100 Fun Facts About Eminem

The stage name Eminem is a phonetic spelling of what?

His initials, M and M: Marshall Mathers first rapped under the name 'M&M' as a teenager and only later spelled the sound out as Eminem.

Detroit's best-known rapper, Eminem, was actually born in St. Joseph in which state?

Missouri: he and his mother moved back and forth between there and Michigan, and he says he changed schools two or three times a year, an outcast at each new one.

The first rap song Eminem ever heard, 'Reckless', featured which rapper, who went on to play a TV detective?

Ice-T: the song was on the Breakin' soundtrack, a gift from Eminem's Uncle Ronnie, whose suicide years later left him unable to speak for days.

Eminem failed ninth grade three times and quit school at 17, but which subject does he say he was always good at?

English: he had no time for literature, though, preferring comic books, and before rap took over he hoped to become a comic book artist; the school he left was Lincoln High in Warren.

What was the title of Eminem's 1996 debut album, a commercial failure?

Infinite was ignored by Detroit radio, and the advice he got, to give up rap and try rock and roll, made every rhyme he wrote afterwards angrier.

At which 1997 competition did an Interscope intern get the Eminem demo tape that reached Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre?

The Rap Olympics: he had come home to an eviction notice the night before he left for it, finished second, and was crushed to lose.

Dr. Dre signed Eminem in 1998 to which label of his own?

Aftermath: Dre said he had never before found an artist from a demo tape, and when colleagues doubted the wisdom of signing a white rapper he said he would work with anyone who could rap.

Which Eminem single got its Labi Siffre sample only after cutting lyrics Siffre found bigoted?

'My Name Is': Siffre, who is gay, called mocking the victims of bigotry lazy writing and withheld the sample until those lines went, saying rappers should diss the bigots instead.

The Marshall Mathers LP's 1.76 million first-week sales were then second only to which group's album?

NSYNC's No Strings Attached had sold 2.4 million two months earlier; Eminem, who mocks pop stars on the album, still made the fastest start in rap history.

Dido sings on the record, but which star took her part when Eminem performed 'Stan' at the 2001 Grammys?

Elton John, the best-known gay star in pop, agreed to the duet while Eminem was under fire for homophobic lyrics, and the two became friends.

Eminem's 'Stan' samples the opening lines of which Dido song?

'Thank You' was on the soundtrack of the film Sliding Doors, which producer the 45 King was watching at home when he heard it, switched the film off and went to his studio to loop it.

Which Eminem single was his first UK number one and interpolates a Tom Green novelty song?

'The Real Slim Shady' was written only hours before the album was due, because the label wanted a single to introduce it; its 'please stand up' hook comes from the game show To Tell the Truth.

Which Eminem album was the best-selling album in the world in 2002?

The Eminem Show reached shops a week early, in May 2002, because pirated copies were already spreading online and on street corners, and it still outsold every other album that year.

Which Aerosmith song is sampled on Eminem's 'Sing for the Moment'?

'Dream On' supplies the chorus in Steven Tyler's sampled voice, and 20 years later Tyler sang it live beside Eminem at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

What is the name of Eminem's character in 8 Mile?

Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith Jr. wins the final battle by listing his own failings first, trailer-park home included, which leaves his rival with nothing to say but to hand back the microphone.

8 Mile Road divides Detroit from what?

The northern suburbs: 8 Mile Road is the city limit, long a dividing line between mostly Black Detroit and the mostly white towns beyond, and it gave Eminem's film about a white rapper in the city its title.

Where was Eminem when 'Lose Yourself' won its Oscar?

At home, asleep: he was sure he would lose and his daughter had school in the morning, so when his keyboard player rang from the ceremony he grumbled that he was trying to sleep.

'Lose Yourself' made history at the Oscars as what?

The first hip-hop song to win Best Original Song went unperformed on the night; 17 years later Eminem walked on unannounced at the 2020 ceremony and finally did it.

Which Oscar-winning actress plays the mother of Eminem's character in 8 Mile?

Kim Basinger had won her Oscar for L.A. Confidential, made by the same director, Curtis Hanson, who cast her here as a trailer-park mother facing eviction.

What does the name of Eminem's group D12 stand for?

The Dirty Dozen had only six rappers: each one also performed as a second character, which made twelve voices in all.

Which childhood friend and D12 member was killed in April 2006?

Proof was shot dead after a row over a game of pool at a club on 8 Mile Road, and his death, on top of a growing pill addiction, deepened Eminem's retreat from recording until 2009.

Paul Rosenberg co-founded Shady Records with Eminem in 1999 while doing which other job for him?

His manager: Rosenberg wanted a label and Eminem wanted a home for his group D12, and Rosenberg also turns up on the albums in comic skits.

Which debut album followed 50 Cent's signing by Eminem and Dre?

Get Rich or Die Tryin': Eminem heard one of his mixtapes in 2002 and brought him to Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent became the first solo artist signed to both their labels.

Which 2004 Eminem album includes 'Mockingbird' and 'Like Toy Soldiers'?

Encore, with its Michael Jackson parody 'Just Lose It', was made as his addiction to sleeping pills took hold, and no album of new songs followed for five years.

What was the name of Eminem's satellite radio channel launched on Sirius in 2004?

Shade 45 sits on channel 45 of the dial and exists to play hip-hop uncensored.

Which 2009 concept album has Eminem playing a serial killer, with Dr. Dre producing every track but one?

Relapse ended five silent years of writer's block and addiction to sleeping pills, and the one track Dr. Dre did not produce, 'Beautiful', Eminem produced himself.

With which rapper did Eminem co-headline the 2010 'Home & Home' stadium concerts?

Jay-Z: each rapper hosted the other in his own home city, Detroit and then New York, and the first two dates sold out so quickly that a second night was added in each.

Eminem's 2010 album was the first ever to do what in the United States?

Sell over a million digital copies: he had announced it as a sequel to his previous album, then scrapped that title because the new songs came out so different, and said as much in its lead single.

Who sings the chorus of Eminem's 'Love the Way You Lie'?

Rihanna sings a hook that Skylar Grey, then little known, wrote at a retreat in Oregon, and the two stars went on to record a sequel told mostly from the woman's side.

Eminem's 'Not Afraid' was only the 16th song in Billboard history to do what?

Debut at number one on the Hot 100: fans bought 380,000 downloads in its first week of a song about getting sober, a sharp turn from the drugs and violence of his earlier singles.

Bad Meets Evil is Eminem's duo with which Detroit rapper?

Royce da 5'9" and Eminem split when Royce fell out with D12, made peace years later, and saw their reunion EP, Hell: The Sequel, go to number one in 2011.

Which 2013 Eminem single set a Guinness record with its 1,560 words?

'Rap God' crams them into just over six minutes, and in its fastest burst, 97 words in 15 seconds, he announces he is rapping at 'supersonic speed', a nod to the 1988 hit 'Supersonic'.

Which single from The Marshall Mathers LP 2 reached number one in the US?

'The Monster' won a Grammy as a rap and sung collaboration, and Eminem and its guest singer named their joint stadium tour after it the following summer.

Which producer executive-produced The Marshall Mathers LP 2 alongside Dr. Dre?

Rick Rubin co-founded Def Jam and produced some of rap's first rock-heavy hits in the 1980s, and on the single 'Berzerk' he took Eminem back to that sound.

The cover of Eminem's Kamikaze (2018) pays homage to which group's debut album?

Beastie Boys put the tail of a jet on the sleeve of Licensed to Ill; Eminem's copy adds a pilot called Lt. Mathers III, who is crashing his fighter on purpose.

Eminem's Music to Be Murdered By (2020) takes its title and cover from a 1958 album by which filmmaker?

Alfred Hitchcock posed for his record with an axe and a revolver held to his head, a picture Eminem restaged, and the director's dry spoken asides are sampled between the songs.

On which 2020 single does Eminem set his own speed record, rapping 224 words in 31 seconds?

'Godzilla' reaches 10.65 syllables a second in its third verse; its chorus is sung by Juice WRLD, who died weeks before release, making it his first posthumous hit.

Eminem's 2024 album, subtitled Coup de Grâce, is a concept album about what?

A battle with his alter ego: Slim Shady hijacks the record with his old shock tactics until Eminem finishes him off, which is why he told fans to play the tracks in order.

By 2025, six of Eminem's 15 Grammys came in which category?

Best Rap Album: he won it with six different albums between 2000 and 2015, yet the three that were also nominated for Album of the Year all lost that bigger prize.

In 'The Storm', his 2017 freestyle for the BET Hip Hop Awards, Eminem tore into which politician?

Donald Trump: Eminem ended by telling any fan who backed the president to pick a side, and he opened his 2018 album Kamikaze by returning to the attack.

Eminem and Dr. Dre's 2022 Super Bowl halftime show was the first named best live variety special at which awards?

The Emmys: the show, with Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, won three in all, which gave Eminem an Emmy to go with his Grammys and his Oscar.

What was notable about Eminem's 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction?

Inducted in his first year of eligibility, he was introduced by Dr. Dre and used his speech to read out the names of more than 100 rappers who had shaped him.

Eminem says he was once sacked five days before his daughter Hailie's first birthday, which falls on which holiday?

Christmas Day: he says he had forty dollars to buy her a present after losing his cooking job, and he went home and wrote the song 'Rock Bottom'.

Who took the young Kim Scott into Eminem's home?

His mother took her in: Kim came to live with the family years before the couple married, and both marriages, in 1999 and 2006, ended in divorce, the second within the year.

Besides Hailie, which two children did Eminem raise as his own, one of them his ex-wife's niece?

Alaina and Stevie: he adopted Alaina, the daughter of Kim's sister, because of her mother's drug problems, and in 2005 became father to Stevie, Kim's child from another relationship.

What is the name of the restaurant Eminem opened in Detroit, first a 2017 pop-up?

Mom's Spaghetti turns a lyric about a rapper being sick with nerves into a menu, and at the 2021 opening Eminem served the first ten customers himself.

For which carmaker did Eminem drive through Detroit to 'Lose Yourself' in a two-minute Super Bowl ad?

Chrysler: the 'Imported from Detroit' film ends with Eminem walking on to the stage of the Fox Theatre and telling the camera, 'This is the Motor City, and this is what we do.'

Which Eminem compilation, released in December 2005, was later certified Diamond in the US?

Curtain Call: The Hits came out just before he all but vanished from music for several years, and it kept selling all the same, reaching Diamond status in March 2022.

Which Eminem album was the best-selling album worldwide in 2010?

Recovery is his account of getting clean after a near-fatal overdose in 2007, and he said he made it partly for listeners going through the same thing.

Which 1999 album won Eminem his first Grammys?

The Slim Shady LP entered the US chart at number two, and its two Grammys in 2000 came less than three years after he was sacked from a restaurant kitchen and moved back into his mother's mobile home.

Which comedian in an angel costume landed on top of Eminem at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards?

Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as Brüno, was lowered from the rafters on a wire harness. Eminem stormed out of the theater, though both men later said the stunt had been rehearsed.

Which future Marvel star made his film debut as Papa Doc, Eminem's final battle rival in 8 Mile?

Anthony Mackie went on to play the Falcon and Captain America. For the scene, Eminem looked him up online and worked details of the actor's real life into his verse.

Which politician recited part of 'Lose Yourself' after Eminem introduced him at a 2024 Detroit rally?

Barack Obama spoke several lines of the song's opening verse with no backing music. The rally was for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign, and Eminem had just introduced him on stage.

In which video game did Eminem appear during The Big Bang, a 2023 live event?

Fortnite made Eminem the headline act of the event, which launched Chapter 5 and unveiled the rhythm game Fortnite Festival. He returned in 2024 for a concert finale beside Snoop Dogg and Ice Spice.

Which pop star phoned a radio show to object to Eminem's 'Just Lose It' video, which parodied him?

Michael Jackson called the video disrespectful to him, his children and his family. The clip mocked his surgery and the day his hair caught fire, and BET pulled it for a time.

Eminem recorded the title song for which Tom Hardy superhero film, releasing it on Kamikaze?

Venom got its theme song on an album Eminem released with no prior announcement. He had teased it the afternoon before with a 15-second clip that showed only the film's logo.

How does Eminem's character disarm Papa Doc before winning the final rap battle in 8 Mile?

He insults himself first, listing every weakness Papa Doc could use, then reveals that his rival went to private school. Left with nothing to say, Papa Doc hands back the microphone.

The covers of Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and its 2013 follow-up both picture which building?

His childhood home looks lived-in on the first cover and dilapidated on the second. Two days after the second album's release the house caught fire, and it was later demolished.

Eminem's 2018 diss track 'Killshot' answered 'Rap Devil', a song aimed at him by which rapper?

Machine Gun Kelly had started the feud years earlier with a tweet about Eminem's teenage daughter. 'Killshot' drew 38.1 million YouTube views in a day, then a record debut for a hip-hop song.

Which actress stars opposite Dominic Monaghan in the video for Eminem's 'Love the Way You Lie'?

Megan Fox and Monaghan play lovers in a violent relationship while a house burns behind the performers. Director Joseph Kahn had assumed she would be almost impossible to cast.

Which singer performs the chorus of 'Walk on Water', the lead single from Eminem's album Revival?

Beyoncé sings the chorus on record but does not appear in the video. On stage, including at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards, co-writer Skylar Grey took the part.

Which British singer-songwriter joins Eminem on 'River', a 2017 single that topped the UK chart?

Ed Sheeran sings the chorus of a song about a failing relationship that ends in an abortion. It was his fifth UK number one and Eminem's ninth.

Which singer joins Eminem's duo Bad Meets Evil on the chorus of their 2011 hit 'Lighters'?

Bruno Mars gave the duo a soul-tinged ballad far from their usual hardcore hip hop. It reached number four in the United States and Canada.

Eminem's 2009 diss track 'The Warning' was aimed at which singer after her single 'Obsessed'?

Mariah Carey denied ever dating Eminem, who said they were together for six months. He took 'Obsessed', about a man who invents a relationship with her, as a song about him.

Which band's comeback beat Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP to the 2001 Album of the Year Grammy?

Steely Dan won with Two Against Nature, their first studio album in 20 years. Eminem still left the ceremony with three Grammys from his four nominations.

Which boxing film was developed for Eminem before Jake Gyllenhaal replaced him in the lead role?

Southpaw was conceived as a metaphorical continuation of the 8 Mile story. Eminem left the role but stayed on to executive-produce the soundtrack.

In which Eminem single's video does he play Rap Boy, a Robin-like sidekick in a comic-book spoof?

'Without Me' sends Eminem and Dr. Dre racing to stop a child playing a CD that carries a Parental Advisory sticker. The clip won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Eminem's 2024 single 'Houdini' borrows its hook from 'Abracadabra', a 1982 hit by which group?

The Steve Miller Band hit earned Steve Miller a songwriting credit on 'Houdini', and he praised Eminem the day after its release for building something new on an old musical legacy.

Eminem produced and raps a verse on 'Smack That', a 2006 worldwide hit for which singer?

Akon met Eminem at a recording session for another rapper and the two became friends. The song topped ten charts worldwide and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Which director made 8 Mile after Eminem felt a better connection with him than with Danny Boyle?

Curtis Hanson worried at first that Eminem's reputation could be a liability. He was won over by the rapper's expressive eyes, which he thought could carry the story.

Which actor plays Future, best friend of Eminem's character and host of the rap battles in 8 Mile?

Mekhi Phifer was reluctant at first, feeling the film was made to cash in on Eminem's popularity. He ends up mentioned by name in 'Lose Yourself'.

At which real Detroit venue does Eminem's character freeze on stage at the start of 8 Mile?

The Shelter sits underneath Saint Andrew's Hall in Detroit, and it was one of the first stages Eminem performed on in real life.

Which Detroit tradition of burning abandoned homes gave Eminem's group D12 their debut album title?

Devil's Night is the name used in and around Detroit for the annual fires. The same arson was written into 8 Mile as an emblem of the city's struggles.

Which D12 single is a comic fiction in which the rest of the group resents Eminem's fame?

'My Band' has Eminem crooning in boy-band style while his groupmates fume at being overlooked. Bizarre even insists that he is the most popular member.

Which 2011 EP by Eminem's duo Bad Meets Evil debuted at number one on the Billboard 200?

Hell: The Sequel is the duo's only EP. The two rappers had fallen out as D12 rose to fame and went their separate ways for years before reuniting.

Eminem produced Loyal to the Game, a 2004 album of remixed unreleased music by which late rapper?

Tupac Shakur had so moved Eminem that he wrote to Afeni Shakur asking to produce the next album. She agreed, and it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Which Eminem single shares its title with the autobiography he published in 2008?

'The Way I Am' came out as a song in 2000, eight years before the autobiography that borrowed its name. His first book, Angry Blonde, was a commentary on his own songs.

On which Eminem single do he and Dr. Dre voice the good and evil sides of people facing temptation?

'Guilty Conscience' casts Dr. Dre as the good voice, who wins the first argument, and Eminem as the evil one. The idea came up while the two were at the gym together.

Eminem's verses on which single from Dr. Dre's album 2001 were first meant for Snoop Dogg?

'Forgot About Dre' kept Eminem's own performance because Dr. Dre liked how it sounded. In the video, Eminem raps while walking down a dark city street.

While getting clean with a counselor's help, Eminem began an exercise program built around what?

Running anchored the routine he started after church meetings failed him: people there kept asking for autographs. He has been sober since April 20, 2008.

Which Eminem single, featuring Nate Ruess of the band Fun, is an apology to Debbie Mathers?

'Headlights' takes back years of scorn aimed at her in his songs. He adds that he cringes when an earlier attack on her comes on the radio and no longer performs it.

Which opioid, sold to Eminem as being much like Vicodin, caused his near-fatal 2007 overdose?

Methadone pills came from a dealer who told him they were easier on the liver. Doctors told Eminem he had been about two hours from dying.

Which country's National Party paid damages over an ad that imitated Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'?

New Zealand's High Court ruled in 2017 that the 2014 election advert infringed copyright. The party was ordered to pay $600,000, cut to $225,000 on appeal.

DeAngelo Bailey sued Eminem for $1 million over the song 'Brain Damage', which portrays him as what?

A school bully is what Bailey had admitted to being in a 1999 Rolling Stone interview. The judge found the lyrics too exaggerated for any listener to take as fact.

Eminem posed as which Marvel vigilante on a 2009 magazine cover, then shared a comic with him?

The Punisher cover for XXL magazine came from a deal between Eminem and Marvel Comics. Marvel then created an issue of the comic co-starring the rapper.

Eminem's 2017 album Revival was teased with a billboard and a website advertising a fake what?

A prescription drug called Revival was said to treat Atrox Rithimus, a medical condition that does not exist. The campaign's promotional video also nodded to 'Lose Yourself'.

Which musician did Eminem mock in a 2002 video, dressing up as him and branding his techno outdated?

Moby put the attack down to Eminem having an unrequited crush on him. The rapper also shot a mock figure of the musician on stage.

Which magazine ran Eminem in its 'Unsigned Hype' column in 1998, then put him on its cover in 2000?

The Source later turned on him: Benzino, a partner in the magazine, attacked Eminem in several diss tracks, and the feud is counted among the causes of its decline.

Which Republican figure condemned Eminem in September 2000 for promoting violence against women?

Lynne Cheney kept up her attacks on explicit lyrics as second lady, a cause made famous by Tipper Gore. Eminem answered by mocking her and her husband in a 2002 single.

Which Nobel-winning poet praised Eminem in 2003 for stirring a generation's interest in lyrics?

Seamus Heaney said the Detroit rapper had shown a generation what was possible. He credited Eminem's verbal energy as much as his subversive attitude.

Which relative gave the young Eminem the Breakin' soundtrack and became his musical mentor?

His uncle, Ronnie Polkingharn, was close to the boy. When Ronnie took his own life in 1991, Eminem stopped speaking publicly for days and did not attend the funeral.

Which keyboardist, once of Was (Not Was), co-wrote and co-produced Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'?

Luis Resto had played for artists from Anita Baker to the Highwaymen before his long collaboration with Eminem began in 2001. He has added keyboards to many of the rapper's productions since.

Which production duo signed Eminem in 1995 and released his first album on their own label?

The Bass Brothers, Jeff and Mark, helped Eminem make his first album and are credited on his records as F.B.T. Jeff produced several of his biggest hit singles.

On which 2000 hip-hop tour did Eminem share the bill with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube?

The Up in Smoke Tour was billed as a West Coast hip hop showcase, yet it carried Detroit's Eminem and his group D12 across the United States and Canada.

Which rapper's 2003 debut album Cheers came out on Shady Records with Eminem as executive producer?

Obie Trice had been signed since 2000, so Cheers was three years in coming. It appeared on September 23, 2003, through Shady and Interscope.

Eminem's 'Darkness' takes the viewpoint of the gunman in a mass shooting in which city?

Las Vegas is the setting of a protest song that condemns gun violence in the United States. CNN described it as a poignant plea for expanded gun control.

Which singer covered Eminem's ''97 Bonnie & Clyde' on her 2001 album of gender-swapped covers?

Tori Amos included it on Strange Little Girls. Eminem's own recording features the voice of his infant daughter, whom he took along to the studio for the session.

On 'Roman's Revenge', from the 2010 album Pink Friday, Eminem trades verses as Slim Shady with which rapper?

Nicki Minaj raps in character as Roman Zolanski, so the track pairs two invented personas. It was released ahead of her debut album as a promotional song.

Which rapper guests on Eminem's 2010 single 'No Love', built on a sample of Haddaway's 'What Is Love'?

Lil Wayne and Eminem performed the song together on Saturday Night Live. Its video follows a tormented boy who finally defends himself, spurred on by their songs.

Which rock singer's 1981 hit 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' is sampled on Eminem's 'Remind Me'?

Joan Jett recorded the hit with the Blackhearts. The track continued the rock-sampling approach that Eminem had introduced on his single 'Berzerk'.