Eminem: why are you so mad

�

WHITE rap star Eminem causes controversy wherever he goes — but it hasn’t done him too much harm so far.

�

2001 has seen a hugely successful UK tour — earning him maximum publicity in the British press. Tabloids screamed obscenity about his crass chainsaw-wielding antics (while providing pin�-ups for the girl readers); broadsheets mixed their outrage with pontification over his lyrics’ relevance to today’s youth culture.

�

He’s soon to duet with Sir Elton John at the Grammy Awards and an impending gun possession charge still hangs over him.

�

It’s been tough — but it’s been worth it.

�

Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in Kansas City on 17 October, 1972, moved with his mother to Detroit when he was 12. He was bullied at school, once being beaten so badly that he was in a coma for nine days after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

�

But his music was a driving force. He began rapping in the school lunchroom and succeeding in music soon became his sole ambition. Marshall dropped out of school and worked in a number of low-paid jobs while getting that act together.

�

He became one half of Soul Intent and put out his first album Infinite in 1996 independently through a local company.

�

A chance meeting with the Rap Coalition’s Wendy Day led to a spot at the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles where Eminem came second in the freestyle competition. Infinite didn’t inspire too much interest — despite Marshall’s efforts to sell it himself, from the boot of his car. He decided to try just one more time. This time it was an EP. And it pulled no punches.

�

The Slim Shady EP was a series of scathing attacks on Detroit music biz people. It attracted a lot of interest within the hip-hop underground and prepared for his breakthrough single My Name Is, with its annoyingly catchy hook line.

�

His major label debut, The Slim Shady LP, co-produced by Dr Dre, was massive, hitting No 2 in its first week.

�

The lyrics provoked charges of Eminem promoting homophobia and misogyny and encouraging date rape and drug abuse.

�

In Britain, the second single from the album — Guilty Conscience — was released as a radio edit and also became a substantial hit.

�

Second album The Marshall Mathers LP in May 2000, coincided with more blanket airplay for the single The Real Slim Shady.

�

The album was a far angrier than his debut, with songs such as Stan (about an obsessive fan containing the line: ‘Stan — why are you so mad ’) and Kim, a bizarre fantasy about killing his wife.

�

Tasteful It’s still selling in truck-loads.

�

�