Random Fascinating Facts You Didn't Already Know About Eminem (27 items)

(#5) He's a Classic Video Game Fiend

In addition to loving comic books, Eminem also has a soft spot for classic video games. His studio lobby is littered with full size classic arcade machines. Including but not limited to: Frogger, Donkey Kong, and Space Invaders. He became obsessed after watching the documentary King of Kong and even had two of his machines signed by the film's subject and game record holder, Steve Wiebe.
Source: Rolling Stone
(#2) Before He Cut His First Album, He Made $5.50 an Hour

Back in 1992, Eminem signed with FBT records after years of barely scraping by, trying to make ends meet. For a time, he worked as a cook and a dishwasher at Gilbert's Lodge, a small family restaurant in Michigan, making a mere $5.50 an hour.
Five days before Christmas, and soon after releasing Infinite in 1996, he was fired from the restaurant; it also happened to be his daughter's birthday. He wrote "Rock Bottom" right after that.
Source: Rolling Stone
(#25) He Used to Write and Record Songs While High on Ecstacy

While recording his first album, Dre and Eminem would often take ecstasy while writing and recording. This tradition continued through his second album (and eventually turned into an addiction). In an interview with Music 360, he discussed the drugs and the Marshall Mathers LP:
"A couple of the songs on the new record were written on X. It exaggerates sh*t. Somebody will be just looking at me wrong and I'll just flip a table over, like, what the f*ck are you staring at?! If you're in a good mood you love everybody, but if you're in a bad mood and you got sh*t on your mind, you're gonna break down and sh*t. The hardest sh*t that I've f*cked with is X and 'shrooms."

Source: Eminem.net
(#9) His Different Names Represent Different Personas

He told Spin magazine, "Slim Shady is the name for my temper or Anger. Eminem is just the rapper, Slim Shady is the attitude behind him, and Marshall Mathers is who I am at the end of the day."
Source: SPIN
(#19) Vanilla Ice's Popularity Almost Made Eminem Leave the Rap Game

While the Beastie Boys's success inspired the young Marshall Mathers, the success of Vanilla Ice in the '90s nearly ended his rap aspirations.

"That crushed me," he said of first hearing Ice's smash single, "Ice Ice Baby," in 1991. Eminem (in his late teens at the time) was living in a low-income, predominantly Black neighborhood and already testing his rap skills. "At first, I felt like I didn't want to rap anymore. I was so mad because he was making it really [hard] for me... But then 3rd Bass restored some credibility, and I realized that it really depends on the individual. Vanilla Ice was just fake. 3rd Bass was real."

Source: LA Times
(#13) His Favorite Movie Is Superbad

Eminem befriended Jonah Hill on the set of Funny People and admitted to the actor that Superbad was his favorite movie ever. Hill told MTV, “Eminem says his favorite movie is Superbad, ever of all time, And he said to me, I’m not kidding — this is not like me being, ’I’m cool’ — he said if there was an award for best movie ever, he thinks Superbad should win. He quotes all the scenes to me.”
Source: MTV