Eminem almost quit rap after his first ever public performance. The "Stan" hitmaker started out battle rapping in Detroit in the early 90s, but was so embarrassed when he was booed he almost quit entirely.

"The first time I rapped in front of actual people that mattered, in a club, I got booed. And it was very traumatic for me. I just remember it being so f***ing traumatic, and I think I went home and I was like, man, I quit. And you know a week later, a day later, an hour later I got the urge, and I was like, I gotta get up, I gotta do it again."

Eminem has since become one of the most successful rappers of all time, and says he owes his life to the rap game: "I certainly feel like if it wasn't for rap, obviously, I wouldn't be here, but it gave me my voice, it gave me my outlook, it gave me strength, you know what I came back from, overdose and a whole load of s**t - without rap I wouldn't be able to do a f***ing thing."

"This is the one thing I feel that I feel like I have and a can do well, if I didn't have this I don't think I could do anything else, except for maybe play basketball," he continued.

Eminem is one of a number of rappers who stars in new film, Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap directed by Ice-T and featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Q-Tip and many more. The film will be released on DVD in October.