Eminem Concerts Setlist

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known by his stage name Eminem or his alternative stage name Slim Shady, is an American rapper, songwriter, and music producer. He was born on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. His parents played in a small-time pop-rock band before they separated, leaving the young Marshall alone with his mother in Missouri, then Michigan. His first choice for a creative outlet was comic book writing, before finding a new fascination with hip hop music as a young teenager. His first introduction to rap was the 1984 song “Reckless” by Chris "The Glove" Taylor & David Storrs, featuring Ice-T.

His stage name “Eminem”, is derived from his initials, M&M (as in Marshall Mathers). At age 16, he formed the hip hop group “New Jacks”, along with his friend DJ Butter Fingers. They produced a self-titled mix tape, but that wasn’t available to the public until it leaked online in 2015.

Eminem released his debut album “Infinite” in November 1996, but it sold dismally upon its release. The young rapper's first industry success came with the February 1999 release of his second album, “The Slim Shady LP”. It peaked at the #2 spot on the famous Billboard 200 list. 

In the meantime, Eminem kept adding new artists to his crew. In 1996, he formed the legendary hip hop crew “D12” (an abbreviation for “Dirty Dozen”). However, despite the name, they only ever had 8 members, not 12. Eminem had such rappers in the line-up as Proof, Bizarre, or Mr. Porter, among others. In June 2001, they released their debut album “Devil’s Night”, through a collaboration between Interscope Records and Eminem’s own Shady Records. It became a massive hit, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 list. The most successful track on it was “Purple Pills”. The group produced one more album together, “D12 World”, in 2004.

As a solo artist, Eminem has released a total of 11 studio albums during his career. The best selling among them is his fourth one, “The Eminem Show”, from May 2002. It sold over 27 million copies worldwide. In 2014, he went on a massively successful nationwide Eminem concert tour with Rihanna called "The Monster Tour". Meanwhile, the latest new Eminem album is from January 2020, titled “Music to Be Murdered By”. In his early work, he used a lot more comical, tongue-in-cheek, shock humor lyrics; while in his later work, his tone has been a lot more serious and reflective.

The biggest hits in the Eminem setlist to date are “The Real Slim Shady” (2000), “Without Me” (2002), “Love the Way You Lie” (2010) featuring Rihanna, “Not Afraid” (also 2010), and “Rap God” (2013).

In 2003, Eminem produced and starred in the movie “8 Mile”, a story about an aspiring rapper living in Detroit, Michigan, evidently based on his own experience. The song “Lose Yourself” performed by Eminem on the soundtrack also became a massive hit. It even won the Academy Award in the Best Original Song category. Check if an Eminem concert is coming to your town on the page above.