Eminem, Mr. Potty-Mouth, aka. The Bad Boy of Rap is known for his violent, horrorcore, and over-the-top lyrics. He's not afraid to push the envelope and diss anyone only because their names rhyme eloquently. As a result, the Detroit-native has landed a couple of lawsuits from his high school bully DeAngelo Bailey to his mother, Deborah Nelson.
His albums, predominantly the Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, Encore, and Relapse, are not for the faint-hearted. We all know how he turns his estranged relationship with his parents and his ex-wife into a discography of horrorcore songs about killing, dumping, and burying their bodies. Not only that, but he also fantasizes about shooting up his audiences at the end of the Encore album. Lastly, he enters the mind of Stephen Paddock, the 2017 Vegas mass shooter, on his 2020 gun-law advocacy song, Darkness.
Behind all the f-bombs, morbid alter egos, controversies, the Jason mask, and his signature chainsaw, Marshall Mathers is a humble and genuine person at heart who loves his city. His army of stans who religiously listen to him knows that he loves them, and he is, in real life, far from his musical alter ego. Today, we're honoring 15 surprisingly nice things that Eminem has ever done.
15 When Eminem Dedicated 'Sing For The Moment' To A Superfan Who Passed Away Before Making It To His Show
During his Ireland stop at The Recovery Tour back in the early 2010s, Eminem dedicated his hit song, Sing for the Moment, for David Smith, a young superfan who passed away before making it to the concert. "Look, man, I know he's not here with us tonight, but I know he's here in spirit," Eminem told the crowd with a breaking voice. You can watch the speech here.
14 When Eminem Dedicated The Whole Relapse Album To His Late Best Friend, Proof
Eminem's best friend and mentor, Proof, passed away after a tragic altercation at the Triple C club in Detroit in 2006. This unfortunate event led Eminem to develop an even worse substance abuse issue and depression. Two years after the incident, he declared his sobriety and dedicated his 2009 project, Relapse, to the late homie. "I tried to write a song for you," Eminem writes on the backside of the album's booklet. "but nothing was good enough, so I'm dedicating them all to you."
13 When Eminem Quietly Launched The Marshall Mathers Foundation To Help Disadvantage Youths In Detroit
Many A-list celebrities invite media, journalists, publications, and personal photographers whenever they launch a philanthropy project. No shade to them, but that is not the case for Marshall. He, quietly, established his non-profit organization, The Marshall Mathers Foundation, back in the early stage of his career. The foundation aims to aid disadvantage youths in Detroit. In 2006, Eminem partnered up with Nike and designed eight different looks for 64 pairs of limited edition Nike Air Maxes to be auctioned for charity.
12 When Eminem Adopted The Kids From His Ex-Wife's Affairs
It 100% makes sense if a husband divorces his wife and refuses to take the full custody of her children from her affair, but that's not for Eminem. Even though he infamously slanders his ex-wife Kim on several songs, he adopted Whitney, Kim's daughter, from her illicit tryst, and raised her like his own biological child. He also takes full custody over Alaina Scott, Kim's twin sister's daughter, and Nate, his own brother.
11 When Eminem Showed His Love For The Troops At The Concert For Valor
This train of hate against Eminem came in 2017 when he bashes US President Donald Trump and his administration at the BET Awards Cypher. He even faced more controversy regarding a line from the song Untouchable from the Revival album, "I admit, there have been times where it's been embarrassin' to be a white boy."
This controversy put an anti-America sentiment around him, but as a matter of fact, he showed love for Uncle Sam's troops back in 2014. He headlined the Concert for Valor with Rihanna to honor the veterans of the country.
10 When Eminem Visited A Terminally-Ill Teen
In 2015, Eminem visited a 17-year-old superfan, Gage Garmo, who was suffering from sporadic bone cancer, Osteosarcoma. During his five years of battling cancer, Gage gained enormous and outpouring support from his native city Rochester Hills, located 27 miles from Detroit. Sadly, he passed away a day after Eminem's visit.
9 When Eminem Did A Super-Bowl Ad For A Good Cause
Eminem loves his Detroit city, and during the early stage of his career, he's eager to put the city on the map. The Motor City returned the love and catapulted to where he is now. In 2011, he appeared in Born of Fire (Imported from Detroit), the Chrysler 200 car commercial that tells the city's history and juxtaposes both grim and beautiful images of it. Lose Yourself's instrumental plays in the background throughout much of the ad, and it ran for the first time during Super Bowl XLV.
8 When Eminem Dedicated His Record-Breaking Song Godzilla For His Late Bodyguard & Juice WRLD
Eminem and genre-bending artist Juice WRLD is the kind of collaboration we never knew would need and happen. In 2020, more than a month after Juice's sudden passing, Eminem released his eleventh album, Music to be Murdered By, and features Juice on the record. On the back of the album's booklet, it's written, "In the memory of Juice WRLD and CeeAaqil Allah Barnes, R.I.P." For your information, CeeAqil was believed to be Eminem's bodyguard who passed away on the plane back from Eminem's Abu Dhabi concert.
7 When Eminem Partnered With A Homegrown Label, Detroit Vs. Everybody, To Help Detroit Children Through The Verses Project
In 2018, Eminem, through The Marshall Mathers Foundation, partnered up with The Motor City's iconic clothing retailer, Carhartt, to support the Verses Project. The venture aids Detroit kids to study the craft of music from Detroit's leading professional musicians, recording artists, and engineers, all for free. A year later, Eminem unveiled a new limited edition clothing line for Detroit vs. Everybody with Carhartt, with all the benefits go to the Verses Project.
6 When Eminem Helped Raise 2 Million Dollars For Ariana Grande Concert Bombing Victims
In 2020, Eminem, once again, was in hot water after his controversial line referencing the 2017 Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester. Arianators and many others quickly pointed fingers at the rapper and called him immoral. They might have forgotten what Eminem did back in 2017, following the attack when he helped raise over 2 million dollars for the victims through the British Red Cross. In fact, back in 2014, Ariana told Time that at some point in her life, she was obsessed with Eminem.
