  Eminem was born in Kansas but
raised as a teenager in Detroit, Michigan
where he became interested in rap music as an
escape from a troubled adolescence. His youth
consisted of many moves, little money and
neighborhood bullies. Eminem's biggest
influence as a kid was his Uncle Ronnie who
was the same age as Eminem and introduced him
to rap music. Eminem eventually dropped out
of high school. Uncle Ronnie killed himself
at the age of 19.
Eminem released Infinite.
The response to the LP was poor with many
criticisms of Eminem trying to be a kind of
rapper he wasn't.
Eminem came in second at L.A.'s
'Rap Olympics.' The single "5 Star
Generals" helped Eminem find a larger
underground audience.
Eminem's road to widespread fame
began when Dr. Dre heard Eminem on a L.S.
radio station. Dre signed Eminem to his
Aftermath label and released an independent
EP called Slim Shady. Eminem
describes his alter-ego, Slim Shady, as
"the evil side of me, the sarcastic,
foul-mouthed side of me."
 # 83
Singles Artist of the Year
 Eminem released a full LP, The
Slim Shady LP.
Eminem hit the Top 40 with
"My
Name Is."
The
Slim Shady LP was certified 2x platinum by
the end of the month and topped the Billboard
R&B Albums chart for a week.
 Eminem was sued by his mother
for over $10 million for negative accusations
made by the rapper about his mother and
childhood. The lawsuit claimed that the
rapper portrayed his mother as drug-user and
unstable in a Rolling
Stone article.
At the MTV Video Music
Awards Eminem won the
Best New Artist Award
and was nominated for Best Male Video and Best Direction ("My
Name Is")
and Breakthrough Video ("Guilty
Conscience").
 Eminem appeared on Saturday
Night Live with Dr. Dre.
Eminem was nominated for 2 MTV
Europe Music Awards for Best Breakthrough
Artist and Best Hip-Hop Artist.
The
Slim Shady LP was certified 3x platinum.
 Eminem won a MTV European Music
Award for Best Hip-Hop Artist.
The NFL stopped using a promo
that used Eminem's "My
Name Is"
after learning his LP carried an advisory
sticker due to lyrics.
Eminem appeared on the End
Of Days soundtrack with "Bad
Influence."
It was reported that Eminem's
grandmother was upset with her grandson's
plan to use recordings of her deceased son
(Eminem's uncle) in his next LP release and
stated: "...I will not let my grandson
destroy my dead son with this garbage. He's a
bitter boy with sad songs who wants to make
fame." The plan to incorporate his
uncle's voice was later dropped.
 # 21
Singles Artist of the Year
Eminem was nominated for 2 Brit
Awards for Best International Newcomer and
Best International Male Solo Artist.
Eminem won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance ("My
Name Is")
and Best Rap Album (The
Slim Shady LP) and was also nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or
Group
("Guilty Conscience" with Dr. Dre).
 Eminem was back in the Top 40
with Dr. Dre ("Forgot About Dre") from Dre's 2001.
Eminem won a few Online Hip-Hop
Awards for Best Artist Web Site, Best New
Artist, and Hottest Music Video ("Guilty
Conscience").
Eminem won a Detroit Music Award
for Outstanding National Album.
 Eminem was awarded Favorite New
Artist, Male at the Blockbuster Awards.
Eminem released The
Marshall Mathers LP.
Eminem hit the Top 40 with
"The
Real Slim Shady" and the video hit #1 on
MTV's Top 20 Video Countdown.
Eminem attempted to explain his
view toward gays with MTV's Kurt Loder:
"'Faggot' to me doesn't necessarily mean
gay people. 'Faggot' to me just means...
taking away your manhood. You're a sissy.
You're a coward... So, when I started saying
'faggot' on record, I started getting people
going, "You have something against gay
people" and I thought it was funny,
because I don't." GLAAD (Gay/Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation) issued a
statement warning music fans of the negative
and violent lyric content of Eminem's new LP
towards gays and many other groups stating:
"(the LP) carries the warning 'Explicit
Lyrics.' That is an understatement. Eminem's
lyrics are soaked with violence and full of
negative comments about many groups including
lesbians and gay men."
The
Marshall Mathers LP hit #1 in Canada at
the end of the month.
 First-week sales of Eminem's The
Marshall Mathers LP topped the 1.7 million
unit mark making it the best first-week sales
by a solo artist (a record set the prior week
by Britney
Spears) and topped the Pop LP charts
for 8 weeks, the R&B LP charts for 4
weeks, and Internet Album charts for 2 weeks.
Eminem was arrested in Detroit
after a fight outside a nightclub He was 1 of
4 arrested after a disturbance in the parking
lot and reports that someone had a gun. A few
days later he was charged with 2 felony
weapons charges (and it was reported that the
fight occurred when the rapper saw another
man kissing his wife). The charges include
carrying a concealed weapon and assault with
a deadly weapon (for hitting a man with the
unloaded gun). The man allegedly assaulted by
Eminem filed a civil law suit for his
injuries soon after the encounter.
Eminem hit the Top
10
with "The
Real Slim Shady" and the song's video hit
#1 on the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown.
Although Eminem has shun pop
acts, with "The
Real Slim Shady" he became one as the
single hit the Top
10 on
the pop charts but not on the Billboard Rap
and R&B/Hip-Hop charts - and frequently
topped MTV's 'Total Request Live' chart.
By the end of the month, The
Marshall Mathers LP was certified 5x
platinum.
Eminem appeared in court for the
June incident and was charged with felony
possession of a concealed weapon and
misdemeanor public brandishing of a firearm.
Reports surfaced that Eminem's
wife attempted suicide by cutting her wrists
at their home in Detroit during the month
while the rapper was not home.
"The
Real Slim Shady" topped the UK charts for
a week.
The
Marshall Mathers LP topped the UK charts
for 2 weeks.
 Eminem topped the MTV Top 20
Video Countdown with "The
Way I Am."
Eminem turned down an offer to
settle a court case filed by his mother, and
filed for divorce from his wife by the end of
the month.
Eminem was nominated for a
MuchMusic Video Music Award for Favorite
International Artist ("The
Real Slim Shady").
The
Marshall Mathers LP was certified 6x
platinum.
Eminem won a Source Hip-Hop
Award for Lyricist of the Year and Music
Video of the Year ("Guilty
Conscience").
By the end of the month, Eminem
was also hit with a $10 million defamation
lawsuit by his wife.
Eminem took home 3 MTV Video Music
Awards for Video of the Year, Best Male Video ("The
Real Slim Shady"), and Best Rap Video ("Forgot About Dre" with Dr. Dre) and was also
nominated for Best Rap Video, Best Direction (Dr. Dre & Philip Atwell), Best Editing (Dan Levethal), and Viewer's Choice ("The
Real Slim Shady"). Eminem performed "The
Real Slim Shady" and "The
Way I Am" at the ceremony and his
appearance at the awards show was protested
outside by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the National
Organization for Women. GLAAD stated:
"These are the words that kids hear in
school hallways before they get beat up. For
this kind of language to be put out there
without any sense of responsibility on
Eminem's part, or MTV's part, is simply not
something that GLAAD can ignore... We are
very disappointed that they continue to
support him as heavily as they do..."
Eminem hit the Top 40 with
"The
Way I Am."
The
Marshall Mathers LP was certified 7x
platinum.
The video for "The
Real Slim Shady" was nominated for 2
Billboard Music Video Awards for Maximum
Vision Video and Best Rap/Hip Hop Clip of the
Year.
Eminem won a MuchMusic Video
Award for People's Choice - Favorite
International Artist.
Efforts were made to stop Eminem
from performing in Canada due to an
investigation of violating the country's
hate-crime law. Eminem was allowed to perform
as planned.
 Eminem topped Canada's MuchMusic
video chart with "The
Way I Am."
Eminem hit the Top 40 with
"Stan" (featuring Dido).
Rolling Stone
& MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs includes "My
Name Is"
at # 67.
"Stan" hit #1 on MTV
Top 20's Video Countdown.
Eminem won 2 Billboard Music
Video Awards for Maximum Vision Video and
Best Rap/Hip-Hop Clip of the Year ("The
Real Slim Shady") and 2 MTV Europe Music
Awards for Best Hip-Hop Act and Best Album.
Eminem was named 'Artist of the
Year' by Spin magazine.
The
Slim Shady LP was certified 4x platinum.
Eminem took home a 'My VH1'
Award - Most Entertaining Public Feud (Eminem
vs. Everyone).
 Eminem topped Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Billboard
200 Artist - Male.
"Stan" hit #1 in the UK
for 1 week.
At year's end, The
Marshall Mathers LP was proclaimed the 2nd
biggest selling LP in the U.S. during the
year with sales topping 7.9 million copies.
 # 175
Singles Artist of the Year
Eminem was nominated for 2 American Music
Awards for Favorite
Pop/Rock Male Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop
Artist.
The
Marshall Mathers LP was certified 8x
platinum.
The video for "Stan" topped Canada's
MuchMusic chart.
Eminem won 3 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album (The
Marshall Mathers LP), Best Rap Solo Performance ("The
Real Slim Shady"), and Best Rap Performance by
a Duo or Group ("Forgot About Dre" with Dr. Dre), and was also
nominated for Album of the Year. Eminem performed
"Stan" with Elton
John at the ceremony (Elton had said
of the rapper: "I'm a big fan of his
music... if I thought for 1 minute that he
was (hateful), I wouldn't do it"). Dr. Dre felt controversy over
Eminem resulted in them losing the Album of the Year award: "...I
think we were robbed."
Eminem's mom announced she was
considering dropping her lawsuit against her
son and Eminem entered a guilty plea in court
for felony possession of a concealed weapon
allowing for an assault charge to be dropped
(stemming from charges last summer).
Eminem was nominated for 2 Soul
Train Music Awards for Best R&B/Soul or
Rap Album (The
Marshall Mathers LP) and Best R&B/Soul
or Rap Music Video ("Stan").
Eminem won a Brit Award for Best
International Male Artist.
 Eminem won 2 Blockbuster
Entertainment Awards for Favorite Male Artist
and Favorite Artist - Rap and was nominated
for Favorite CD.
Eminem won 2 Detroit Music
Awards for Outstanding National Album and
Outstanding National Single.
Eminem plead guilty to charges
of carrying a concealed weapon and was put on
probation for 2 years.
Reports surfaced that Eminem may
be taking on his first film role called Lazarus
- as an evil dead rapper brought back to
life. Other reports had Eminem considering a
semi-autobiographical film role.
Eminem will be immortalized in
the form of an action doll.
Eminem won a Juno Award for Best
Selling Album (The
Marshall Mathers LP).
A radio station in Colorado was
fined $7000 for playing "The
Real Slim Shady."
Eminem received 1 year of
probation from gun charges stemming from an
incident last year in Michigan involving the
road manager of the Insane Clown
Posse. The probation sentence was
added on to a previous probation sentence
Eminem received in April.
 Eminem's video for "Stan" was nominated
for 5 MTV Video Music
Awards including Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, Best Direction (Dr. Dre & Philip Atwell),
and Best Cinematography (Dakek Wolski).
Eminem's video for
"Stan" won a Source
Award for Video of the Year.
Eminem won a MTV Europe Music
Awards for Best Hip-Hop Act and was nominated
for Best Song ("Stan") and Best Male
Act.
"Stan" was the Top
Single in the UK for the year.
 # 9
Singles Artist of the Year
 Eminem settled a lawsuit against
him by a man he was accused of assaulting
after the man allegedly kissed his wife.
Eminem hit the Top 40 with
"Without Me."
Eminem moved up the release date
for The
Eminem Show after the LP was leaked to the
Internet and bootlegs were found on the
street for as little as $5.
30 concert-goers were hurt at an
Eminem concert in Washington as the crowd was
pushing forward to the stage.
 "Without Me" topped the UK
Singles chart for a week.
Eminem topped the Billboard 200
Albums chart, the Internet Album Sales chart,
and the R&B/Hip-Hop chart with The
Eminem Show - the LP sold over
285,000 copies in its short first week of
release in the US. The LP sold over 1.32
million copies its first full week of release
in the US.
The
Eminem Show topped the UK and Canadian LP
charts.
The video for "Without Me" topped MTV Video
Countdown.
Eminem hit the Top 10 with "Without Me."
Eminem topped the Billboard Top
40 Tracks chart for 2 weeks with "Without Me."
The
Eminem Show was certified 4x platinum.
 Eminem hit the Top 40 with
"Cleanin' Out My Closet."
Eminem's video
for "Without Me" won 4 | 
