Mathers was first signed to FBT Productions in 1992, run by brothers Jeff and Mark Bass. In 1996, his debut album "Infinite", which was recorded at Bassmint, a recording studio owned by the Bass Brothers, was released on the independent company Web Entertainment. Eminem recalls "Obviously, I was young and influenced by other artists, and I remember several comments saying that I looked like Nas and AZ. "Infinite" served me to try to figure out what my rap style was, how my voice would sound on the mic and live. It was a growth phase. I felt ' infinite ' as a demo album that ended up being pressed to become studio." Subjects covered in "Infinite" included his problems in raising his newborn daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers, in a decent way while he had little money. Early in his career, Eminem formed a hip hop duo with another Detroit rapper, Royce da 5'9", called Bad Meets Evil. After the release of Infinite, Eminem's personal problems and abuse of drugs and alcohol were too much and he attempted suicide.
Jimmy Iovine, director of Interscope Records, asked for a demo from Eminem after he finished second in the 1997 Rap Olympics. Eminem had also won "Wake Up show's Freestyle Performer of The Year", which helped him to land a recording contract. Iovine played the demo for rap legend and producer Dr. Dre, the owner of Aftermath Entertainment. The two began recording songs for Eminem's upcoming album, "The Slim Shady LP" and Eminem had a cameo appearance on the album "Devil Without a Cause" by Kid Rock. Hip-Hop magazine "The Source" had Eminem in its "Unsigned Hype" article in March 1998.
Eminem signed for the record label Interscope Records in 1998. He released his first major studio album, "The Slim Shady LP", a year later in February 1999. It was based on productions by Dr. Dre. "Billboard" praised the album as "light years ahead of the material he had written before". It went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, and it achieved three times platinum in the United States before the end of the year. The album's popularity also brought controversy around much of the albums lyrics. In '97 Bonnie and Clyde" he describes a trip with his newborn daughter, Hailie, when he discards his wife's body, and in another song called "Guilty Conscience", it ends with persuading a man to kill his wife and his lover. "Guilty Conscience" marked the beginning of the friendship and musical bond between Dr. Dre and Eminem. The two would later collaborate on a lot of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's the Difference" from Dr. Dre's album "2001", "Bitch Please II" from "The Marshall Mathers LP", "Say What You Say" from "The Eminem Show", "Old Time's Sake" and "Crack a Bottle" from "Relapse" and "I Need a Doctor" and "Die Hard" from Dr. Dre's "Detox". Dr. Dre would appear to have at least one guest appearance on all of Eminem's studio albums for Aftermath Entertainment. The album has now achieved 4x platinum in the US. With this release, Eminem was accused of imitating the style and word choice of underground rapper Cage.
"The Marshall Mathers LP" was released in May 2000. The album sold more than 1.78 million copies in the US in its first week, breaking both the record for the best-selling hip hop album, last held by Snoop Dogg's "Doggystyle", and the best-selling album in its first week in the U.S., last held by Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time". The first single from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a huge success, although it created a lot of controversy by insulting celebrities and making negative claims about them. Among other things, he claims that Christina Aguilera had oral sex with Fred Durst and Carson Daly. On the album's second single, "The Way I Am", he tells his fans about the pressure his record company puts on him to surpass the sale of "My Name Is". Although Eminem parodies rock musician Marilyn Manson in the song, the artists are openly friends. Manson starred in the music video for "The Way I Am" and he was also part of a remix of the song for a concert with Eminem. On the album's third and most successful single, "Stan", he samples Dido's song "Thank You". In the song, Eminem plays the personality of an psychopathic fan who ends up killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend, similar to the song "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" from "The Slim Shady LP". In the music video of "Stan", Eminem is shown writing with his left hand. This ended a debate between fans about his dominant hand. "Q Magazine" awarded Stan to be the third best selling rap song ever, while Top40-Charts.com placed the song to be the tenth best-selling rap song. The song has since been praised and the "Rolling Stone Magazine" ranked the song as #290 in their 500 Best Songs of All Time. In July 2000, Eminem became the first white person to come to the front page of "The Source Magazine". The album has received 10x platinum status from the RIAA.
Eminem appeared alongside Elton John at the 43rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2001. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), an organization that thought Eminem's lyrics were homophobic, didn't like the openly gay John's decision to perform with Eminem. "Entertainment Weekly" put the appearance on the matter with the words "It was the hug heard around the world. Eminem, under accusations of homophobic lyrics, shared the stage with a homo icon for a performance of Stan that would have been unforgettable in any context." On February 21, the day of the ceremony, GLAAD held a protest outside the Staples Center, the site where the distribution took place. He also participated in the Up In The Smoke Tour with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and Ice Cube. He also participated in the Family Values Tour with the band Limp Bizkit.
Eminem's third-major album, "The Eminem Show", was released in the summer of 2002 and turned out to be another big hit for the rapper. The album peaked at the Billboard Hot 100, selling well over a million copies in its first week. The album's first single was the song "Without Me", in which Eminem made depressive comments about Limp Bizkit, Moby and Lynne Cheney, among others. Other singles from the album include "Cleanin' Out My Closet" and "Sing for the Moment". The album has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA. The album speaks on topics such as his way to fame, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his status in the hip-hop community. He also addresses his charge of assaulting a bouncer who kissed his wife in 2000. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that even though anger was present on several of the album's tracks, the album was not as provocative as "The Marshall Mathers LP". However, L. Brent Bozell III, who previously criticized "The Marshall Mathers LP" for being too tasteless and incoherent, noted that "The Eminem Show" used extensive obscene language and therefore gave Eminem the nickname "Eminef", for the "clean version" of the word "motherfucker", a word often used on the album. The album sold 10,600,000 copies, making it one of Eminem's two diamond-certified studio albums.
On December 8, 2003, The Media Research Center (MRC) said that the United States Secret Service admitted that it was "keeping an eye on Eminem" for his allegations and threats with the President of the United States. The lyrics in question are: