Eminem 3rd Album "The Marshall Mathers LP"

The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem. Released May 23, 2000, the album sold more than 1.79 million copies in its first week just in the US, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest selling solo album ever. In 2001, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. The album was certified 9x platinum by the RIAA in the United States, and sold over 10.2 million copies in the US. As of 2005 the album had sold over 19 million units worldwide.

Often cited as Eminem's magnum opus, The Marshall Mathers LP has been ranked as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time by such magazines as Rolling Stone,Time,and XXL. Rolling Stone placed the album at number 7 on its list of the best albums of the 2000s.The album was ranked number 302 by Rolling Stone on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.In 2010, Rhapsody featured it on its list of "The 10 Best Albums By White Rappers".
Concept

In the album's title, The Marshall Mathers LP is a more serious and personal album than his major-label debut, The Slim Shady LP, which predominantly featured his exaggerated Slim Shady persona. Much of the album is spent addressing his rise to fame and attacking those who criticized his first album. Other themes include his relationship with his family, most notably his mother and Kim Mathers, his former wife.

Lyrical content

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in both clean and explicit versions. However, some lyrics of the album are censored even on its explicit version. Some songs are censored because of events surrounding the album's release. Unlike Eminem's debut, The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP is more introspective in its lyrics and less of the Slim Shady persona. Most songs cover Eminem's childhood struggles and family issues, involving his mother ("Marshall Mathers"), the relationship struggles with his wife ("Kim"),his struggles with his superstardom and expectations ("Stan","I'm Back"),his return and effect on the music industry ("Remember Me?", "Bitch Please II"), his drug use ("Under the Influence", "Drug Ballad"), and reactionary barbs to critical response of his vulgarity and dark themes ("Criminal", "Kill You"). Throughout the entire album, the listener is presented with a mix of dark themes, controversy, and life stories. Despite the large amount of controversy regarding the lyrics, the lyrics on the album were overwhelmingly well-received among critics and the hip-hop community, many praising Eminem's verbal energy and dense rhyme patterns. Eminem went on to answer his critics more frequently in some of his later works.

The album contains various lyric samples and references. It features a number of lines mimicking songs from Eric B. & Rakim's album Paid in Full. The chorus to "The Way I Am" resembles lines from the song "As the Rhyme Goes On", and the first two lines from the third verse of "I'm Back" are based on lines from "My Melody". In "Marshall Mathers", Eminem parodies the song "Summer Girls" by LFO when he says "New Kids on the Block sucked a lotta dick, boy-girl groups make me sick" singing the same melody of the "Summer Girls", when the original line is "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits, Chinese food makes me sick".

RecoveryRecovery [Explicit]The Marshall Mathers LPThe Eminem ShowThe Slim ShadyRelapse: RefillRelapseCurtain CallLose Yourself [Explicit]8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion PictureThe Way I AmEminem Presents: The Re-UpRelapse: Refill [Clean]

Track listing

All songs written by Eminem.
No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Public Service Announcement 2000" 0:25
2. "Kill You" Dr. Dre, Mel-Man 4:24
3. "Stan" (feat. Dido) The 45 King, Eminem (co) 6:44
4. "Paul" (skit) 0:11
5. "Who Knew" Dr. Dre, Mel-Man 3:48
6. "Steve Berman" (skit) 0:54
7. "The Way I Am" Eminem 4:50
8. "The Real Slim Shady" Dr. Dre, Mel-Man 4:44
9. "Remember Me?" (feat. RBX & Sticky Fingaz) Dr. Dre, Mel-Man 3:38
10. "I'm Back" Dr. Dre, Mel-Man 5:09
11. "Marshall Mathers" Bass Brothers, Eminem 5:20
12. "Ken Kaniff" (skit) 1:02
13. "Drug Ballad" Bass Brothers, Eminem 5:00
14. "Amityville" (feat. Bizarre) Bass Brothers 4:14
15. "Bitch Please II" (feat. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit & Nate Dogg) Dr. Dre, Mel-Man 4:47
16. "Kim" ("The Kids" on clean version) Bass Brothers 6:18
17. "Under the Influence" (feat. D12) Bass Brothers, Eminem 5:20
18. "Criminal" Bass Brothers, Eminem 5:20
his effect on the American youth and society ("The Way I Am") ("Who Knew"),