Music career
1988–1997: Early career, Infinite and family struggles
In 1988, he went by the stage name MC Double M and formed his first group, New Jacks, and made a self-titled demo tape with DJ Butter Fingers.[1][28][29] In 1989, they joined Bassmint Productions who later changed their name to Soul Intent in 1992 with rapper Proof and other childhood friends.[30] They released a self-titled EP in 1995 featuring Proof.[21] Eminem also made his first music video appearance in 1992 in a song titled, "Do-Da-Dippity", by Champtown. Later in 1996, Eminem and Proof teamed up with four other rappers to form The Dirty Dozen (D12), who released The Underground E.P. in 1997 and their first album Devil's Night in 2001.[10] He was also affiliated with Newark's rap collective Outsidaz, collaborating with them on different projects.[31]
In 1995, Eminem was signed to Jeff and Mark Bass' F.B.T. Productions and in 1995–1996 recorded his debut album Infinite for their independent Web Entertainment label.[22]: 15 The album was a commercial failure upon its release in 1996.[32] During this period, Eminem's rhyming style, primarily inspired by rappers Nas, Esham and AZ, lacked the comically violent slant for which he later became known.[22]: 16 Detroit disc jockeys largely ignored Infinite and the feedback Eminem did receive ("Why don't you go into rock and roll?") led him to craft angrier, moodier tracks.[10]
At this time, Eminem and Kim Scott lived in a crime-ridden neighborhood where their house was robbed several times.[10] Eminem cooked and washed dishes for minimum wage at Gilbert's Lodge, a family-style restaurant in St. Clair Shores.[22]: 14 His former boss described him as becoming a model employee, as he worked 60 hours a week for six months after the birth of his daughter, Hailie Jade Scott Mathers.[18]: 4 He was fired shortly before Christmas and later said, "It was, like, five days before Christmas, which is Hailie's birthday. I had, like, forty dollars to get her something."[10] After the release of Infinite, his personal problems and substance abuse culminated in a suicide attempt.[21] By March 1997, he was fired from Gilbert's Lodge for the last time and lived in his mother's mobile home with Kim and Hailie.[18]: 4
Shhh 912 is 9R
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