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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.
Without further ado, here are 50 Things You Didn't Know About Eminem:
-He thought of the "Slim Shady" character on the toilet, then got up and "called everyone [he] knew."
-He was still making payments on his trailer home when The Slim Shady LP dropped.
-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.
-The only book he's read in full is LL Cool J's I Make My Own Rules.
-He once claimed to have pulled a gun on fans who showed up to his home unannounced.
-He failed ninth grade three times before dropping out.
-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 doesn't know how to use a computer.
-In 2002, with three multiplatinum albums to his name, he was still driving a leased Mercedes-Benz.
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