Turned recluse, Eminem imprisoned himself in his Michigan home and steered clear of the limelight for nearly three years. Since 2005, rumors have spread about his weight gain, addiction to sleeping pills and his passion for Taco Bell. His rise to fame, bitter divorce, drug addiction, acting career and borderline agoraphobia all coincide with Presley's short life.



The Eminem-Elvis comparisons work on several levels and have been budding in the media since Eminem first rocketed to fame ? becoming the highest selling rapper of all time with over 70 million albums sold worldwide. When Elvis took the stage in much more innocent times, he was accused of monopolizing African American music while putting on lewd performances that drew harsh criticism. Eminem, having topped the charts as a rapper, was accused of the same and his performances and lyrics have been condemned by world leaders as ?distasteful? and ?offensive.?

Later in life, Elvis succumbed to his drug addiction, stayed at home and packed on the pounds. In fact, Elvis put on so much weight that his life was broken up into two parts: ?Fat Elvis? (during his ?recluse? and ?comeback? years) and ?Skinny Elvis? (everything before becoming a recluse). After locking himself away, Eminem has also gotten fat. His mother has been quoted as saying, ?He's let his blond hair grow out, so everything but the ends are dark, his face has broken out in pimples and he's put on so much weight ??

Elvis, for the most part, successfully pulled off a comeback that reignited his career. The big question is, can Eminem do the same? He supposedly is back at the studio, hard at work. This is a definite change since the release of ?Curtain Call? which was thought to be his last album. Eminem even called ?Curtain Call? a symbol of his uncertain future. Fans are now on the edge of their seat, waiting for a new album to materialize.

In the song ?Without Me,? Eminem writes: I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, to do black music so selfishly and use it to get myself wealthy!?