Being one of the more anticipated albums of 2002, The Eminem Show was not immune, as the album would be leaked 25 days prior to its original Jrelease date–one of the more notorious album leaks in history.
A number of high-profile albums were subject to illegal distribution on file-sharing sites, heavily impacting first-week sales figures for a number of artists. Taking a brief sabbatical from releasing albums while on the Up in Smoke, Family Values, and Anger Management tours throughout 2001, Eminem would return in 2002 with a body of work that would continue his reign as the biggest star in rap.īy 2002, bootlegging and piracy were becoming a thorn in the side of the music industry, with albums being leaked online prior to their official release dates. Attaining success is a feat in its own right and to be admired, but what separates the greats from the legends is the ability to find the inspiration, focus, and motivation to sustain that excellence after having accomplishing what had at one time seemed impossible. Having gone from releasing an unsuccessful debut album (1996s indie release Infinite) to becoming one of the biggest selling music artists of all-time within the span of five years, by the end of 2000 Eminem was perched atop the rap game, and had already garnered all of the acclaim and the trappings that come with success as an entertainer. 1 on the Billboard 200 and breaking the first week sales record for a solo artist, with 1.76 million copies sold, The Marshall Mathers LP would announce Eminem as the biggest star in rap, and among the more bankable stars in all of music, and would be a career-defining effort. That album would prove that he was more than a novelty rapper with shock-value tactics, but an artist capable of conveying emotion, vivid imagery, and storytelling, with brooding singles like “The Way I Am” and “Stan” both noted as instant classics, in addition to deep cuts like “Kill You” and “Kim” upping the ante on his controversial subject matter and storyteller. That question would be answered the following year, when his follow-up album The Marshall Mathers LP was released. Despite the success and critical acclaim surrounding the album, there were still questions as to whether Em was a flash-in-the-pan in the vein of a Vanilla Ice, or if he possessed the staying power to become a dominant force in rap. Dre assisted “Guilty Conscience” pushing the album past the four million sold mark. Making his major label debut in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP, which showcased his polarizing but impressive brand of dark humor and lyricism (and introduced the world to his infamously over-the-top alter ego, Slim Shady) Eminem became an overnight star, with hit singles like “My Name Is,” “Role Model,” and the Dr. & Rakim, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, 2Pac, and OutKast are among those who have pulled it off and in 2002, Marshall Mathers–better known to the world as Eminem–would find himself joining those legendary ranks and solidifying his rep as not only one of the best, but also one of the most successful rappers of all time with the release of his third studio album, The Eminem Show. In hip-hop, when it comes to delivering three classic albums in a row, an artist joins the upper echelon–some of the most revered acts in the genre never put together a three-album hot streak.
In basketball, you have the triple-double, in baseball, the triple-play. The number three has always held a special significance.
0 kommentar(er)
