Eminem redefined the hip-hop genre with his complex rhymes and raw storytelling. He broke barriers as a white rapper in a predominantly Black industry to become the best-selling artist of the 2000s. Furthermore, his alter ego Slim Shady allowed him to express dark humor and controversy freely. Consequently, he remains a cultural icon who continues to top the charts decades later. Explore these fascinating details about the Rap God.
Eminem
Eminem holds a Guinness World Record for the most words in a hit single. Specifically, he packed 1,560 words into the song “Rap God,” which averages out to over four words per second.
He originally wanted to become a comic book artist before he found hip-hop. Therefore, he still collects vintage comic books and draws sketches of superheroes in his spare time.
A school bully beat him so severely that he fell into a coma for over a week. Sadly, this traumatic event in his childhood later inspired the song “Brain Damage.”
He famously slept through the Academy Awards when he won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Because he did not think he would win, he stayed home to watch cartoons with his daughter instead.
Eminem reads the dictionary to expand his vocabulary and rhyme schemes. Consequently, he proved in interviews that he can rhyme “orange” with words like “door hinge” and “storage.”
He reached the top 30 on the global leaderboard for the video game Donkey Kong. Impressively, he posted a photo of his high score of 465,800 to prove his gaming skills to the world.
The rapper turned down the lead role in the sci-fi movie Elysium. Reportedly, he rejected the offer because the studio refused to move the entire production from Los Angeles to his hometown of Detroit.
He adopted two of his daughters to provide them with a stable home. Thus, he raised his niece Alaina and his stepdaughter Whitney alongside his biological daughter Hailie.
His mother sued his school district in 1982 for failing to protect him from bullies. However, the judge dismissed the case because the schools possessed governmental immunity.
He opened a restaurant in Detroit called Mom’s Spaghetti. Fittingly, the menu features containers of pasta that reference the famous opening lyrics from his hit song “Lose Yourself.”
Ice-T inspired him to write his very first rap lyrics. Specifically, a young Marshall Mathers heard the song “Reckless” and decided to pursue a career in music immediately.
He carries a sobriety coin in his pocket to mark his recovery from addiction. Proudly, he celebrates every year he remains clean after a near-fatal overdose in 2007.
His original stage name was simply “M&M” based on his initials. Eventually, he changed the spelling to “Eminem” to avoid potential legal issues with the candy company.
He writes his lyrics on yellow legal pads rather than on a phone or computer. Furthermore, he scatters these papers all over his house during the creative process to visualize the rhymes.
Finally, the Secret Service interviewed him over lyrics that appeared to threaten the President. They investigated him in 2003 because a line in “We As Americans” mentioned a “dead president.”
