From baggy jeans and bling blings to classic gangster-inspired suits and bowler hats, a distinct and evolving fashion style has always been an indispensable element of the hip hop industry. Hip hop fashion traces its roots to the clothing style of African-American youths. Since then it has drawn its influences from hip hop scenes in different parts of the United States, from California to New York, as well as from various elements of underground and popular culture.

One of the earlier clothing styles in hip hop was the sportswear coupled with conspicuous jewelry which became the signature look for old school rap. Tracksuits, bomber jackets, berets, Doc Martens, and sneakers were some of the common apparel then. Men sported gold chains while women wore large gold earrings. The sports apparel of Adidas, Nike, and Le Coq Sportif were some of the commonly patronized brands in the 1980s. The 1990s saw the growing popularity of more sportswear from Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Polo, Calvin Klein, and Nautica. This particular fashion style became known as the urban streetwear and was further supplied by such brands as FUBU, Ecko Unlimited, Walker Wear, and Boss Jeans.

The emergence of gangsta rap as a sub-genre of hip hop fueled another fashion statement, this time inspired by the clothing styles of street thugs and prison inmates. Gangsta rappers started wearing baggy pants, bandannas, and tattoos. Not a few conservatives reacted negatively to the sagging pants and low-hanging waistlines. A religious group tried to combat the fashion style by giving out belts while others sought to make it illegal.

Other hip hop personalities opted for the classy gangster look and wore double-breasted suits, bowler hats, silk shirts, and alligator-skin shoes. This Mafioso-inspired image was popularized by the Notorious B.I.G. and Sean Combs a.k.a. Diddy, with the latter becoming known as the Shiny Suit Man.

Recent trends in hip hop apparel show the influence of hipster and preppy styles. Oversized shirts were replaced with tighter-fitting short-sleeved shirts, tracksuits were traded for sports coats, and tighter denims were favored over sagging jeans. Some of the popular accessories are large belt buckles and skull and skeleton ornaments. Decorated hoodies, fitted caps, and trucker hats are also commonly worn.

Heavy jewelry has also become an enduring mark of hip hop fashion, symbolizing an ostentatious display of fame and wealth. Known in hip hop slang as bling bling, these flashy accessories became ubiquitous fashion icons and common semiotic elements in a lot of music videos. Gold jewelry was the craze in the 80s but it was eventually edged out by silver and platinum. Grills or removable metal teeth coverings also became popular among celebrities.

With the development of hip hop fashion, rap artists eventually ventured into the clothing business and started producing their own labels. The rap group Wu-Tang Clan has its Wu-Wear, Damon Dash and Jay-Z have Rocawear, and Diddy has Sean John. Diddy also bagged the 2003 Menswear Designer of the Year Award given by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Other hip hop personalities with their own clothing lines are Eminem, 50 Cent, Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons, and OutKast.

What do I name my baby? Along with minor things like, how will I support my child and oh my goodness the baby is how many pounds and coming through how big an opening, this is a question that plagues new parents today. More and more people are shooting for originality in the naming process, wanting to be certain that their child is unique, one who stands out from the crowd.

Of course, if you wanted to fit in, you could pick up one of the most popular baby names. For girls, the top ten includes (in order from #1 to #10): Emily, Emma, Madison, Abigail, Olivia, Isabella, Hannah, Samantha ,Ava, or Ashley. Boys can pick from: Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, Andrew, Daniel, Anthony, Christopher, or Joseph. But these seem to blasé.

Why not go for a celebrity name? Jennifer ranks pretty high in 2005, although it has dropped significantly over the past fifteen years, falling from #8 in 1991 to #42 last year. Perhaps Ms. Anniston and J-Lo aren’t considered worthy. Madonna didn’t even make the grade of the top 1000 baby names; of course, most new parents today probably scarcely remember her. Then again, I wouldn’t want my daughter’s friends singing “Like a Virgin” every time she came to class. Paris has moved up on the charts significantly in the last three years. Perhaps new parents are hoping to find a claim to the Hilton fortune. But ‘Brittany’ seems to be in a downward trend. Maybe it will pick up as those teen girls get a little older.

Looking for a manly boys name to convey that rugged independence? How about ‘Marley’, which ranks as #467 in 2005? A big fan of ‘The Princess Bride’? Go with ‘Westley’, and perhaps your son will turn out to be an adventuring pirate who bravely slays ROUSes. (Sadly, ‘Buttercup’ didn’t make the list. Maybe ‘Daisy’?) Since the tide of popular opinion has turned against Brad Pitt, the name ‘Brad’ will most likely continue to decline in popularity. Oddly, despite the former success of both Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks, the name ‘Tom’ hasn’t even been among the top 1000 picks for nearly ten years. And thankfully, Eminem has escaped the top rankings, as well.

Celebrities come and go, but their names tend to stick around for a long time. You never know when Hollywood may be calling to your child, and giving them a head start may help. Then again, it may keep them safe at home.

Statistical information came from the Social Security Administration's baby name website.

Firstly revealed by the fable Dr.Dre, and then debut of the Eminem Show, his firstly set on Shady Recording label, already had most leading hiphop fans mad abount Marshall Mathers. Jam packed of powerful lyrical cuts that dig deep into the mentality of a pervertly warped but exceedingly exceptional rap artist, the raps contains some of the most non compromising and chilling controversal lyrics ever recorded. And the primary grounds for the immense profits of Marshall Mathers.

Marshall Mathers perhaps summarizes his white hiphop artist name the best by saying "Just sometimes one motherf***er makes it and finally that just happens to be me." It will have to be seen how long Eminem would be about, but his prospects sure have exceeded the man eminem is most frequently equated with, Vanilla Ice. However he is not slim shadys only enemy in the hip hop globe. Vanilla Ice told The Source recently that Slimshady "raps like a girl" adding "I merely dont like that tiny screaky voice." Slim Shady also distinguishes himself from the Ice man by going on the attack against just about everybody in his raps.

Eminem , was born October 17th, nineteen seventy two, may be probably the most controversial and recognized rap music rapper of this era, having the alias Slimshady. Slim Shady is perhaps better know for being one of the few revolutionising white rapper in the rap industry, not to mention one of most successful artists. Eminem is also notorious for the negative influence involving lots of his lyrics, that has been stated by critics to be racist, angry and dodgy.

You better
Lose yourself, in the music, the moment
You own it
You better never let it go
You only get one shot
Do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime

-Eminem, “Lose Yourself”

Eminem, the controversial blonde-haired, blue-eyed rapper from the streets of Detroit gives one of his best and most inspiring performances in the Oscar winning song, "Lose Yourself" from the 8-Mile motion picture soundtrack in which he was the star. The song gives insight on the ambition of a young wanna-be rapper. What's so inspiring about this song is that it speaks to all our ambitions along with our procrastinations and you could easily apply the message in the song to your own life.

The above quote is the catchy chorus within the song and though Eminem is referring to the pursuit of musical success, the profound chorus is actually encouraging (maybe you can even say, demanding) the listener to "lose yourself" in what it is you're passionate about. There's a moment; THE moment in all of our lives where we only get one chance to seize the opportunity, achieve and change our lives forever. Slim Shady (as he's affectionately called) inspires us to "own" the moment and don't let a once in a lifetime opportunity pass by.

In "Lose Yourself", Eminem is masterful at telling the story of an underdog whose sheer desire gives him the strength and courage to pursue his dream. We all have felt like an underdog at some point in our lives. This song could be the soundtrack to your life serving as inspiration throughout your triumphs and failures. "Lose yourself" in whatever you are doing or want to do in your life. When that moment comes, seize it, own it and never let it go until you reach the top.

Born on 17th Oct, 1973 at St.Joseph, Missouri Marshall Bruce Mathers III popularly known as Eminem in the music world is one of the most recognized names in the music world. He is also known by the name Slim Shady. Eminem is one of the most controversial rap artists that have graced the music world. His popularity is huge and it is not limited just to America and some European countries only, but his name and fame spreads worldwide. Some of his traits like controversial lyrics, quick wit and rebellion make him different from other artists in the music arena. Eminem has had a difficulty childhood and has seen many hard times in his life. Probably this is the reason why his songs touch children who are have a troubled life. Eminem’s songs are not meant for any target audience, but he sings for all and here some people do find his lyrics offending or explicit.

Eminem’s debut hit single My Name was a huge hit. Eminem is not only a talented singer, but also a good music producer as well. His childhood days were spent in extreme poverty, his mother relocated to Michigan to live in public housing shelter, in relative’s home and in mobile homes as well. His mother Debbie was prescribed drugs for some medical conditions and later she became an addict to these prescription drugs. His mother’s drug abuse is evident in the lyrics of many of Eminem’s songs. He began performing at an early age of thirteen under the name M&M taken from his initials. Eminem was of Caucasian race and for this he faced difficulty as he was not readily accepted everywhere. But it was solely due to his music talent that he has gained worldwide popularity and acceptance.

The suicide of Ronnie Eminem’s uncle and friend was very devastating for him in the year 1991. However he took up things to support his wife Kim who was pregnant with his daughter. He released his first independent solo album Infinite in the year 1996. The album received mixed reviews and criticism. The critics found his music to be too much similar to rappers AZ and Nas; this was proved to be the major reason for the failure of the album. After this failure his wife left him and prevented him for seeing his daughter. The lyrics of his songs became more personal and dark at this time due to the separation from his wife and child and also due to his failed suicide attempts. All his lyrics contained his disturbing and his negative outlook to life. He abused drug and was addicted to sleep inducing medicine. Subsequently he entered a rehabilitation center to take car of his addiction to the drug.

Eminem has won numerous music awards including nine Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards and host of MTV Video Music Awards and MTV European Music Awards. Some of the other awards that he won include Teen choice Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Detroit Music Awards and World Music Awards. His popularity is worldwide and his growing number of fans is testimony to that.

Eminem’s roots can be found in Scandinavia through his mother Debbie Nelson and in South Wales through his father Marshall Bruce Mathers II.

But Eminem has mostly Scottish blood running through his veins. On both sides( maternal and paternal sides), Scottish roots can be found.

Back to the 7 th generation on the paternal side, Peter Mathers from Pennsylvania married a Scottish woman named Isabella (last name unknown). On the maternal side, Scottish roots can be found in Marshall’s family in the 6 th generation : Ailsa Mc Allister from Edingburgh emigrated to the United States –precisely to New York in 1870.

Most of the Mathers have been working as farmers in the state of Missouri.

Marshall Mathers I, Eminem’s paternal grandfather has been working as an assistant hotel manager at Plainsman Hotel in st Joseph Missouri and his wife Rae has been employed at Del Cornonado hotel in guest services.

When Eminem’s paternal grandmother Rae died recently in 2002 from an Alzheimer desease , Marshall Mathers II discovered interesting documents related to his famous son like a Christmas card from Marshall addressed to his grandmother Rae.


Ethymology of the name Mathers


Mathers means mower or reaper.


History of the name Mathers

The name Mathers is related to the Scottish Barclay clan. The family Barclay settled down in a place called Mathers in Scotland in the 13 th century. The history of the Mathers goes back to an english immigrant Theobald de Berkeley and his son who owned the estate of Mathers. Alexander was the first to use the surname Mathers.



Pronounciation of the surname Mathers

It is commonly admitted that the surname Mathers is pronounced as if there was an y in the middle of the name : Ma(y)thers .

If you want to know more about the history and genealogy of the family Mathers, you can find some interesting info here :

homepage.ntlworld.com/davepalmer/eminem/credits.htm



I’d like to thank the people who made up this interesting website. I discovered a lot of info about Marshall’s paternal side. I have a lot of info about his maternal side, so I hope to be able to complete his family tree as soon as possible.

As the New Year begins, musicians in all genres prepare for the release of new music. My most anticipated release from these musicians is Infinity on High from Fall Out Boy. New tracks include “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” “The Take Over, The Break’s Over,” and a collaboration with rapper Jay Z entitled “Thriller.” The album is due out in the US on February 6th.

The Oklahoma born country singer Blake Shelton is also releasing an album in the early part of 2007. Pure BS will be out in stores on March 27th. The first single, “Don’t Make Me,” was released in late 2006.

A rather surprising announcement has been made by Marshall Mathers, aka. Eminem. After announcing his retirement in 2005, Eminem will be releasing another album in 2007. He is also a member of the hip-hop group D-12 which is also releasing an album in the spring of 2007. This comes as a shock to many fans because of the tragic death of group member Proof. D-12’s new album will be entitled The Ambition. There has been no word on when Eminem’s album will drop, of the name of that album.

Two musicians will be remembered in the year 2007 with album releases after their deaths. Rapper Tupac Shakur will reportedly be honored with the release of another album after his death on September 13, 1996. This will be the 12th album released after his murder. There has been no announcement made on the details of this album; however, fans are waiting in anticipation for the album to be released.

Elvis Presley, also known as “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” is also being honored with an album. Although no details are being released at this time, it seems as if the album will be a compilation of previously recorded and released songs.

2007 looks to be a year of great music. Many artists are releasing albums that are very different from their earlier ventures. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open.