The judge couldn’t help herself when she called on the rapper before sentencing him in 2001

Back in the early noughties, Eminem was ascending to the rap stratosphere.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the young artist – real name Marshall Mathers III – who had his fair share of run-ins with the law.

One incident saw him hauled up before a judge in 2001 for two charges of carrying a concealed weapon and brandishing a weapon.

Both charges came following a confrontation in a car park with a Detroit rap group a year earlier, during which the two time Grammy winning singer allegedly pulled an unloaded 9-millimeter semi-automatic gun.

At the time, Eminem was facing a five-year prison sentence, which would have put a halt to his meteoric rise.

However, luck was on the side of a young rapper during his June court date, and he was instead sentenced to one year of probation.

He also paid more than $2,300 (£1,758) in fines and court fees, as well as partaking in community service.

The American rapper pleaded no contest to both charges, and told the court that the weapon was not loaded, while witnesses in the case said Eminem did not point the gun in anyone’s direction.

But amid the extremely serious circumstances surrounding the case, the hit that catapulted him to fame a year earlier, The Real Slim Shady, was used by the judge, who called on the song’s lyrics when addressing the rapper.

“Mr Mathers, now is the time for you to please stand up,” circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris told him.

She went on to warn the musician ‘he was lucky that no one was injured or killed’.

“Poor judgment is an understatement for what you did,” she added.

Eminem’s defence attorney, Wally Piszczatowski, described the sentence as ‘fair’ and said his client was ‘happy’ that ‘the criminal cases are over’.

Slim Shady was not amused by the judge’s quip. (PAUL SANCYA/AP POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“He’s very pleased that the judge treated him like (she) would treat any other citizen … rather than sentencing him due to celebrity status,” commented Piszczatowski.

Despite asking the judge to send the rapper to jail, prosecutor Mark Bilkovic was ‘satisfied’ with the decision.

“She’s going to be holding a hammer over his head for the next year… If he screws up one time, she’ll be on him,” he said.

The rapper remained unusually quiet during sentencing, commenting nothing but ‘No, ma’am’ when responding to the judge.

The sentencing occurred the same year the rapper was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, and gave an iconic performance of ‘Stan’ at the awards show with Elton John.