Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America and is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him a controversial figure, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as an influence by and upon many artists working in various genres.
After the release of his debut album Infinite and the extended play Slim Shady EP, Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP. His next two releases, The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show, were worldwide successes and were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. After the release of his next album, Encore, Eminem went on hiatus in 2005, largely due to a prescription drug addiction.
