No one has such a squeaky-clean American rise story to offer: Eminem changed the rap world from the darkest corners of Detroit. Even Barack Obama turned to Eminem's music at crucial moments.
Just how superhumanly great the rapper Eminem is is demonstrated by the fact that two words of his super hit "Lose Yourself" are enough to open your own restaurant. Since last year, long queues have been forming outside "Mom's Spaghetti" in downtown Detroit - despite the not too appetizing lyrics: "His palms are sweaty, his knees are weak, his arms are heavy - there's vomit on his sweater, Mom's Spaghetti", rapped Eminem at the beginning of the millennium.
"Lose Yourself" became Eminem's most influential song - it's about the one moment that can change everything if you want it to. The musician himself took his chance and became one of the most legendary - and controversial - rappers of his generation.
It hails Grammys and Music Awards
Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born in 1972 in St. Joseph in the US state of Missouri. His childhood and youth were marked by poverty and reproach, violence and abuse. The family moved to the problem city of Detroit in Michigan, where Mathers showed his talent at 14 by performing in clubs and making a name for himself in the rap scene. Meanwhile, he was not interested in school, repeated several classes and finally dropped out completely.
Eminem's first album "Infinite" did not lead to the breakthrough he had hoped for in 1996, but when he came second at the "Rap Olympics" in Los Angeles a year later, he caught the attention of hip-hop father Dr. Dre. Dre recorded Mathers, the album "Slim Shady LP" with the hit "My Name is" in 1999 became one of the albums that were subsequently called mega-sellers thanks to Eminem's talent and Dr. Dre's authenticity in the scene.
It went on to win Grammys and MTV Video Music Awards.
A year later, the "Marshall Mathers LP" followed, the fastest-selling rap album in American history to date - including controversial songs such as "The Real Slim Shady" and "Stan". These years - also due to Eminem's acting debut in the semi-autobiographical film "8 Mile" - were to become the highlight of his career and cement his image as a white prodigy in African-American dominated rap.
Controversial but inspiring
However, activists repeatedly accused Eminem of anti-gay and misogynistic lyrics. Accusations that the musician attempted to counter, for example, during a duet with gay singer Elton John at the Grammys in 2001. Elsewhere, Eminem caused a stir with a gesture for human rights: at the end of the Super Bowl halftime show with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, among others, he got down on one knee - apparently in support of former US football pro Colin Kaepernick. He had initiated this gesture in 2016 as a sign of protest against racism and social injustice and was sharply attacked by the American right in particular.
From Detroit's underclass to the world's biggest stage: the story of Eminem's rise to fame is a rare one in America. It lent Marshall Mathers authenticity, and his style and talent even inspired the young presidential candidate Barack Obama before the all-important TV debates against his opponent John McCain.
In his autobiography "A Promised Land", Obama writes that he listened to "Lose Yourself" before every performance - the song about taking the one big chance in life.
Obama describes how he sat in the car on the way to the debate venues and nodded in time to Eminem.
He felt "a touch of private rebellion, a connection to something grittier and more real than all the excitement and reverence that surrounded me now. It was a way of breaking through the artificiality and remembering who I was."
blue TV celebrates Eminem's birthday with this music special.