The Eminem Show

The Eminem Show
Studio album by Eminem
Released June 4, 2002
Recorded November 2001–April 2002
Detroit, Michigan
(Encore Studios)
(Marshall Mathers's House)
(54 Sound Studio)
Genre Hardcore hip hop, comedy rap, horrorcore, rap, hip-hop
Length 77:30
Label Shady, Aftermath, Interscope
Producer Dr. Dre (exec.)
Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mr. Porter
Eminem chronology
The Marshall Mathers LP
(2000)		 The Eminem Show
(2002)		 Encore
(2004)
Singles from The Eminem Show
  1. "Without Me"
    Released: May 12, 2002
  2. "Cleanin' Out My Closet"
    Released: September 17, 2002
  3. "Superman"
    Released: 2003 (U.S. only)
  4. "Sing for the Moment"
    Released: February 25, 2003
  5. "Business"
    Released: July 22, 2003

The Eminem Show is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eminem, released in 2002.

The Eminem Show was the best-selling album of 2002. At the Grammy Awards of 2003 it was nominated for Album of the Year and became Eminem's third LP in four years to win the award for Best Rap Album. It has been certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA, and has sold over 9.8 million copies in the U.S.[1] and over 19 million albums worldwide.[2] In 2003, the album was ranked number 317 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.it was ranked 84 on Rolling stone magazines best albums of the 2000s list. The album received critical praise by most music critics and is often debated as Eminem's most personal and best work. The Eminem Show was Eminem's first album to be mainly self-produced, and was the first Eminem album to be released under Shady Records.

Contents

Release

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
PopMatters (mixed) [3]
Pitchfork Media (9.1/10) [4]
NME 10/10 stars [5]
HipHopDX 4.5/5 stars [6]
Allmusic 4/5 stars [7]
Slant Magazine 4/5 stars [8]
Entertainment Weekly (B+) [9]
Robert Christgau (A-) [10]
RapReviews 8/10 stars [11]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars [12]

The Eminem Show was first scheduled for a June 2002 release; however pirated and bootleg copies appeared online on peer-to-peer networks and began surfacing on the streets. Interscope decided to release the album early on May 28 to combat bootlegging. However, many stores in the U.S. began selling it early on Sunday May 26. Despite the confusion over the exact release date, the album still managed to have a wildly successful debut on the charts. The album sold 1.32 million copies in its first full week of sales.[13] The Eminem Show was Eminem's most successful album in terms of charting singles. It spawned two top-ten and four top fifteen singles with "Without Me", "Cleanin' Out My Closet", "Sing For The Moment" and "Superman", which managed to reach the top ten without a video counterpart. "Business" was also released as an airplay single but did not chart as high as the others. "White America" was also a single off the controversial album. "Hailie's Song" was also an airplay single just like "White America".

Content

Subject matter

The Eminem Show is a reflective album, featuring Eminem's more personal and serious side. This change gives the album a lighter tone, a departure from his previous albums. One of the most noticeable changes is the generally lighter lyrical content. Over the course of the album, he touches on the issues of race in hip hop ("White America"), his childhood ("Cleanin' Out My Closet"), the United States Government, and terrorism. ("Square Dance"), his 2000 assault on a nightclub bouncer and his following conviction ("Soldier"), him coming to terms with fate the downside of fame ("Say Goodbye Hollywood"), his status as both a hip hop and pop superstar ("Sing for the Moment"), and his relationship with his ex-wife Kim and daughter Hailie ("Hailie's Song"). Also, the song "Say What You Say" (featuring Dr. Dre) is an attack on Jermaine Dupri. Unlike The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show's release came off without significant complaints about misogyny or homophobia. Some shock-oriented and extremely explicit lyrics are still present (for example, "Drips" was so explicit that it was completely removed in the clean version of the album, although it is still listed in the track listing and is instead four seconds of silence, before "Without Me" starts), but they are for the most part toned down. "Hailie's Song" censors "abort her" when he says "God, I'm a daddy, I'm so glad that her mom didn't abort her."[14] Also, in "White America", in Eminem's speech the word "flag" is backmasked when he says "To burn the flag and replace it with a parental advisory sticker". Q Magazine's May, 2006 review of the album proposes "His two first albums aired dirty laundry, then the world's most celebrated rapper examined life in the hall of mirrors he'd built for himself."

Censored version

The clean version of The Eminem Show was significantly censored, compared to his previous albums, in which the words "goddamn", "bitch", and "ass" were allowed. This album allowed no profanities, and the profanities were "muted" or even "back masked" a few times. Following this, the censored version even took out entire sentences because they were too sexually charged. In fact, the entire song "Drips" is removed in the clean version, due to thinking there were so many profanities that editing the song would be pointless. Though there was a clean version of the song only on the PA version of the Album.

Production

The album also saw Eminem take a substantially more predominant production role; most of it was self-produced, with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass co-producing several tracks (mainly the eventual singles). Dr. Dre, in addition to being the album's executive producer, produced three individual tracks: "Business", "Say What You Say", and "My Dad's Gone Crazy".

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Curtains Up" (Intro)   Eminem 0:30
2. "White America"   M. Mathers, J. Bass, L. Resto, Steve King Eminem, J. Bass 5:24
3. "Business"   M. Mathers, A. Young, R. Feemster, M. Elizondo Dr. Dre 4:11
4. "Cleanin' Out My Closet"   M. Mathers, J. Bass Eminem, J. Bass 4:58
5. "Square Dance"   M. Mathers, J. Bass, L. Resto Eminem 5:24
6. "The Kiss" (skit) M. Mathers, J. Bass Eminem 1:16
7. "Soldier"   M. Mathers, L. Resto Eminem 3:46
8. "Say Goodbye Hollywood"   M. Mathers, M. Elizondo, L. Resto Eminem 4:33
9. "Drips" (featuring Obie Trice) M. Mathers, O. Trice, D. Porter, J. Bass Eminem 4:45
10. "Without Me"   M. Mathers Eminem 4:53
11. "Paul Rosenberg" (skit)     0:23
12. "Sing for the Moment" (featuring Steven Tyler & Joe Perry) S. Tyler, M. Mathers, J. Bass, L. Resto, S. King Eminem, J. Bass 5:40
13. "Superman" (featuring Dina Rae) M. Mathers, J. Bass, S. King Eminem, J. Bass 5:50
14. "Hailie's Song"   M. Mathers, L. Resto Eminem 5:21
15. "Steve Berman" (skit)     0:33
16. "When the Music Stops" (featuring D12) M. Mathers, O. Moore, D. Porter, V. Carlisle, R. Johnson, R. Feemster Eminem, D. Porter 4:29
17. "Say What You Say" (featuring Dr. Dre) M. Mathers, A. Young, R. Feemster, M. Elizondo Dr. Dre 5:09
18. "'Till I Collapse" (featuring Nate Dogg) M. Mathers, N. Hale, C. Jackson, L. Resto, Eminem 4:57
19. "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (featuring Hailie Jade) M. Mathers, A. Young, R. Feemster, M. Elizondo Dr. Dre 4:28
20. "Curtains Close" (Outro)   Eminem 1:00

Samples

Critical reception

Initial critical response to The Eminem Show was very positive. It was viewed by many critics and fans as a growth in Eminem as an artist. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 75, based on 20 reviews.[15] Pitchfork media gave it a 9.1/10 rating and said He's playing the same old marshall vs shady real-or-fake game as usual and its as interesting and complex as it ever was. uncut said Behind the hype and the swagger, he's still baring enough of his soul for The Eminem Show to be compelling theatre.NME gave it a positive review and said It's a third album that avoids all the pitfalls of third albums: introspective without being self-pitying, expansive in scope without being pompous, exploring new directions without disappearing up its own arse. Rolling stone gave it a 4 star rating and said Eminem just may have made the best rap-rock album in history. The record became Eminem's third to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and also swept the MTV Music Video Awards, winning four awards for Best Male Video, Video of the Year, Best Direction, and Best Rap Video.

Charts and certification

Chart Provider(s) Peak
position		 Certification Sales/
shipments
Argentinian Albums Chart CAPIF 1 Gold[16] 20,000
Australian Albums Chart ARIA 1 8× Platinum[17] 560,000
Austrian Albums Chart Media Control Europe 1 2× Platinum[18] 60,000
Brazilian Albums Chart ABPD — Gold[19] 100,000
Canadian Albums Chart[20] Nielsen SoundScan 1 Diamond[21] 1,000,000
Dutch Albums Chart NVPI/Megacharts 1 Platinum[22] 70,000
European Albums Chart[23] IFPI 1 4× Platinum[24] 4,000,000
Finnish Albums Chart GLF 1 2× Platinum[25] 60,000
French Albums Chart[26] SNEP/IFOP 2 2× Platinum[26] 600,000
German Albums Chart Media Control 1 2× Platinum[27] 600,000
Hungarian Albums Chart Mahasz 2 2× Platinum[28] 60,000
Italian Albums Chart[29] FIMI 1 Platinum[30] 120,000
Mexican Albums Chart[31] AMPROFON 3 Gold[32] 75,000
Mexican International Chart Position[31] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[33] RIANZ 1 8× Platinum[33] 135,000
Norwegian Albums Chart VG Nett 1 Platinum[34] 30,000
Swedish Albums Chart GLF 1 2× Platinum[35] 120,000
Swiss Albums Chart Media Control 1 3× Platinum[36] 120,000
UK Albums Chart[37] BPI/The Official UK Charts Company 1 4× Platinum[38] 1,250,000
U.S. Billboard 200[20] Billboard/RIAA 1 8× Platinum [39] 9,800,000 [40]

Singles chart positions

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 UK Top 40 Hot Rap Singles Rhythmic Top 40 Top 40 Mainstream Top 40 Tracks
2002 "Without Me" 2 1 5 1 1 1
"My Dad's Gone Crazy" 115* - - - - -
"Cleanin' Out My Closet" 4 4 5 2 7 5
"Hailie's Song" 113* - - - - -
2003 "Business" - 6 - - - -
"Superman" 15 - 10 5 10 9
"Sing for the Moment" 14 6 10 18 5 5

* Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart

Preceded by
We Invented The Remix Vol. 1 by Various Artists
Nellyville by Nelly		 Billboard 200 number-one album
June 2, 2002 – July 6, 2002
September 1, 2002 – September 7, 2002		 Succeeded by
Nellyville by Nelly
Home by Dixie Chicks
Preceded by
Destination by Ronan Keating		 UK number one album
June 1, 2002 – June 7, 2002		 Succeeded by
Heathen Chemistry by Oasis
Preceded by
18 by Moby		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
June 3 – July 14, 2002
September 23–29, 2002		 Succeeded by
By the Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers

References

  1. ↑ Decade's best: Eminem tops in sales; Beatles get No. '1' album http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2009-12-08-musicdecade08_ST_N.htm
  2. ↑ Amter, Charlie (November 4, 2004). Eminem's Early "Encore". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
  3. ↑ Hill, Marc L.. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/e/eminem-eminemshow.shtml. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  4. ↑ P, Ethan. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17454-the-eminem-show. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  5. ↑ "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". NME. http://www.nme.com/reviews/eminem/6410. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  6. ↑ J-23. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". HipHopDX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.164. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  7. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dg2vad1kl8w6~T1. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  8. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=66. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  9. ↑ Browne, David. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,254406,00.html. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=eminem. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  11. ↑ Juon, Steve. "The Eminem Show review- Eminem". RapReviews. http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2002_05F_emshow.html. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  12. ↑ Ex, Kris. "The Eminem Show review - Eminem". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eminem/albums/album/307679/review/6067682/the_eminem_show. Retrieved September 26, 2009. 
  13. ↑ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums. "Eminem 'Shows' The Competition Who's Boss". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/eminem-shows-the-competition-who-s-boss-1508625.story#/news/eminem-shows-the-competition-who-s-boss-1508625.story. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  14. ↑ Needham, Alex (May 28, 2002). "The Eminem Show review". New Musical Express. http://www.nme.com/reviews/eminem/6410. Retrieved 2008-08-04. "Though it's partially masked, on 'Hailie's Song', an otherwise tender eulogy to his daughter, Eminem clearly raps the line "I'm so glad her mom didn't want her" when the studio acapella is inverted to remove the censor." 
  15. ↑ "Eminem:The Emineme Show (2002): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/eminem/eminemshow. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
  16. ↑ "Argentinian Certification (CAPIF)". Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?AnoFiltro=2002&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP&ACCION=+Buscar+. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  17. ↑ "Australian Certification (ARIA)". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-2003.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  18. ↑ "Austrian Certification (IFPI)". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.at/. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  19. ↑ "Brazilian Certification (ABPD)". Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. http://www.abpd.org.br/certificados_interna.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Eminem: Charts & Awards". Billboard magazine. http://www.allmusic.com/. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  21. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Certification - September 2003". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/0903_g.php. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  22. ↑ "Dutch Certification (IFPI)". IFPI. http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=61112&documentid=1237955&zoekform=60463&formposted=yes. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  23. ↑ "European Albums Chart". Music.AllOfMp3.com. http://music.allofmp3.com/ratings/charts.shtml?chartlist=966. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  24. ↑ "European Certification (IFPI)". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat2003.html. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  25. ↑ "Finnish Certification (IFPI)". IFPI. http://www.ifpi.fi/tilastot/kplista.html?action=etuk&kirjain=E. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "French Chart, Sales & Certification". FanOfMusic.Free.fr. http://fanofmusic.free.fr/ParcoursAlbum-E.php. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  27. ↑ "German Certification (IFPI)". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.de/wirtschaft/gpergebnis.php?txtSuche=Eminem&strAktion=suche. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  28. ↑ "Adatbázis - Arany- és platinalemezek - MAHASZ - Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". Mahasz.hu. http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=arany_es_platinalemezek&menu2=adatbazis&ev=2003. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  29. ↑ {{cite web | title=Italian Chart, Sales & Certification | work=fimi.it | url=http://http://italiancharts.com
  30. ↑ {{cite web|url=http://http://italiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Eminem&titel=The+Eminem+Show&cat=a |publisher=Fùfimi.it |
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "Mexican Top 100 Albums Chart". AMPROFON. http://proyectos.atmosfera.tv/amprofon3/Top100.pdf. Retrieved 2002-06-10. 
  32. ↑ Mexican Gold Certification AMPROFON.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "New Zealand Certification (RIANZ)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  34. ↑ "Norwegian Certification (IFPI)". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.no/sok/index_trofe.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  35. ↑ "Swedish Certification (GLF)". GLF. http://www.ifpi.se/goldplatinum.aspx. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  36. ↑ "Swiss Certification (IFPI)". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. http://www.ifpi.se/goldplatinum.aspx. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  37. ↑ "UK Albums Chart (Search)". Everyhit.com. http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  38. ↑ "UK Certification (BPI)". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/index.asp?Page=stats/content_file_118.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
  39. ↑ http:.http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=tblTop100&action=
  40. ↑ ://http://http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?

External links

Eminem
Discography · Production discography · Awards and nominations
Studio albums
Infinite · The Slim Shady LP · The Marshall Mathers LP · The Eminem Show · Encore · Relapse · Recovery
Compilations
8 Mile · The Singles · Curtain Call: The Hits · Eminem Presents: The Re-Up
Extended plays
The Slim Shady EP · Straight from the Lab
Video albums
The Up in Smoke Tour · E · All Access Europe · Eminem Presents: The Anger Management Tour · Live from New York City 2005
Books
The Way I Am
Tours
Up in Smoke Tour · Anger Management Tour · The Recovery Tour · The Home & Home Tour
Filmography
Da Hip Hop Witch · Up in Smoke Tour · The Slim Shady Show · The Wash · 8 Mile · 50 Cent: The New Breed · Crank Yankers · Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony · Funny People · Have Gun - Will Travel
Wikipedia book Book:Eminem • Category Category:Eminem • Related articles: Shady Records · Shade 45 · D12 · Bad Meets Evil
Eminem singles discography
Discography · Production discography · Awards and nominations · D12 singles discography
The Slim Shady EP
"Just Don't Give a Fuck"
The Slim Shady LP
"My Name Is" · "Guilty Conscience"
The Marshall Mathers LP
"Bitch Please II" · "The Real Slim Shady" · "The Way I Am" · "Stan"
The Eminem Show
"Without Me" · "Cleanin' Out My Closet" · "Superman" · "Sing for the Moment" · "Business"
8 Mile
Encore
"Just Lose It" · "Encore" · "Like Toy Soldiers" · "Mockingbird" · "Ass Like That"
Curtain Call: The Hits
"When I'm Gone" · "Shake That"
Eminem Presents: The Re-Up
"You Don't Know" · "Jimmy Crack Corn"
Relapse (and Refill)
"Crack a Bottle" · "We Made You" · "3 a.m." · "Old Time's Sake" · "Beautiful" · "Hell Breaks Loose" · "Elevator"
Recovery
"Not Afraid" · "Love the Way You Lie" · "No Love"
Collaborations
"Dead Wrong" · "Forgot About Dre" · "Renegade" · "Rock City" · "One Day at a Time" · "Welcome 2 Detroit" · "Smack That" · "Touchdown · "Forever" · "Drop the World" · "Roman's Revenge"
Other songs
"Kim" · "Mosh"