Eminem - The Artist of the Decade

Success did not come easily to Eminem. He was first signed by a record company as early as 1992, but his debut album was released only in 1996. That album, called Infinite, sold less than 1000 copies, and many noted that the album borrowed too heavily from other rappers. But with his first hit album, The Slim Shady LP breaking all records, as they say, Eminem was an artist that was different from the one who released his first album. That album was released in February 1999, and over the next 10 decades of the succeeding decade, Eminem has proved himself to be the artist of the decade.

Eminem, named Marshall Mathers after birth, was raised by his single mom in poverty as they lived in different cities of Kansas before they settled in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan when he was 12. He became interested in rap and by the time he was 14, he was already performing amateur raps under the pseudonym M&M - which stood for Marshall Mathers. He later changed his stage name to Eminem - going by the pronunciation of M&M. Here we see Marshall Mathers becoming Eminem in name - as an artist, it would take him many more years.

By the end of the 90', Eminem was ready to hit the charts, and he did that by his first best-selling album The Slim Shady LP, released in year 1999.After that, Eminem has not looked back, though he did take a break from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, he came back with Relapse.

Best Selling Albums by Eminem

From the year 2000 to the end of 2009, Eminem sold a staggering 32.2 million albums in the US, outselling any other artist by a 3:1 margin. The following albums have made him the best selling artist of the decade. This list also shows the top Eminem albums by sales.

• The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)... 19 million
• The Eminem Show(2003)...............19 million
• Encore (2004)................................. 11 million
• The Slim Shady LP (1999)............... 9 million
• Recovery (2010)..............................5.7 million
• Relapse(2009).................................. 4.5 million

These are sales number for worldwide sales, which show that not only has he outsold every artist in the US, he is a giant even in international music. To get a complete idea about what makes him the artist of the decade, it is a great idea to listen to his songs. Just choose any of the above, and listen to the artist of the decade.

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