Eminem returns to Abu Dhabi

Since his late-'90s global breakout, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, aka Slim Shady, aka Eminem has more or less continuously resided at the pinnacle of hip hop. Fallow years only facilitated reinvention to the point one can chart the 'ages of Eminem' through various singles thusly: a) cheeky chappie circa My Name Is (1999), b) provocateur - Without Me (2002), c) satirist - We Made You (2009), d) mentor - Love The Way You Lie (2010) and e) statesman - Venom (2018). This Friday the artist returns to Abu Dhabi for the first time since 2012 for a one-off performance at du Arena, Yas Island, supporting his most recent album, Kamikaze. The record, released in September 2018, marks Eminem's ninth straight release to debut at number one on the Billboard charts in the U.S, in addition to four other chart-topping releases from D-12 (two), Bad Meets Evil, and the soundtrack from his film 8 Mile.

To get us in the mood, we thought we'd do a deep dive on the performer's career, offer up some trivia and even a bit of concert info in which you can sink your teeth.

Hey, big seller

Over the course of his career, Eminem has sold over 130 million albums and 389 million singles worldwide. He was Nielsen SoundScan's top-selling artist of the 2000s with 32.2 million albums sold in the U.S. alone. Eminem was named Billboard's Artist of the Decade for the same period, 2000 through 2009.

An awarding experience

Eminem has won 15 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. His 2010 album, Recovery, was the first album in U.S. history to go platinum digitally. His most recent album, Kamikaze, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 434,000 copies in its first week.

What's in a name?

The concoction of Marshall Mathers' stage names may be straightforward to some, but perhaps newer fans are not aware of the legend. Eminem is derived from the singer's initials, M.M., and Slim Shady is used when his rhymes take a rougher or meaner turn

Dido says Thank You

In his 2000 single, Stan, Eminem received permission from British artist Dido to sample the first verse of her song Thank You on his track and also persuaded her to appear in the accompanying dark video as Stan's pregnant girlfriend. Dido's debut record, No Angel, upon which Thank You featured, went from relative obscurity to the world's top-selling album of 2001.

I kid

A prominent subject in much of Eminem's earlier work, daughter Hailie Jade is now 23-years old and is a social media influencer with 1.7 million Instagram followers.

My band

The band to which Eminem belongs is called D12 and was formed in 1996. Their name stands for the Dirty Dozen.

Marital Mathers

Although the two have notoriously had a turbulent relationship - just listen to some of Eminem's lyrics, not least on the song titled Kim (2000), he and long-time partner Kimberley Scott have been married twice: once in 1999 (divorcing in 2001) and again briefly in 2006.

Music mogul

Eminem founded Shady Records in 1999 and signed 50 Cent in 2002. It is currently home to artists including Bad Meets Evil and Boogie.

Movie magic

Eminem was reportedly offered the lead role in the 2013 sci-fi film Elysium but turned it down because the director would not move the shooting location from LA to hometown Detroit. His most notable silver screen role continues to be Jimmy "B-Rabbit" in the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile (2002).

All the deets

A few last-minute tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.ae and, if you want to make a special weekend of it, book a stay at the Rixos Saadiyat Island for two-nights between October 23-26 and you'll get 25 per cent off the best available all-inclusive rate plus two tickets to the show.