Eminem, a titan in the rap industry, has left some fans baffled as they discover the true meaning behind his stage name.
The American rapper and music producer is renowned for bringing hip hop to Middle America’s mainstream and breaking down racial barriers for white rappers.
His chart-topping hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 include The Real Slim Shady, Lose Yourself, Without Me, Love the Way You Lie, Not Afraid, The Monster, Godzilla and, most recently, Houdini.
The 51-year-old artist shot to fame in 1999 with his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP. Since then, he’s been universally known by his rap moniker Eminem.
However, fans have started to question the origin of his name, with one Reddit user asking: “Why did he call himself Eminem? Does anyone know why he called himself that? I have been listening to him for quite a long time but I never understood why he chose Eminem instead of something like Slim Shady.”
It appears that his rap name Eminem dates back to his childhood when he and his high school mate, Mike Ruby, took on the names Manix and M&M. The name M&M, short for Marshall Mathers, later morphed into Eminem.
Reacting to this revelation, some users expressed their surprise at not making the connection sooner. One user stated: “He actually used to label his material M&M but he changed it when it started to takes himself more seriously and garner attention to avoid an obvious lawsuit.”
In the fascinating debate, one user chimed in with: “I think in the booklet for MMLP there’s an old pic of him rapping and his outfit has the M&M cartoon characters printed on it.”
Another confirmed the artist’s clever play on words, saying: “His initials are MM, or M&M, which is pronounced Eminem when said quickly.”
Unveiling the genesis of the rapper’s stage name, a third user explained: “I saw an interview with someone that knew him when he was younger and he actually came up with that when he was messing around with M&M’s and took two of them and put them together, and asked the guy (the guy was someone’s parent or something) what does it say, and he said M&M and then Eminem went yeah, that’s me.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
