For most hip-hop legends, winning awards like the Grammys, Billboard Music Awards, and MTV VMAs is almost routine. But earning a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a rare honor—one that Eminem achieved in 2022, becoming just the tenth rapper to be inducted.
With a career spanning over two decades, Eminem has consistently pushed boundaries, proving himself as one of the most controversial and influential rappers of all time. From his breakout hit My Name Is to 8 Mile and his feuds with artists like MGK, he remains a dominant force in hip-hop. But what inspired him to become a rapper in the first place?
Eminem’s Rough Childhood & Early Influences
Eminem’s journey wasn’t easy. Born in Kansas City, he later moved to Detroit, where he faced relentless bullying. His mother relocated the family back and forth between the two cities before they finally settled in Detroit when he was 11. Growing up in poverty, he had to fend for himself.
Despite being a white rapper in a predominantly Black neighborhood, Eminem fully embraced hip-hop culture. He honed his skills through battle rap competitions, earning respect in Detroit’s underground rap scene.
In a 2000 interview with SPIN, just a year after The Slim Shady LP skyrocketed him to fame, Eminem revealed the exact moment he knew he wanted to rap.
“The first hip-hop song I ever heard was ‘Reckless’ from [Ice-T and] the Breakin’ soundtrack,” he shared. “My cousin played it for me when I was about nine years old. I thought it was the most incredible shit I’d ever heard.”
The Song That Changed Everything
Hearing Reckless was a life-changing moment for young Marshall Mathers.
“That’s what really did it for me. I was like, ‘This shit is so dope!’ That’s when I decided I wanted to rap,” he recalled.
That decision shaped not only Eminem’s future but also the landscape of hip-hop and pop culture as a whole. Without Reckless, Eminem might never have pursued rap, and the music world would have missed out on one of its greatest artists.
