Eminem (Blue Banner Biographies)

Like many hip-hop stars, Marshall Mathers III rapped about surviving prejudice and poverty in the inner city. Except Marshall was white. Growing up in a rough section of Detroit, Michigan, he often experienced prejudice because of his skin color. When he took to the stage as Eminem, he endured the same bigotry.

As a kid everyone from his teachers to his favorite uncle told him to give up his hip-hop dreams. He couldn't. It was the only thing he was good at. Before he became successful, he spent years working minimum wage jobs and hoping for his big break. Marshall's big break arrived with a character he created named Slim Shady who gained Marshall millions of fans but also gained him critics enraged by his lyrics.