Purists may balk at the notion of Eminem’s Rock Hall induction, but several members of rock’s old guard have welcomed him with open arms. The rapper performed his iconic 2000 hit “Stan” with Elton John at the 2001 Grammy Awards in response to criticism from GLAAD over his homophobic lyrics, summoning waves of applause when he hugged John at the end of the performance. He’s Been Blending Rap and Rock for Years This unprecedented commercial dominance has made Eminem an unshakeable pillar of pop music and pop culture - his album sales dwarf most Rock Hall inductees - and his staggering achievements deserve to be acknowledged by the institution. Even a five-year hiatus from the music industry couldn’t dull his shine: He returned in 2009 with the chart-topping Relapse and has continued to rack up multiplatinum albums and chart-topping singles. He’s the best-selling rapper of all time and the best-selling artist of the ’00s in the U.S., with two of his LPs - 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002’s The Eminem Show - earning diamond certifications for U.S. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the first artist to do so. To call Eminem successful would be an understatement. Between 20, he debuted 10 consecutive albums at No. He’s One of the Best-Selling Artists of All Time Here are five reasons Eminem deserves to be enshrined. That dichotomy makes him one of popular music’s most fascinating figures and a perfect candidate for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
His albums continued to sell in the millions, and despite his sobriety, Eminem proved he was still capable of shocking listeners and critics with his ghastly lyrics, which still touted violence and were occasionally laced with sexist and homophobic epithets.Įminem’s success is undeniable, and his career is cinematic in scope, full of epic highs and devastating lows. The excesses of fame soon caught up to Eminem, and in 2005, he went on a music-industry hiatus. Following a 2007 methadone overdose, he got sober and returned with the chart-topping Relapse in 2009. 1 hit “Lose Yourself,” his first of many.
1 and sold a record 1.76 million copies in its first week. The rapper’s life became a whirlwind of sold-out shows, celebrity feuds, drug addiction and allegations of misogyny and homophobia. More gonzo album sales followed, and his come-up was immortalized in the 2002 film 8 Mile, which produced the No. and sold more than 4 million copies, transforming Eminem from a piss-broke battle rapper into one of the most successful, talented and controversial artists in the world. Still, this newfound success was only a glimmer of what was to come.Įminem’s next album, 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, debuted at No. Produced largely by Dre, the album reached No. Dre. Eminem signed to Interscope and released The Slim Shady LP in 1999. But his skills on the mic caught the attention of an Interscope Records intern, who passed his music on to Jimmy Iovine and Dr. In 1997, having recently been fired from his job and evicted from his home, Eminem placed second in Los Angeles’ Rap Olympics. The failure of Infinite inspired Eminem to create his Slim Shady persona consequently, it also marked the last time in his life that he wasn’t one of the most famous artists on the planet. His career got off to an inauspicious start with his 1996 debut album Infinite, which he sold largely out of the trunk of his car to the tune of an estimated 1,000 copies, at most. Curmudgeonly rock fans may sneer at the very mention of his name, but the Detroit rapper, who was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is a textbook Rock Hall candidate. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame‘s entire existence has been leading up to the nomination of an artist like Eminem.