Image via Complex Original
This weekend, Eminem's major label debut, The Slim Shady LP, celebrates its 14th anniversary.
You know the story. He exploded onto the music scene with "My Name Is," and with almost constant rotation on MTV, an instantly recognizable bleach blonde hairdo, and some of the most shocking rap lyrics ever heard, became an immediate pop culture fixture.
What feels like an endless amount of material has been written about the now 40-year-old superstar, but over the years, so many of the details of his biggest profiles and interviews have fallen to the wayside in favor of the most definitive moments and highlights of his career. But where's the fun in that?
We went on a reading spree and dug up a ton of old information about Marshall Mathers, from the first hip-hop song he heard, to the only book he's read, to the extravagant (and titillating) gift he once got for his pal Elton John. So read up about how he used to get beat up, and a lot more than that.
These are the 50 Things You Didn't Know About Eminem.
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He thought of the "Slim Shady" character on the toilet, then got up and "called everyone [he] knew."
Over a year later, after selling millions of records, he was still living modestly: "I could safely say that I'm well off, but I'm not a millionaire."
In order to record Hailie's part for the song "'97 Bonnie & Clyde," he lied to Kim and said they were going to Chuck E. Cheese.
He got fired from Gilbert's Lodge five days before Hailie's birthday, which falls on Christmas, and with only $40, wrote "Rock Bottom" the same night.
The Marshall Mathers LP was originally titled Amsterdam because he wrote a good chunk of the album there, and Dutch journalists inspired some of the content on the album.
He met Kim when he was 15 and she was 13. He was standing on a table with his shirt off rapping LL Cool J's "I'm Bad."
He got shot at while walking to Kim's house as a teenager.
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The director of Training Day was initially interested in casting Eminem for the role that eventually went to Ethan Hawke.
He got evicted the night before the 1997 Rap Olympics and had to break into his own place and sleep on the floor before leaving for L.A.
His mother sued his school in 1982 over the bullying Eminem recieved from D'Angelo Bailey, the bully Em rapped about on "Brain Damage."
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Years later, D'Angelo Bailey sued Eminem for $1 million, claiming that "Brain Damage" hurt his reputation, despite previously admitting to the bullying.
He wrote the hook for "Just Lose It" in 30 seconds. It was the last song recorded for Encore because the album needed a single.
He doesn't enjoy listening to the "dumb shit" on Encore because it reminds him of when he was "starting to get really high in the studio."
He got into a habit of constantly watching the Rocky movies, Shooter, and Boogie Nights at the height of his addiction and has seen all of them around 150 times.
Overzealous fans would steal his possessions when he was at rehab in 2005.
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One time a crackhead broke into his and Kim's house, made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and didn't steal anything.
Before blowing up, he quit rapping for six months after his house was broken into for the fifth time.
"My Name Is" was pulled from NFL promo spots in 1999 when the league found out about his explicit lyrical content.
He's said that after listening to "My Name Is" and "The Real Slim Shady" a few times, they became "cheesy" to him.
His first big purchase was a house, but he had to sell it almost immediately because fans would jump in his pool and pull in his driveway all the time.
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His mother nearly died during his 73-hour birth; she was 15 at the time.
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His grandmother threatened to sue him if he used a freestyle by his deceased Uncle Ronnie on The Marshall Mathers LP. His grandmother later sent him a tape and a note that read, "Marshall, I found Ronnie's last tape. Maybe you can use it." It was a recording of Ronnie's funeral.
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At the beginning of his career, he and Royce Da 5'9" hid new Avirex leather jackets under his hotel bed and from his manager, Paul Rosenberg, for fear of seeming fiscally irresponsible.
He met Royce Da 5'9 in 1997 when Royce was opening for Usher at the Palladium.
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During his recovery from addiction, he was quoted as saying, "Elton [John] calls me once a week."
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When Elton John and his partner got their civil union, Eminem sent them two diamond cock rings.
Eminem apologized to Alchemist for giving him an "accent joint"—a track where he was still rapping in an accent, from before he was all the way clean—for Alchemist's album.
The U.S. Secret Service considered taking action when he rapped, "I'd rather see the president dead" on "We As Americans."
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Weird Al Yankovic wanted to shoot a video for the song "Couch Potato"—a parody of Eminem's "Lose Yourself"—but Eminem refused to give him permission.
It took him "a few weeks" to get his confidence back after recording the down-and-out anthems of the 8 Mile soundtrack.
He's rumored to have been paid $3 million for his role in 8 Mile.
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At 20, he was the driver in a drive-by shooting...with paint balls. The balls didn't even break, but he was arrested. The case was dismissed when the victim didn't show up to court.
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When Vanilla Ice blew up in the early '90s, it "crushed" Eminem and made him feel like he "didn't want to rap anymore."
In 2002, with three multiplatinum albums to his name, he was still driving a leased Mercedes-Benz.
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He's said that he doesn't plan to marry or have children ever again.
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