Rapper, record producer and songwriter Marshall Bruce Mathers III, commonly known as Eminem was born in 1972 in Kansas City, USA. Having sold over 100 million albums worldwide, he is regarded as one of the best selling artists in the world and has been previously ranked as the best selling artist of the 2000's. Eminem burst on to the US charts in 1999 with a controversial take on the hip hop subgenre, horrorcore. His first major label debut album Slim Shady EP contains a provocative fest of violent, twisted lyrics and is claimed to be written from the perspective of his alter ego Slim Shady. While offending an array of individuals and various other artists named in his album lead him to become one of the biggest starts on the planet. Eminem isn't just about controversy and shock value. The often misunderstood major talent has given white rappers credibility with his string of Grammy nominations , his critically acclaimed film 8 mile and three multiplatinum studio albums.