Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Eminem is among the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of over 220 million records. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Eminem's global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white 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 publication of his single "My Name Is", Marshall Mathers became an international sensation. He won the Grammy for Best Rap Album three times in a row: for The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, and The Eminem Show. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for "Lose Yourself", a song from the 2002 film 8 Mile, in which he also appeared.
