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Enter year 2002. Eminem has already set himself apart from various Detroit artists through his unique rapping style, but his first three studio albums received a lot of mixed reviews from the public. His younger fans, however, indisputably loved his music, written as it was from the perspective of his alter ego, Slim Shady. The name came about as his alias for his band, D12, as a way of differentiating rap styles between the band members, but at the time the name had no image to it. One day Eminem walked into a Detroit drugstore and bought a bottle of peroxide while he was high on ecstasy, not knowing what he was doing. The next day he woke up “looking like a skunk”  and went to the recording studio like any other day.1 When Dr. Dre saw Eminem, he knew that Slim Shady’s image had been found. Slim Shady became famous quickly, but there was more to Eminem than a blonde-haired, high-pitched white boy who came from a trailer park. However, a large portion of the public still resented him for his crude lyrics and references to violence.

His movie 8-Mile (2002) presented Eminem in a way that the public was not previously accustomed to — an Eminem that showed compassion toward others, an Eminem that valued family, and most prominently as one with an electrifying rap prowess, seen in the premier song in the 8-Mile Soundtrack, “Lose Yourself (2002).”2 Both his movie and his song allowed people to connect to his life as a struggling adult, but even more so, it allowed them access to his simplistic goals: maintain a family, write rap music, and live a life in comfort. Unfortunately for Eminem, controversy was already plaguing his life and he faced obstacles head-on before he finally achieved a peace of mind.

Eminem in a heartfelt picture with his beloved daughter, Hailie Jade / Dallas Black

2000 was a rough year for Eminem: he went through a divorce with his ex-wife Kim Scott, and got in trouble countless times with the law. Eminem loved his daughter, Hailie, and did everything he could to keep the family together for Hailie’s sake. However, Kim grew impatient and upset with Eminem for making her raise a child by herself while he was on tour. This caused a ton of emotional distress between the couple and Eminem claimed that Kim eventually became “emotionally abusive and dependent on drugs.”3 In many of his songs, Eminem gave harsh lyrical depictions of Kim as a bad mother and wife, which added to the list of family conflicts. One night in 2000 while Eminem was out on tour for his first studio album, Slim Shady EP, Kim slit her wrists in a suicide attempt and later accused Eminem of causing emotional distress. In August of 2000, Eminem filed for divorce and Kim filed a $10 million lawsuit. After facing multiple lawsuits that stemmed from his crude use of lyrics, Eminem was sentenced to a total of three years on probation in February 2001.

During his probation, he had a lot of time to think about his decisions and made a conscious effort to center himself. Eventually he took on full parental responsibility for his daughter Hailie, Kim’s niece Alaina, and eventually Whitney, Hailie’s half-sister, after Kim stirred her own trouble with the law. Eminem saw this as an opportunity for him to begin living a stable life with his now three daughters. For the first time in his life, he had money to provide his family with a comfortable life.4

Prior to this event, Eminem would go on tour before coming home to Detroit, where he and his family lived. While on tour for his Slim Shady EP (1999) and Marshall Mathers LP (2000), Eminem would frequently use recreational drugs such as marijuana, alcohol, and psychedelic mushrooms. He loved to perform while “messed up” and the people were crazy for it.5  His performances were probably what made him Eminem but when he was on stage, you would also know him as Slim Shady. In the end, he always left his drug habits on stage with a goal of spending quality time with his daughters.

Eminem wore a mask and chainsaw to one of his concerts in London Arena during his 2001 European Marshall Mathers LP Tour | Purple Clover

After going home from his album tours in 1999-2000 he would come home drug-free — Slim Shady left and Marshall Mathers, the father, came back. This was partially due to his probation requirements, which mandated periodic drug testing. From 2001-2004, he limited his drug use to his legal prescription drugs. However, when his three year probation ended, his “reins came off.”6

At the time, Eminem was using Vicodin and Valium for relieving pain and anxiety, as well as Tylenol and NyQuil so that he could get a good night’s sleep. Individually, each of these drugs were capable of helping with his symptoms, but combined, these drugs brought about different health problems including weight gain, memory loss, and especially addiction. As his tolerance for opioid painkillers rose, his body demanded different drugs to give him the same effect, and this caused even more addiction.7

In 2005, he had to cancel his European Anger Management Tour because his drug use was so bad. He told the public he was exhausted at the time and needed to rest to get back in shape, but the truth was he had a problem and thus, the rehab train started. Eminem never had good experiences in rehab because he was always surrounded by fanatics. While he was in rehab, people would ask him for autographs, steal his pens and notebooks, and overall made it difficult for him to focus on the real problem. Eventually, he came out of rehab in 2006 with a positive outlook, but it was not even a year out of rehab before Eminem’s world began to shake.8

In April of 2006, outside of a nightclub in Detroit, Eminem’s lifelong friend and confidante DeShaun “Proof” was killed in an act of violence. Proof had been there through thick and thin for Eminem. He even pushed him to create for himself the Slim Shady alter ego that took his rap game to the next level. Proof was not nearly as famous as Eminem but ever since they met, they recognized that they shared the same sort of rap style. They grew up in the same rough city of Detroit and started their own rap group together called D-12; but most of all, they depended on and trusted each other. Because of this, Eminem felt indebted to Proof and his death brought about a deep depression.9

Eminem and Deshaun AKA “Proof” of D12 during The 45th Annual Grammy Awards | Getty Images

Once again, his drug addiction got worse. His dependence on opioid drugs continued to plague his life until he eventually overdosed. On an almost fatal Christmas Eve in 2007, Eminem accidentally took too many methadone pills thinking that they were Vicodin pills. Methadone is designed to help people wean off of opioid drugs, but in his case, it served as a wake-up call for him. Yes, he had a problem, but at the bottom of his heart, Eminem knew that what he was doing was not what was best for his family. He decided that he would do what it took to not only rehabilitate, but also recover.10

Unfortunately for him this meant that he had to put down his pen and paper and focus on the issue. From 2005-2008, Eminem was essentially void of any full album recordings and many people were skeptical if he would ever return. This gave him time to reflect on his rise to fame and how it quickly affected him as a person. He spent a lot of time with Elton John, who was able to overcome addiction during the peak of his career. Eminem’s relationship with Elton John was both transforming and long lasting — John would continue to check on him through the tribulations of his addiction.11

During his recovery period, Eminem picked up on some of his old hobbies that helped him rekindle his love for life. When he was seeing a private rehabilitation counselor, he would go running for up to 17 miles a day. During his teenage years, he used to steal cans of paint and draw on denim jackets, and kids even paid him for his talents until it became a business.12

This love for drawing was rekindled in his rehabilitation and even led to a partnership with Marvel Comics to feature Eminem in a comic book. Eventually, his creativity sparked into doing “mind exercises”  again and attempting to write rap music again.13 His memory loss was an immense obstacle to overcome. While recovering he often watched old performances and interviews with no recollection of them whatsoever. Being sober helped him relearn his skills and gain the confidence he needed to get back in the studio and work on a new album.

This is the cover of Eminem’s autobiography titled after his hit song “The Way I Am” (2000), released in 2008 | Goodreads

The next step he took to recovery was huge. In 2008, Eminem wrote a memoir dedicated to his lost friend Proof. Inside the memoir, he included some of the most personal insights of his life: events concerning his early to teenage life, pictures with his family and of his most cherished performances, lyric scraps, all in the narration and candidness of his own words. With this, Eminem was able to heal his wounds that stemmed from the loss of his dearest friend and gave him a chance to be open and sincere with all his fans that listened to his music, but were unaware of the true struggles in his life. He even talked about his drug addiction, which had yet to surface until then. The release of this book was Eminem’s way of making a segue into the album he released in 2009, Relapse.14

Relapse proved to his fans that Eminem was not done yet, but more significantly, it proved that Shady was not done, either. He worked with Dr. Dre to help with the direction, and recorded over 100 songs for his new album, turning into a rainbow of different styles and lyrical topics. The end product of Relapse included a traditional Slim Shady, who gave detailed depictions of “fictional violence and graphic sexual content,” but it also included a Marshall Mathers, who spoke down to earth about his struggles with drug addiction and mental issues.15 The Marshall part of the album is most transparent in “Deja Vu” and “Beautiful,” which occur sequentially as the album came to a close. The colorful spread of life experiences and emotions through his album came out to represent a self-portrait. Appropriately, the album cover is literally a portrait of him made of different colored pills made to look like a prescription label and the doctor prescribing it depicts none other than Dr. Dre himself. Eminem was back and he successfully bridged his revitalized rap prowess and an underlying inspirational message. His new album allowed him to turn his feelings into action and created an inspiring message to his fans facing personal struggles such as drug addiction and depression.16

Relapse (2009) album cover made up of hundreds of different colored pills. Includes a prescription label, with Dr. Dre as the prescribing doctor (Bottom Left) | Underground Hip-Hop

His first studio album release in a total of five years won him two Grammys, including Best Rap Album, and topped Billboard 200 the week it was released, but somehow he was still not done. At the end of 2009, he released a follow-up to his Relapse album so that his fans could get a glimpse of the direction of his new music. He called this follow-up Relapse: Refill, which added on to his original album’s experimental songs as he began to work with new producers; and this is where a true transformation was seen for him. No longer was he focused on relying on the “bugged out” subject matter that Slim Shady thrived on.17 Rather, he worked to move beyond all the jokes and to be an honest worker and rapper. This recovery stage made him a better musical artist, but most of all it helped him become the father he dreamed to be: one that provides financial stability and especially one that fosters growth and good virtues. What appeared to be a repeat album of lyrical graphical violence was really the beginning of a new era of Eminem as a hip-hop artist and as a father. Now, it seems, this Eminem is here to stay.

Eminem performs sober at a free concert in Detroit in celebration of his album release, Relapse (2009) | Getty Images

Best of all, he was even able to return to the stage for the first time in years. He performed a free concert in Detroit for his Relapse album and for the first time in years, performed sober and remembered every second of it.18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6G2r-jecHc

There once was a saying that I used to say back in the day when I met Dre. I used to sit around and goof with my friend Proof that if I went gold, I’d go right through the roof. He said “what if you went Platinum” and I’d just laugh at him “that’s not happening, that I can’t fathom.” 80-something million records worldwide later, I’m living in a house with an Elevator.

 

  1. Marshall Mathers, The Way I Am (Detroit: Dutton, 2008), 32.
  2. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2018, s.v. “Eminem,” by Joseph Matson.
  3. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 66.
  4. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 67.
  5. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 68.
  6. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 67.
  7. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 67.
  8. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 70.
  9. Marshall Mathers, The Way I Am (Detroit: Dutton, 2008), 17.
  10. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 72.
  11. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 73.
  12. Marshall Mathers, The Way I Am (Detroit: Dutton, 2008), 18.
  13. Christine Brewer Boyd. Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 74.
  14. Marshall Mathers, The Way I Am (Detroit: Dutton, 2008), 1-5.
  15. Patrick Ryan, “Eminem Tests the Waters in a New Social Climate,” USA Today, Nov. 16, 2017
  16. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 79.
  17. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 81.
  18. Christine Brewer Boyd, Eminem (Detroit: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2012), 84.

Recent Comments

72 comments

  • Janie Cheverie

    I have grown up listening to Eminem which is what drew me to this article. This piece has taught me more about him and the events from his past that I along with others may not have known about. He has such a unique style due to his real, raw unfiltered emotions that come through in his music. I found it so interesting that Elton John helped him through his addiction this was something I was unaware of.

  • Justine Ruiz

    I grew up listening to Eminem and loved hearing his lyrics. His lyrics really gave us insight of his life that we never he was going through. This article taught me a lot more about Eminem that I never knew before. I didn’t know how Dre discovered Slim Shady until reading this. I’m glad I learned this because it’s a fascinating story. I also never knew that Slim Shady always performed while under the influence of drug causing him to not remember more than half of his interviews and concerts. I loved this article and how well it was written!

  • Sophia Rodriguez

    I grew up listening to Eminem. He is such a good artist even though some of his music was not appropriate. I learned so much information from this article such as I never knew Elton John and Eminem were friends, that his relationship with Kim was really bad, and that his friend Proof had died. This article opens up our minds making us realize the struggle Marshall Mathers went through to become the person he is now.

  • James Davis

    This article showed me so much about Marshall Mathers that I didn’t know. Of course, I grew up loving his music mostly thinking it was funny, or just dark humor. As I grew up, I grew out of listening to his music, so I didn’t follow him as close and had no idea of the drug use or stints in rehab. It’s amazing he was able to overcome all of this issues and come back to music. He is an artist and is an incredible one at that. Thank you for this article.

  • Bailey Godwin

    I have always known who Eminem was and have listened to his songs, but I never knew this much about him. I never knew about his drug usage but now I realize he talks about it in his music. His lack of privacy definitely was not something easy to deal with. I am proud that he really realized he needed to clean himself up but I am sad it took such extensive manners for him to come to that conclusion.

  • Destiny Lucero

    Eminem has had quite an inspirational journey. Addiction is a disease that needs to be worked on daily. I am proud of him from overcoming his guilt, and sorrow for the loss of his friend through his music. He had to overdose and almost lose his life to realize he really needed to clean up for the better. He wanted to be a better father and person over all. With rehabilitation he discovered his old hobbies and new ones, and healed through his book. He made a comeback despite what others said about his rap career.

  • Sara Guerrero

    I was aware of Eminem’s childhood struggles which could be a factor into why he got into drugs in the first place. I was unaware of his drug usage and that it became worse after his movie “8 mile” and it almost became fatal too. Eminem is an icon to early 2000s rap music and how his song “Love Yourself” won an oscar and he came back to the 2020 Oscars to sing his song. He is an inspiration to many and he has gone through such difficulties mentally and he was able to recover from his addiction. Great publication!

  • Ana Cravioto Herrero

    Great article! I love Eminem and grew up listening to his music. He is so raw in his songs and although it is a little bit sad that everyone know knows everything about him and he has no privacy, his struggles have helped many people and his music has saved many lives. I dod not know that Elton John helped him through his addiction, but I am glad that he seems so be better and focusing on his mental health.

  • Juliana Montoya

    Eminem was always an inspiration to many people around the world but they did not know what was really happening with his life especially in the early 2000s. The article explained a lot of events in his life in detail that I was not aware of but it made me even more hooked on that manner. Eminem is a legendary rapper because of his unique style of rap and also the realness within his lyrics about his life.

  • Amanda Shoemaker

    Eminem is definitely no stranger to controversy. Recently, he’s been more and more involved in a lot of political controversy speaking out against President Trump. This article really highlights how he’s basically always been at the center of a lot of controversy. Having a difficult childhood and then becoming an overnight celebrity gave him a shaky start and this article shows some of the hardships he faced after reaching stardom. It also points out how he’s just a normal guy that wants to live a normal life while creating rap. This was a very informative article.

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