According to AllMusic, Mathers began rapping as “M&M” at the age of 14, alongside a friend from school who called himself “Manix.” During the formative years of his career, Eminem also went by MC Double M (Celeb Answers) — a name he used during the formation of The New Jacks, alongside DJ Butter Fingers. The latter’s real name is Matt Ruby, Mike Ruby (Manix)’s twin brother. Other groups were formed as Mathers encountered new artists, per Celeb Answers, with Bassmint Productions later giving way to the iconic D12.
Perhaps quickly realizing that he shared his most prominent new name with a popular chocolate treat, the moniker “M&M” went through another period of refinement. It seems that Mathers preferred the look of the name when it was written phonetically, and so “Eminem” was born. Through the course of the 1990s, this was the name under which he would take the music world by storm, attracting fame, success and controversy in equal measure along the way. It’s all just another part of the rapper’s surprising story.
