Eminem is one of the greatest rappers of all time. Not only has he built a legacy from a lyrical standpoint, but he’s also conquered the music industry commercially, and his influence is everywhere. Songs like ‘Lose Yourself’ and ‘Without Me’ are timeless and have played a significant role in hip-hop’s rise in the mainstream.
Em was born Marshall Mathers in 1972. After his father left, he was raised by his mother from around the age of two, leading him to move from St Joseph, Missouri, the city where he was born, to Savannah, Missouri, Kansas City, Warren, Michigan, and Roseville, Michigan, before settling in Detroit.
Before discovering hip-hop, his interest in storytelling began with comic books. The first rap song he ever heard was Chris ‘The Glove’ Taylor and David Storrs’ ‘Reckless’ featuring Ice-T off the soundtrack for 1984’s Breakin’ movie.
Slim Shady started rapping at the age of 14 alongside a high school friend. Together, they used the names Manix and M&M, with Em later changing his name to Eminem. After sneaking into rapper Proof’s school, Osborn High School, he would participate in lunchtime rap battles.
His fascination with hip-hop extended to out-of-school hours, when he attended open mic contests at the Hip-Hop Shop. Em dropped out of high school at 17 and worked many jobs to help his mother pay rent. It wasn’t until he was 24 that he released his debut album, Infinite. The LP was produced by himself and Denaun Porter, with Em selling copies from the boot of his car.
After signing to Dr Dre’s Aftermath label, Eminem released his second album, The Slim Shady LP, in 1999. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, including his hit single, ‘My Name Is’. From this point, his career would completely change.
The following year, he released The Marshall Mathers LP, which contained hits like ‘Stan’ and ‘The Real Slim Shady’. With features from Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Nate Dogg and D12, the album won Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards, just like The Slim Shady LP.
Every album he has released since then, The Eminem Show, Encore, Relapse, Recovery, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Revival, Kamikaze, Music to Be Murdered By, and The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), has debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
So, what is the best-selling Eminem album?
According to BestSellingAlbums, The Marshall Mathers LP is Eminem’s best-selling album. It boasts over 32 million sales and outsells the rest of his catalogue by a long shot. Below it is The Eminem Show with 20,896,750 sales, followed by his greatest hits album, Curtain Call: The Hits, with 15,733,091.
Further down the list, Recovery has 10,873,795, Encore has 8,918,504, The Slim Shady LP has 8,462,300, and The Marshall Mathers LP has 5,790,318. Rounding out the top 10 are Relapse with 4,415,000, Kamikaze with 2,100,010 and Revival with 1,826,373.
Speaking on The Marshall Mathers LP, Em once admitted, “I’ma keep it 100% honest: I feel like, and I’ve felt like this for a long time – I’ve always been chasing The Marshall Mathers LP. Because I know that captured a moment, you know what I’m saying? It’s kind of like a time capsule, when I look back at it. The times that it was back then and the turmoil in my life that was happening.”
He continued, “Shit was happening so fast and spiralling out of control. I had a lot of rage. When people say they miss the old Eminem, I feel like it’s probably that. You miss the rage. I don’t have the rage anymore that I used to have but I still have the exact same passion. Sometimes it doesn’t always come out the right way, and it’s like: ‘What the fuck is that? Take a pause, man.’”
