Marshall Bruce Mathers (Eminem)

"It's my life, welcome to the Eminem show". This quote is probably the best way to explain the life of Marshall Bruce Mathers III. A show. The Eminem show. How there is no privacy in his life, from drug abuse, to his daughter, to everything that happened with ex-wife Kim Scott. The first song I heard by Eminem was "Not Afraid" in grade six. That song has captivated my musical interests, into being able to say I own almost every Eminem song ever recorded. But I am not here to talk about his hit singles or diamond records. I am here to talk about what has happened in his life to make him a hero.

One of the earliest factors that made his life horrible was his parents. Debbie Mathers gave birth to Marshall on October 17th 1972. His father, Marshall II abandoned the family when Marshall III was just 18 months old. Debbie struggled with drug and alcohol abuse during Marshall's childhood, which lead to a broken household, this relationship between Marshall and Debbie are mentioned in his songs, "Our House", "My Mom", "Cleanin' Out My Closet", and "My Dad's Gone Crazy", to state a few. To add to his unstable connection, by the age of twelve, Marshall and Debbie had moved around various Missouri towns, before settling in Warren Michigan for Marshall's teenage years. His Uncle Ronnie often looked after him and introduced Marshall to the rap genre. Marshall's life was dealt another blow when Ronnie committed suicide in 1991. At Ronnie's funeral, Debbie told Marshall she wished he was dead instead of Ronnie. That interaction is quoted in the song "Cleanin' Out My Closet" with the lyric "remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me, well I am dead, dead to you as can be". When he was fifteen, Kimberly and Dawn Scott moved in with him and his mother.

Kimberly Anne Scott has been Marshall's only true love. They met in High School, and began an on again, off again, relationship in 1989. On December 25th, 1995, their daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers was born.  But his relationship with Kim was not the perfect one. After marriage in 1999, Marshall filed for divorce after Kim's second drunk driving conviction in 2000. The divorce became official in 2001. Marshall and Kim remarried in January of 2006, but it seemed it just was not meant to be as they divorced with shared custody of Hailie in December of the same year. On Eminem's second album (The Marshall Mathers LP) the song "Kim" tells the fantasy story of him murdering Kim, her new husband, and new child.  She sued him over it. Marshall has adopted Alaina "Lainie" Mathers, who is Dawn Scott's daughter, and Whitney Mathers, Kim's daughter from a previous relationship, and is the legal guardian of his half brother Nathan. His reasoning for custody of these children are in their best interest because they were in environments where adults were abusing drugs and or alcohol. However, Marshall wasn't impervious to these influences.

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Throughout the career of Eminem, he has given out a look into his personal life. He has overcome drug abuse, saved four children from terrible home environments, and sold millions of singles and albums. He became the first rapper to sell back to back diamond albums. He published and acted in a semi-autobiography movie in 2002, "8 Mile", which he won an Oscar for best original song, for his hit "Lose Yourself", arguably one of his best songs ever. He has also always been outspoken about the government. He felt strongly against the Bush government, and the song that last line was from, "Mosh", he performed on SNL days before the 2004 election, and afterwards, held up a sign with just the word "vote".

Marshall Bruce Mathers III is a hero. He has done so much in this world, from saving four kids from harmful environments, proving no matter how much the odds are stacked against you, you can always come through on top, and achieve your goals if you want it bad enough. He has sacrificed money from touring and record sales, to get clean and set an example as a good role model. He has taken what happened in his life, and tried to do that opposite of it for his kids, so they have a better childhood than he did. Even when he has messed up, he has put out a song that deals with it as an apology. Like when accused of being a homophobe, he made a song with Elton John. Songs such as "Mockingbird", and "When I'm Gone" are an apology to Hailie for the crazy life he's put her through. He has sent messages to the government, sent messages to other rappers, telling them to stop fighting. Most influential of these was most likely "Like Toy Soldiers". From his first albums which were mainly drug based like "The Slim Shady LP", and "The Marshall Mathers LP", to his truthful, and albums based on getting over drugs and what his life is like, as "The Eminem Show", and Recovery" do, he always has a very clear message. He has been able to put all the mental and emotional stress, and trauma he has been able to become a success and become an influence in so many lives. He has been able to put his horrible life as a child, to do all he can to prevent his children from that trauma. He has simply done it all emotionally and physically despite all that life has put him through, he has done his best to be a good role model, guardian, father, recording artist and person. Whether you call him Slim Shady, Eminem, or Marshall Bruce Mathers III, there is no denying this man is a hero.