乐海流连

　　　充满争议的说唱乐歌手Eminem

In a few short months, Eminem has gone from being one of the most heralded emcees in independent hip-hop to one of the most provocative, controversial rappers in contemporary pop music. The overnight success of his debut album, The Slim Shady LP, literally rocked the rap world, making him one of the biggest music success stories of 1999.

　　Before he had the world singing along to "My Name Is …," he was Marshall Mathers, a poor kid growing up in Warren, Mich. As a child, he and his mother moved constantly, staying at relatives' homes. As a result, Marshall found it difficult to make friends, and he retreated into his comic books and television.

　　When Mathers was 12, his mother finally settled down on the east side of Detroit. There, he attended Lincoln Junior High School and Osbourne High School. He battled against other rappers at his high school, and quickly gained a reputation as a nimble rhymer. But his penchant for skipping school led him to fail the ninth grade. After dropping out of high school, he held down several odd jobs, while continuing to work on his craft.

emcee： 主持人，司仪；Eminem在成名前是独立音乐制作圈中一位小有名气的歌手兼创作人。
provocative：煽动的，刺激的；Eminem的歌曲总是与毒品，性，凶杀等争议话题有关，极富煽动性。
relatives： 亲戚；Eminem小时候由于家境贫寒，不得不和母亲寄居在亲戚的家里。
rhymer： 作诗者, 打油诗人。
penchant：强烈的倾向；Eminem喜欢逃学，因没有通过考试而不得不退学。

In 1998, Eminem put out The Slim Shady EP, which contained the original version of "Just Don't Give A …" The EP made him an underground star, and Eminem was invited to appear on underground MC Shabaam Sahdeeq's "Five Star Generals" single, Kid Rock's "Devil Without a Cause", and other rap releases.

　　Shortly afterward, The Slim Shady LP debuted at No. 3 on the Album Chart. Its sensationalistic depiction of rampant drug use, rape, sex, and violence horrified some; equally disturbing was Eminem's various four-letter-word insults directed at his mother and songs like "'97 Bonnie and Clyde," where Eminem fantasized about killing the mother of his child.

underground： 地下乐队；刚刚出道的Eminem经常帮助其他地下乐队制作歌曲。
debut：唱片首发；Eminem的第一张唱片The Slim Shady LP刚刚发行就在Billboard排行榜上排到了第三。
fantasize： 梦想，幻想；在充满争议的歌曲“97火车大盗”中，Eminem幻想杀死自己孩子的母亲。

As hectic as 1999 was, 2000 shaped up to be even more of a roller coaster ride. The millennium year saw the release of his third album, The Marshall Mathers LP, which promptly sold 1.76 million copies its first week out, an amount second only to 'N Sync.

　　Then came the controversies, which included being sued by his own mother, an arrest for pulling a gun at a nightclub, his wife's suicide attempt, almost getting banned from Canada, an impending divorce, and his lyrics being cited in a Senate hearing on violence in the entertainment industry.

　　Despite all these distractions, Eminem still managed to stay in the No. 1 spot for an astonishing eight weeks, and he collected three MTV Music Awards: Video of the Year and Best Male Video for "The Real Slim Shady" and Best Rap Video for his collaboration with Dr. Dre on "Forgot About Dre."

hectic： 兴奋的, 狂热的。
roller coaster：过山车；2000年对于Eminem来说就像坐过山车一样，先是新专辑的发行创造销售纪录，然后陷入一连串的麻烦和诉讼之中，之后又连续囊获多项音乐大奖。
controversy：争议；被亲生母亲和妻子起诉，因在夜总会持枪而造逮捕，妻子试图自杀，这一连串的麻烦搞得Eminem焦头烂额。
distraction：分心, 分心的事物；虽然有这么多的麻烦，Eminem的战绩仍然令人吃惊，Marshall Mathers LP连续八周名列排行榜第一。
MTV Music Awards：MTV音乐奖，美国的一项音乐大奖，Eminem今年在评选中夺得了年度最佳唱片，最佳男歌手与最佳说唱歌手三项大奖。