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Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (/ˌɛmɪˈnɛm/; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is widely considered as one of the greatest rappers of all time.[2] Eminem's global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of Caucasian rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him widely controversial, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as an influence for many artists of various genres.

After the release of his debut album Infinite (1996) and the extended play Slim Shady EP (1997), 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 (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002), were worldwide successes and were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. After the release of his next album, Encore (2004), Eminem went on hiatus in 2005, largely due to a prescription drug addiction.[3] He returned to the music industry four years later with the release of Relapse (2009) and Recovery, which was released the following year. Recovery was the bestselling album worldwide of 2010, making it Eminem's second album, after The Eminem Show in 2002, to be the best-selling album of the year worldwide. In the following years, he released the US number one albums The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Revival (2017), Kamikaze (2018) and Music to Be Murdered By (2020).

Eminem made his debut in the film industry with the musical drama film 8 Mile (2002), playing a dramatized version of himself, and his track "Lose Yourself" from its soundtrack won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the first hip hop artist ever to win the award.[4] Eminem has made cameo appearances in the films The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009) and The Interview (2014) and the television series Entourage (2010). He has also developed other ventures, including Shady Records, a joint venture with manager Paul Rosenberg, which helped launch the careers of artists such as 50 Cent, D12 and Obie Trice, among others. He has also established his own channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM Radio.

In addition to his solo career, Eminem was a member of the hip hop group D12. He is also known for collaborations with fellow Detroit-based rapper Royce da 5'9"; the two are collectively known as Bad Meets Evil.

Eminem is among the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of over 220 million records. He was the best-selling music artist in the United States of the 2000s and the bestselling male music artist in the United States of the 2010s, third overall. Billboard named him the "Artist of the Decade (2000–2009)". He has had ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200—which all consecutively debuted at number one on the chart, making him the first artist to achieve this[5]—and five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, Curtain Call: The Hits (2005), "Lose Yourself", "Love the Way You Lie" and "Not Afraid" have all been certified Diamond or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[7] Rolling Stone has included him in its lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He has won numerous awards, including 15 Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and an MTV Europe Music Global Icon Award. In November 2022, Eminem was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[8]

He made his musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live on October 23, 1999, the third episode and the Halloween show of Season 25, hosted by former cast member Norm Macdonald, where he performed "Forgot About Dre" with Dr. Dre for his second performance. He made his 2nd musical guest appearance on October 7, 2000, which is the Season 26 premiere, hosted by actor Rob Lowe, where he performed "Stan" (with Dido) and "The Real Slim Shady".

On May 11, 2002, he returned to Saturday Night Live for his 3rd appearance, on the nineteenth episode of Season 27, hosted by actress Kirsten Dunst, where he performed "Without Me".

He returned to Saturday Night Live for his 4th musical guest appearance on October 30, 2004, the fourth episode and the Halloween show of Season 30, hosted by English actress Kate Winslet, where he performed "Mosh" and "Just Lose It".

He returned to Saturday Night Live as the musical guest for his 5th appearance on December 18, 2010, the tenth episode and the Christmas show of Season 36, he made his 5th musical guest appearance, with Lil Wayne where they performed "No Love" and "Won't Back Down" and also marks his fifth appearance on SNL, making him part of the Five-Timers Club.

He returned to Saturday Night Live again as the musical guest for his 6th appearance on November 2, 2013, the fifth episode of Season 39, hosted by actress Kerry Washington, where he perfromed "Berzerk" and "Survival" with Skylar Grey.

He returned to Saturday Night Live once again as the musical guest for his 7th appearance on November 18, 2017, the sixth episode and the Thanksgiving show of Season 43, hosted by Chance The Rapper, where he performed a medley of "Walk On Water", "Stan", and "Love The Way You Lie", once again with Skylar Grey.

He was also impersonated by Chris Parnell on the May 15, 1999 episode during the "Press Conference" sketch, on the October 21, 2000 episode during the "Church Chat" sketch and on the February 24, 2001 episode during the Weekend Update segment and by Taran Killam on the February 12, 2011 episode during the Weekend Update segment. Killam again impersonated Eminem on the January 18, 2014 episode with host Drake for a Hip Hop Sketch. He was impersonated by Pete Davidson on the November 18, 2017 episode during the sketch Lion King Auditions.

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