He spits the rhymes and has sold more than 42 million records throughout the world. Everyone’s favorite rapper from Detroit is constantly landing on billboard charts and has a list of emotion-slamming diss tracks that could go on and on for miles. He has made his stamp on the entertainment industry and just about everyone who is familiar with pop-culture knows his name. Eminem has become a tremendous icon in the rap scene and is highly respected by millions of people. It is hard for anyone else to touch him or top what he’s done.

Eminem may be the best-selling artist of the 2000s, but he is not as perfect as some die-hard fans may make him out to be. Everyone has their secrets–and everyone has partaken in situations that they may not be that proud of. Everyone is guilty–including Eminem. His songs are so mysterious, so wouldn’t you think he as a person is, too? He raps about previous love affairs, his beautiful children and a lot of things that have turned his world upside down–so you know Eminem is not afraid of sharing his life stories. If you were curious, here are some of his secrets that he hasn’t been so open about or that may just seem interesting.

15 He has multiple children

Every Eminem fan has heard his songs about his daughter Hailie. So many of his speeding lyrics were written about his daughter and only a fool would deny his love for his little girl. Hailie may be the most spoken of child in the picture, but Slim Shady has two other daughters that you might not know about.

He has custody of two other young ladies named Whitney and Alaina. His daughter Alaina is actually adopted. She is his wife’s niece. He took her in at a young age and has raised her as his own–which is an extremely amazing thing to do. His youngest daughter–Whitney–is the daughter of a man whom Eminem’s wife cheated on him with. Even though his wife was unfaithful, Shady still decided to adopt the child and provide for her as if she were his own.

14 He had to be put into a coma

At 9 years old, Eminem was not having the best time of his life. Like a lot of children, he was being bullied. His bullying was being taken to the furthest degree possible, though, because he was constantly being tormented and beaten by nefarious peers for reasons that make no sense at all.

In one incident, he was hurt so terribly that he was put into a coma for over a week. After being hit in the head with a snowball, he had to be medically induced for 10 days. The snowball had a stone inside it and he was left bleeding on the bathroom floor at his school for several hours until being found. The incident caused serious memory loss and brain damage for a while, but Slim Shady seems to have gotten over the situation.

13 Seized at the age of 20

Of course, people always assume that every male rapper is a bad boy. It is the stereotype, is it not? Well, growing up in Detroit was not the pleasant happening. A lot of young people tend to get caught up in dangerous or complicated events when they are living in a huge city with a great deal of sketchy areas.

Shady was probably trying to be cool or he was just doing stupid things like young boys do with their friends and he got caught up in a drive-by. During the drive-by, he shot paint balls at a cop car and was jailed for doing so. Apparently, he got pretty lucky, though, because the victim of the drive-by did not show up in court–so he was let off the hook.

12 Lefty loosie

This is not a very big secret, and if it is, it is not a secret that you would consider to be racy or scandalous. Maybe you will find it scandalous, though. Who knows? You may still find it interesting. It is possible that Eminem could be found shopping at Ned Flanders’ famous Leftorium because–surprise–he is left-handed! If you keep your eyes open during his music videos, you can sometimes notice him writing lyrics left-handed in notepads.

According to studies, only 10 percent of all of the world’s population is left-handed, so some people find it fascinating when they notice someone not using their right hand to draw, write or grab. It is just a cute little fun fact, but it is still fairly cool. Do you know anyone who happens to be left-handed?

11 He isn’t much of a reader

You can go anywhere in the universe if you read. Books can take you to so many places that you have never even imagined and they can make these trips feel so magical. It is possible that Eminem is not that much into traveling because he has admitted to only having read one book completely in his entire life.

I Make My Own Rules, written by the great LL Cool J, is the only full-length book that Shady has gotten through. For such a great poet, it just seems shocking. Maybe you can relate because a lot of people do not enjoy taking the time to read, but for the people that do, can you imagine? Forty-five years on this earth and only getting through a single inspiring book. It seems crazy for a lot of people.

10 He asked for some very personal help from Elton John

A while back, Eminem admitted to have gotten very close to the eight-time Grammy winner Elton John. Shady said to the Detroit Metro Times, “Me and him have had similar lives and stuff.” He narrated how he was becoming addicted to non-prescribed pain-killers and it was starting to take a very large toll on his life.

After a near fatal experience, Shady called up his fancy British friend for assistance. John spoke to Eminem about the struggles of addiction and how he could overcome the urges that were destroying his life. John continued to give Shady lots of pep talks and was definitely being a great friend.

His advice was obviously taken note of because Slim Shady has been clean ever since, as far as we know.

9 You may have to battle him for a label

Eminem founded his record label, Shady Records, in 1999 with his manager and it is has become a highly successful organization ever since Shady released his second studio album Slim Shady LP. Some performers who have signed with Shady Records are D12, Slaughterhouse, 50 Cent and the southern rapper known as Yelawolf.

Tons of people strive to be a part of this award-winning label, but to do so, you must first complete a simple task. The task actually may not be as simple as you’d think. In order to be approved, you have to partake in a rap battle with Eminem. Does that not sound terrifying? It is like competing against a God.

You do not necessarily have to win against Shady to be accepted, which is great because it seems impossible. You just have to be brave enough to try and be successful at it. Nerves are sure to get the best of whoever attempts this battle.

8 He dropped out of high school

This is unfortunately the outcome for a lot of young people. Dropping out of high school seems like a plausible option for students who are intimidated by the difficulties of curriculum. It most certainly is not an action that you would want to preach to others to do, but for a couple of people, it ends up okay. You do not have to graduate to be a successful person and Eminem is proof of this statement.

He flunked the 9th grade three times–yeah, three times–before he decided to call it quits on his high school studies. He didn’t receive any sort of diploma, college degree or certificate and he is still extremely respected by his fans and he has loads of money. If you don’t believe you can be successful without graduating, just ask Shady’s 15 Grammys and two Oscars how they feel.

7 He read the dictionary to expand his lyrics

Thousands of people can agree that one of the most monotonous and boring things you could do in your life is to sit down to read a dictionary. Those huge books are full of nothing but pronunciations and meanings of words that take up page after page. Well, your favorite rapper confessed to reading dictionaries over and over so he could expand his lyrical knowledge.

It is kind of genius, to be honest. It shows how professional he really is. If you are dedicated enough to your verses to flip through a dictionary on a constant just to learn new words, you need a trophy. He has several but still. For the holidays, maybe he would prefer a Thesaurus over a dictionary. Give him some variety. It may be a little more entertaining than just reading Webster’s.

6 Slim shady is a nerd

Everyone is blameworthy of having a nerdy side. This is especially true for Eminem. He is said to have a comic book collection that is extremely vast. Shady’s executive even told MTV that his accumulation of comics is “Otherworldly.” Eminem has a huge love for superheroes such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Batman and Superman and he has had this love from a very young age.

A lot of us look up to these fictional heroes when we’re younger because we dream of being like them. Before he got into rapping, he wanted to become an illustrator for comic books and graphic novels. He used to draw a lot and was very passionate about his artwork. It appears that busting rhymes just appealed to him more. It most definitely is making him more of a profit than illustrating would have.

5 He came up with his alias on the toilet

Do you have a nickname? If so, did you come up with it? Eminem’s legal name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III and “Eminem” is a euphemism for his initials. Have you ever wondered how he came up with the name Slim Shady? It is his famous alias that he calls himself and it has made a huge mark on his career.

According to rumors, he got this pseudonym while he was “taking care of business” on the toilet. This is believable because you have to admit, you come up with some of your best ideas while you’re popping a squat. It’s silent (usually) and it helps us focus. No one exactly knows the process that helped him discover the name, but the fact that it was while he was pottying is kind of funny.

4 He was sued by his mother

How would you feel if your parent were to sue you? It would hurt terribly, would it not? Think of how you would feel if you received a letter in the mail from the court saying you were being sued by your mom. Mathers’ mother took him to court after filing a $1 million lawsuit against him. She made this claim because she said her son “slandered her” during her previous lawsuit.

She did not win the $1 million that she was after and it is obvious that Eminem’s mother was just trying to collect some more cash. It does not seem like a very motherly thing for a parent to basically try to steal from their child. She has since come out with a memoir that she claims tells her side of the story that not many people care to hear/think about.

3 He was a target for the secret service

It is hard to say anything anymore without being investigated by someone. Everything we say and do is probed and taken apart so people can try to determine “what we mean” by it. Back in 2003, there was a song that was leaked. The song was calledWe Are American.”

In this song, Eminem had a lyric that read, “I don't rap for dead presidents. I'd rather see the president dead." It is a pretty macabre line within his song which makes it understandable why he was observed, but it is still insane to think that our secret service was close to taking our favorite rapper away. It was rumored to be a lyric directed toward President Bush, but Shady's people said the line was actually a metaphor for cash, which led the case to be dropped.

2 Don’t stare at him

Not many people are fond of the idea of being watched. If someone is eyeballing you, you're probably going to get a weird feeling. There have been reports of Slim Shady becoming very uncomfortable when he is being stared at.

It is completely justifiable because having someone’s eyes on you for a long period of time is a cringe-worthy moment. It can cause anxiety and it makes a lot of people sweat. It is rather unexpected though for a celebrity–especially one who is a performer–to have scopophobia since they are on stage so often.

Eyes are constantly on him. Perhaps that is why he wears his shades so much. It is a possibility! His fear has most likely faded or isn’t as strong because he travels the world performing in front of millions.

1 Nip/tuck

You would not expect someone with that “tough guy” appeal to go and get work done on their face, would you? If not, prepare to be amazed because Mr. Marshall Mathers has–or at least he has according to rumors. If you take a look at a timeline of his face from 1999 to 2017, you can notice the idea of the presence of a surgeon. He started to develop wrinkles and some slight skin sagging just like most other Caucasian men experience, but all of a sudden, they disappeared.

His crow’s feet took a hike and his lowering jaws made their way back up. It is suggested that Mathers has possibly had a facelift or some sort of facial Botox to help develop his new face. It is possible that his face “just changed” because anything is possible when you have enough money. No one is going to believe that you did not get touched by a few scalpels when your face is completely different.