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Eminem has been a hip-hop hitmaker for over two decades. The Detroit-bred rapper was first introduced to many people in 1999 when he introduced himself (or rather, his alter ego Slim Shady) in his breakout single “My Name Is” from his sophomore album The Slim Shady LP. The album ended up propelling him to stardom after a slow start in the music industry.

Eminem, who released his sophomore album 'The Slim Shady LP' in 1999, holding his hands over his face for a photo
Eminem | Michel Linssen/Redferns

Eminem released his debut album ‘Infinite’ in 1996 but it didn’t do well

Eminem started rapping in the 1990s and worked with local producers the Bass Brothers to release his 1996 debut album Infinite. The album failed to sell or get Eminem’s name out there, leaving the rapper wondering if there was a way forward for him in the music industry.

“After that record, every rhyme I wrote got angrier and angrier,” Em told Rolling Stone of his writing process after Infinite. “A lot of it was because of the feedback I got. Motherf***ers was like, ‘You’re a white boy, what the f*** are you rapping for? Why don’t you go into rock & roll?’ All that type of s*** started pissing me off.”

In 1997, he entered a Rap Olympics competition in Los Angeles and ultimately placed second. His album ended up in the hands of an Interscope Records employee in attendance, who passed it on to Interscope founder Jimmy Iovine. When Iovine shared it with rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who created his Aftermath Entertainment label under Interscope, Dre knew that Eminem was bound for stardom. “In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When Jimmy played this, I said, ‘Find him. Now,’” Dre told Rolling Stone.

Eminem released ‘The Slim Shady LP’ in 1999

Dr. Dre got to work as he and Eminem began recording songs for his second full-length album. Dre produced the three singles released from the album, “My Name Is,” “Role Model,” and “Guilty Conscience,” rapping alongside Eminem on “Guilty Conscience.” The album was notably darker in tone compared to Infinite: with his Slim Shady persona, Eminem rapped more openly about the poverty, addiction, violence he witnessed and experienced growing up, as well as told exaggerated, often violent stories with his lyrics.

Slim Shady’s bombastic rap style put the entire industry on notice, as a new white rapper appeared poised to take over the genre. His trouble-filled upbringing would become the foundation for Eminem’s semi-autobiographical 2002 film 8 Mile.

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‘The Slim Shady LP’ was the turning point of Eminem’s career

The Slim Shady LP transformed Eminem’s career practically overnight. The album sold 283,000 copies in the first week of release and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart; it reached No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it remained for 92 weeks. The album went on to win Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards, while “My Name Is” won Best Rap Solo Performance. The album has since been certified five-times platinum.

Eminem had successfully broken into the world of hip-hop and shown that he was not to be messed with. He quickly followed it up with his third album The Marshall Mathers LP, released in 2000. Eminem repeated his success at the following Grammy Awards when The Marshall Mathers LP won Best Rap Album and “The Real Slim Shady” won Best Rap Solo Performance. His 2002 album The Eminem Show remains the highest-selling rap album of all time; that same year, he won an Academy Award for “Lose Yourself,” his No. 1 hit single from the 8 Mile soundtrack.

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