Since the emergence of white rapper Eminem in 1999, the music industry has forever changed and the controversy around the Detroit MC has yet to cease. The protégé of Dr Dre, Eminem proved that not only can white boys rap, but they can do so with cunning wit and skill. The rapper, born Marshall Mathers in St. Joseph, MO, expounds on his childhood as a member of the white lower-class drifting between St. Joseph and Detroit. Eminem began rapping with a friend at age 14, the duo assumed the stage names Manix and M&M (from which the rapper would later take Eminem), before he started to perform in underground hip-hop battles as a way to overcome the inevitable stigma of being a white rapper.After a few failed rap relationships, Eminem became part of the group known as D12, a sextet comprised of six solo artists. When Eminem became a father he halted his rap career to provide for his young family, but the rapper was soon back at it again, and this time he incorporated the bitter feelings he harbored about his impoverished lifestyle through a rap alter ego known as Slim Shady. Eminem allowed Slim Shady to be the unfiltered catalyst through which all of the rage he was feeling at his abusive mother and girlfriend who left him was transported into his lyrics. The struggling rapper sunk deeper into depression and drugs until a failed suicide attempt made him realize that music was his ticket to a happier life. Eminem's EP Slim Shady was discovered by Interscope label head Jimmy Iovine and future mentor Dr Dre.Although initially lauded for his rapping skills and hailed the "great white hope," Eminem's media persona soon overshadowed his musical talents. The talented MC and producer was criticized by the gay community as homophobic and called misogynistic after rapping sexually explicit lyrics about pop star Christina Aguilera and violent fantasies about murdering his wife Kim. Eminem's shock-and-awe antics continue to make him a cultural force and a hit-maker.
