Song of the day for May 23, 2024

The Real Slim Shady by Eminem is today’s featured song.

On this day in 2000, Eminem released his groundbreaking third album, The Marshal Mathers LP. Despite the controversial nature of many of its songs, the semi-autobiographical title was embraced by critics – particularly for its introspective lyricism. One of the fastest-selling albums of all time in the US, The Marshal Mathers LP debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, holding the top spot for eight consecutive weeks. It produced several hits, including the rapper’s first US Top Ten hit, “The Real Slim Shady,” and the international smash “Stan.”

The Marshall Mathers LP sold 1.78 million copies in its first week, which made it one of the fastest-selling studio albums in the United States. The album sold twice as much as the previous hip hop record holder for first week sales in the US, which was Snoop Dogg’s 1993 album Doggystyle. The Marshall Mathers LP sold over 800,000 copies in its second week, 600,000 copies in its third week, and 520,000 copies in its fourth week for a four-week total of 3.65 million. It also became one of the few albums to sell over half a million copies for four consecutive weeks. In total, the album spent eight weeks at number one on the US Billboard 200, ranking it fourth on the current all-time list of weeks spent at number one by a hip hop album. By the end of 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP had become the second best-selling album of the year with over eight million copies sold. The Marshall Mathers LP was also the best-selling album of 2000 in Canada, selling 679,567 copies.