Marshall Mathers, better known by his professional name Eminem, has achieved great success — not bad for a kid who failed 9th grade three times, right? He is famous but doesn’t hog the spotlight, and he has proven himself time and time again in the music industry, with a slew of awards and accolades (including a Guinness World Record) under his belt.
To some, Eminem’s lifestyle may make him seem reclusive and an introvert, but he assures fans he goes to many places, he just does it all under the radar. And that’s the beauty of living in Detroit. His decision to live his life away from the paparazzi makes him different from many other artists whose names are always in the tabloids.
Putting his professional persona and success aside for a moment, Eminem hasn’t had much luck in the love department. After two marriages and subsequent divorces, both to Kim Scott, the mother of his daughter, he is done with marriage. Not only does he never intend to exchange vows again, but he also has trust issues with women. Eminem is an interesting person, and below are 21 little-known facts about his life.
21 He Never Intends To Get Married Again — And It Didn’t End Well With His Ex
Eminem has been married twice, both times to Kim Scott. Their relationship didn’t exactly end on the best of terms, and the rapper has used it as inspiration for his music (making his feelings about her quite clear). He has no intention of getting married again, and in 2002, he told Rolling Stone, “I’m chilling now. And no more marriage.”
He actually felt so strongly about avoiding marriage that he said he would rather “be on a coach flight with NSYNC at the back of the plane in the last row in them seats that don’t go back — just stuck there with the bathroom out of order.” All of this, rather than get married again! Interestingly, he did marry Scott for the second time, after this interview.
20 Actually, His Past Relationships Have Given Him Major Trust Issues
Eminem has expressed his views on marriage, telling Rolling Stone he never wants to experience what he went through again, but his previous relationships with his mom and his ex-wife have also made it hard for him to trust women.
“I have trust issues. With women, friends, whatever,” he told Rolling Stone in 2011. “You always wonder what their real motives are.”
It is for this reason that he admits to having a small circle of friends, people he knows will be there for him, and who he has known for decades. Eminem feels this works best for him.
19 Dr. Dre Has Affected His Life In A Tremendous Way (And He Gave Him The Best Advice)
Dr. Dre gave Eminem his big break when he signed him to Interscope Records, and they have not just collaborated professionally but also become good friends. In a chat with Elton John for Interview magazine, Eminem spoke about the best piece of advice he ever received — which benefitted him on a personal level — and it was from Dre.
"When I first got signed to Aftermath, we had many discussions about how I wanted to bring in my group D12 and put them on right away," he explained. "Dre said, ‘You’ve gotta build your house before you can let your friends come in,’ and it made so much sense to me.’"
18 He Is Really Good Friends With Fellow Musician, Elton John
Eminem also counts fellow musician Elton John as one of his friends, and told Rolling Stone that John helped him get clean. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he admitted that Elton calls him at least once a week to check on him and see how he is doing.
The two musicians met through the Grammys and have a lot of respect for each other. According to Refinery29, Elton John and Eminem performed "Stan" at the 2001 Grammys, and this was the moment that started their friendship. “That Grammy performance was the start of a lovely friendship and I’m grateful for that,” John told Interview magazine.
17 His Daughter, Hailie, Holds A World Record Thanks To Him
Eminem has so much love for his daughter, Hailie, and he has rapped about her in his music, but he has also been inspired by her. In 2002, Eminem released a track called “My Dad's Gone Crazy,” in which his daughter says the words, “I think my dad's gone crazy.” This line earned Hailie a Guinness World Record for being the Youngest R&B chart entrant.
She became the “Youngest performer, aged 6 years 210 days, to be credited with an R&B hit when 'My Dad's Gone Crazy' charted in August 2002,” Guinness World Records notes.
16 But He Also Has His Very Own Guinness Book of World Records Title
But Hailie Jade is not the only one in the family to hold a Guinness World Record, and Eminem has also made his way into the World Record book, for the most words in a hit track.
This happened with his 2013 track, “Rap God,” and according to the Guinness World Records, there are 1,560 words said in just 6 minutes and 4 seconds. This brings the average to “4.28 words per second!” In fact, the song even has a segment which lasts 15 seconds but has 97 words — this is one seriously complicated song to sing along too.
15 If He Wasn’t A Rapper, He Could Be Creating Comic Books Right Now
It’s hard to imagine the rap genre without Eminem because he has left his mark on it in many ways. He has enjoyed fame and success in his professional life, and he is well-respected for the music he has made, but have you ever wondered what he would be doing if he wasn’t a world-famous rapper?
He'd be a comic book artist, according to an article by LadBible entitled: “Eminem Wanted To Be A Comic Book Artist If He Wasn't A Rapper.”
He also has an impressive comic book collection, and [music executive] Riggs Morales told MTV News a bit about it. "I've gotten a small glimpse of Eminem's collection, and Eminem's collection is otherworldly," he said. "[He has items that] aren't even on display at the stores."
14 He Knows That Some People Miss The ‘Old Eminem’
Eminem came onto everyone’s radar in the late '90s and early 2000s, and he made a name for himself as one of the most respected rappers. Although he has continued to make music, some people feel as though he is no longer the same man he once was, which makes them miss the old Eminem.
This is something that Eminem realizes. "I had a lot of rage. When people say they miss the old Eminem, I feel like it's probably that," he told interviewer Sway Calloway (via Genius). "I don't have the rage anymore that I used to have but I still have the exact same passion."
13 He Has A Lot Of Respect For Drake And Has No Intention To Diss Him
Eminem is not afraid to ruffle some feathers, and he has dissed a lot of famous people, but Drake is not one of them. According to XXL Magazine, some people believed that on his track "Lucky You" he took aim at Drake, but Eminem cleared up the rumors in an interview with Sway Calloway.
"Here’s the thing: Drake will always be in my good graces because he did something for one of my daughters that I will never forget and he will always be in my graces," Eminem said. He chose not to go into more detail about what that “something” was.
12 He Has Chosen To Live Under The Radar, Far Away From The Paparazzi
There are some celebrities who love the spotlight and they have chosen to share their lives with the world. They share details of their personal lives on social media and readily engage with fans, but Eminem is the type of person who prefers a quieter life and a slower pace.
He doesn’t live in Los Angeles or New York, and instead chooses to live in Detroit, Michigan. He told Sway Calloway (via XXL Magazine) that he finds it hilarious that people think he’s reclusive, adding,
"I go more places than people think I do. I just do it under the radar. In Detroit, we don't have paparazzi like L.A. or New York."
11 Growing Up, He And His Mother Moved All The Time, Only Settling When He Was 11
Eminem and his mother, Deborah Nelson-Mathers, do not have the best relationship, but he did grow up with her, and when he was a child they moved around a lot. Rolling Stone notes that he and Deborah moved between Missouri and Michigan, “rarely staying in one house for more than a year or two.” This constant moving finally stopped when the rapper was 11 years old.
But his life wasn’t all smooth sailing from then onwards, as the publication notes, “It was the start of a life full of enough screaming fights” and dramas. Eminem has admitted he has had it hard.
10 He Tried To Have A Relationship With His Dad, But His Letters Just Got Sent Back
Eminem has penned many songs about his mother and the complicated relationship that they have had, but his father was not in his life. His mother and father were married when she was just 15, she told Rolling Stone, and two years later Eminem was born.
When they split, Deborah and Eminem lived with family members for several years, before finally settling in Detroit. His father moved to California, and he seemed to be disinterested in establishing a relationship with his offspring.
His mother told the publication that when Eminem was a teenager, he sent his dad letters, which he returned unopened with a "return to sender" mark on them.
9 He Is No Fan Of The Grammys And Never Intends To Go Again
Eminem is no stranger to the Grammys and he has attended the award show multiple times, as well as performed on stage and taken home awards. But his feelings towards the prestigious music event have changed in recent years, and this is something he shared in his interview with Sway Calloway (via XXL Magazine).
He stated that “never again” would he go to the Grammys, and according to the publication, one of the reasons for this is that Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z were snubbed at the 2017 Grammys.
Eminem added that the awards were "tone deaf to what is actually going on."
8 School Was Not For Eminem, And He Dropped Out After The 9th Grade
Eminem moved around a lot when he was younger, which must have been hard for him, but he also had a hard time at school. According to Rolling Stone, he finally gave up on school in the 9th grade, after failing three times.
The last school he attended was Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, and according to the publication, Eminem was 17 when he left. When he did, he focused on the local Detroit hip-hop scene. He is now a multi-millionaire who has achieved great success in his professional life, so it all worked out.
7 Eminem Needs To Get Away From Everything Because He’s Not A Big Fan Of The Spotlight
Eminem is often thought to be reclusive, but as mentioned earlier he’s not. He just chooses not to live in cities where the paparazzi can follow his every move. That said, he doesn’t like to live his life in the spotlight, as noted by Elton John for Interview magazine.
“You live a pretty simple life. You’re not a lavish person. People think they know everything about you, but they really know nothing about you,” John told Eminem in the interview.
The reason why the rapper is like this, he says, is because he feels if he doesn’t go away, he gets "sick" of himself. “It’s never been my thing to be in the spotlight all the time,” he admitted.
6 When Dr. Dre First Signed Him, They Created Four Songs In Just Six Hours
Dr. Dre and Eminem have both a professional and personal relationship. Eminem, in many ways, has Dre (and Jimmy Iovine) to thank for his big break, because he saw potential in him and signed him to Interscope Records. They also discovered that they worked well together from early on.
“That first time in the studio we did three or four songs in, like, six hours, and with any beat [Dre] threw on, I either had to rhyme to it or write something right there,” Eminem told Interview magazine. “From that day forward, he started showing me things that I didn’t know I could do with my voice…”
On a personal level, Dre has been Eminem’s friend and advisor, and theirs is a relationship that has spanned decades.
5 One Of The Reasons He Is So Successful Is Because He Is Afraid To Fail
Eminem may still live in Detroit, but his lifestyle is vastly different from how it used to be, yet he still appreciates how he achieved his success.
Having little in the beginning, and having to work for everything, made Eminem realize that the fear of failure was his biggest motivation to do great things. “Failure has always been the biggest motivation to me — the fear of losing and somebody getting the last laugh on me,” he told Rolling Stone. “I’ve felt since my first day of rapping that my time is ticking. That’s how I’ve based my whole career — that this may never happen again. The truth is, this could end tomorrow…”
4 Mariah Carey And Eminem Had An Unexpected Romantic Connection
Eminem keeps his personal life private, and his relationships have been the topic of much talk. Over the years, he has been linked to a number of people, including Kim Basinger, Emma Bunton, and Mariah Carey, and the only truth to the romance rumors involving those three women is that he had a romantic relationship of sorts with Mariah.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eminem was asked if he and Carey were “almost boyfriend-girlfriend,” to which he replied, “There’s truth to that.”
He went on to say that while he respected Carey as a singer, on a personal level they didn’t really gel. “I just don’t like her as a person. I gotta be honest; I learned a lesson from it: Don’t believe the hype,” he said. “I have respect for her, but she doesn’t really have it all together. I’ll just say that and that she’s a beautiful woman.”
3 Eminem Is Not Much Of A Reader — He’s Only Ever Finished One Book
He holds a record for the most words in a track, so there is no denying that Eminem has a way with words. His lyrics are often praised, and his songs have deep meaning for many people. But he’s not much of a reader, despite his love of words — and an extensive vocabulary.
“The only book I ever read from front to back was LL’s [1998 autobiography I Make My Own Rules],” he told Rolling Stone in 2011. “I just never really got into books.” His great-aunt Edna did read children’s stories to him on occasion though, and he has a love of comic books.
2 There Are Few Things Better For Em Than Relaxing In The Evenings By Watching TV
Eminem likes being at home. And, come to think of it, he may be one of the more relatable celebrities out there because his typical night in is very similar to the way most people would choose to relax and unwind: by sitting in front of the TV.
Eminem admitted that he watches a lot of TV, and in his interview with Rolling Stone, he also went on to share some of the shows he loves. “The First 48 – that show is incredible,” he said, adding, “South Park. Tosh.0 is a funny dude. Intervention, Celebrity Rehab – those are good because I can relate to what they’re going through.”
He also likes the sports channels, especially football, and he’s a big fan of the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.
1 He Places A Lot Of Importance On Being A Good Father
Eminem has one biological daughter, Hailie Jade, but she didn't grow up on her own. According to Metro, he adopted and raised Alaina Marie Mathers and Whitney Scott Mathers. Whitney is Kim Scott’s daughter from a previous relationship, and Alaina is Kim’s sister’s child.
Despite having a demanding job, being a father is a role that Eminem places tremendous importance on. When asked what being a good father means to him, he told Rolling Stone it was simple, really: it just involved being there.
“Not missing things,” he explained. “If there’s anything important going on, regardless of what it is, I’m there. Helping them with homework when you can. At the grades my older ones are in, it’s hard [laughs]. I never even passed ninth grade…”
References: Rolling Stone, Interview Magazine, Refinery29, Guinness World Records, MTV News, XXL mag, Metro
