Rap Star Eminem to Be Arraigned in Mich. Court

Detroit rap star Eminem, the best-selling recording artist in the nation, is expected to be arraigned this morning in Macomb County, Mich., on charges of felonious assault and carrying a concealed weapon, sources said.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, was arrested with his wife, Kimberly Scott Mathers, early Sunday following a marital dispute at a nightclub in Warren, a suburb of Detroit.

Law enforcement sources say the 26-year-old rapper was allegedly carrying an unloaded handgun at the time of his arrest. The white recording artist applied for a permit to carry a weapon three months ago and had been approved but had yet to take a required one-day safety course.

Mathers is expected to be officially charged this morning in the 37th District Court in Warren, the same place where his wife was arraigned Monday on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. The rapper, whose new “Marshall Mathers LP” sold nearly 1.8 million copies last week, faces five years in prison if convicted.

The rapper, who specializes in brutal fictional tales laced with obscenities, is expected to dominate Billboard magazine’s national pop chart again this week.

Mathers, whose early influences include the Beastie Boys, is one of the most respected rappers in the music business. He recorded his first album two years ago with the industry’s top record producer, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young.

In the two weeks since the release of “Marshall Mathers LP,” the recording has sold nearly as many copies as his Grammy-winning debut, “Slim Shady,” has over the last two years. The plots to Mathers’ songs are often grisly. On one track, his alter ego, Slim Shady, murders his wife and brings their infant daughter along while he disposes of the body--all set against a seductive hip-hop beat. On the new album, he dedicates another tune to his wife titled “Kim,” in which the narrator kills the woman.

Shortly after the first album’s release, the editor of Billboard, the nation’s most influential record trade publication, denounced the disc as “making money by exploiting the world’s misery.”