Eminem, as with any artist or celebrity, has his fair share of haters. Love him or hate him, he sure has accomplished a lot in his musical career. I don’t care who you are, there is a lot to be said about a person committed to accomplishing their dreams and defying the odds by doing so. Being labelled the King of Hip Hop, best-selling artist of the 2000’s, selling over 155 million albums and singles to become one of the world’s best-selling artists. These are the types of facts you’ll easily discover by quickly browsing wikipedia, but statistical facts are not what we are going to focus on with this rap icon. What we have for you today is a list of 23 interesting things that you probably didn’t know about Eminem, a.k.a. Slim Shady, a.k.a. Marshall Mathers.

1. He was still making payments on his trailer home when The Slim Shady LP dropped.

This is understandable because his first album ‘Infinite’ only sold 1,000 copies while ‘The Slim Shady LP’ sold around 18 million.

2. Eminem thought of the “Slim Shady” character while dropping a deuce.

No, that’s not some sort of slang, he was literally going number 2. Engrossed with his brilliant idea, he called everyone he knew to tell them Slim Shady was about to drop.

3. Eminem’s decision to pursue rapping came after hearing the hip-hop/ rap group The Beastie Boys.

Beastie Boys started as a hardcore punk group, but transitioned to hip-hop creating a style known as rap-rock.

4. Eminem lied to his baby’s momma, Kim, and said they were going to Chuck E. Cheese in order to record Hailie’s (his daughter) part for the song “’97 Bonnie & Clyde.”

I sure hope he still ended up taking Hailie our for some pizza and games after the recording session.

5. His mother sued his school in 1982 over the bullying Eminem received from D’Angelo Bailey, the same bully Em rapped about on “Brain Damage.”

For those of you that think that all rap songs are made up, this one has a very factual basis.

6. D’Angelo Bailey, who was working as a janitor, sued Eminem for $1 million, claiming that “Brain Damage” hurt his reputation.

In a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone, D’Angelo admitted to picking on Eminem: “There was a bunch of us that used to mess with him. You know, bully-type things. … We flipped him right on his head at recess. When we didn’t see him moving, we took off running. We lied and said he slipped on the ice.” Sounds like this was the basis for why the law suit was dismissed.

7. Eminem failed ninth grade three times before dropping out.

I guarantee that nobody’s going to try to use him as a poster child for staying in school so you can get a better job.

8. He wrote the hook for “Just Lose It” in 30 seconds.

This was the last song recorded for Encore because the album, apparently, needed a single.

9. One time a crackhead broke into Eminem’s house, made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and didn’t steal anything.

I guess it was peanut butter jelly time. Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat.

10. He has said that after listening to “My Name Is” and “The Real Slim Shady” a few times, they became “cheesy.”

I agree. Cheese mixed with superglue that sticks in your brain. Just reading the names initiates the repetitive lyrics that can’t be erased.

11. At the beginning of his career, he and Royce Da 5’9″ hid new Avirex leather jackets under his hotel bed.

They were fearful that his manager, Paul Rosenberg, would view the purchase as fiscally irresponsible.

12. He no longer does extensive touring because it’s a trigger for his addiction.

That’s a good thing to know and manage. Good for him for his attempts at making positive life choices.

13. When Elton John and his partner got their civil union, Eminem sent them diamond penis rings.

Nothing says “I’m not a homophobe” quite like buying diamond genital jewelry for a homosexual couple.

14. He doesn’t know how to use a computer.

See mom, there’s hope for you yet!

15. 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.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, a Weird Al parody has got to be right up there.

16. He recorded “Lose Yourself” in one take while on break from shooting on the set of 8 Mile.

He was rumored to have been paid $3 million for his contributions to the film.

17. It took him “a few weeks” to get his confidence back after recording the down-and-out anthems of the 8 Mile soundtrack.

This is pretty common for actors, I would assume it’s the same for musicians. You completely put yourself into your work and it can be a lot for your mind to overcome.

18. He toned down the shock value on The Eminem Show to prove he could sell records without it.

Wait, what happened to “Will Smith don’t gotta cuss in his raps to sell records. Well, I do; so *bleep* him and *bleep* you too”?

19. At 20, he was the driver in a drive-by shooting… with paint balls.

Who’d have thought, a hardcore rapper from the mean streets of Detroit, doing the same dorky stuff as the suburban kids.

20. When Vanilla Ice blew up in the early ’90s, it “crushed” Eminem and made him feel like he “didn’t want to rap anymore.”

Vanilla Ice made all the sheltered suburban white kids wanna be thugs!

21. In 2002, with three multi-platinum albums to his name, he was still driving a leased Mercedes-Benz.

Don’t judge, maybe he was locked in with some really good terms.

22. The U.S. Secret Service considered taking action when he rapped, “I’d rather see the president dead” on “We As Americans.”

Really? Nobody’s in real danger from Eminem except maybe his ex.

23. Sorry Ladies, Eminem says that he doesn’t plan to marry or have children ever again.

H/T

A lot of people want to talk about racial inequality. In a city with 7.8% non-Hispanic whites (according to 2010 census), Eminem must have had quite a battle coming up in a lower class black neighborhood. He defied the overwhelming odds of making a name for himself in a genre of music where nobody thought he’d ever have a chance. Eminem had the determination, talent and drive to ignore the nay sayers and prove everyone wrong. For this, he has my respect and admiration.