained on the top for twelve weeks. The 8 Mile soundtrack peaked to the number one position in the United States.

In 2004, Eminem's fifth studio album Encore became the rapper's third consecutive studio album to reach number one in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United Kingdom and sold eleven million copies worldwide. The singles "Just Lose It" and "Like Toy Soldiers" went on to top the UK Singles Chart and two other songs, "Mockingbird" and "Ass Like That" reached position number four. In 2005, Eminem released a greatest hits album Curtain Call: The Hits, which sold almost three million copies in the US and received a double platinum certification from RIAA. In the following year, Shady Records released Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, a compilation album performed by Eminem along various artists from the record label. The album received a platinum certification from the RIAA in 2007 and sold slightly over a million copies in the United States.

In 2009, he released Relapse, followed by his seventh studio album Recovery, a year later. Recovery was also named the best selling album worldwide of 2010 joining The Eminem Show, which was the best seller of 2002. The singles "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna, became the rapper's third and fourth number one songs on the Hot 100; the latter also reached the top of various national charts worldwide. Eminem won Grammy Awards for both Relapse and Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career.

"Crack a Bottle", a collaboration with label-mates Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, became Eminem's second number one on the Hot 100 and broke the record for opening week download sales in the United States, with 418,000 copies sold in the first week.