Eminem is the highest-selling rapper of all time. He’s also one of the greatest to ever touch the mic. In 1996, Eminem released his first album called Infinite. Eminem began writing Infinite after being inspired by 2Pac’s Me Against the World and Illmatic from Nas. The following year, he would drop the Slim Shady EP, and it was a commercial failure like Infinite. The talent was there, but he didn’t have the backing to move units. Eminem traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the Rap Olympics, an annual nationwide rap battle competition. The staff from Interscope Records attended and sent a copy of the Slim Shady EP to CEO Jimmy Iovine. Iovine played the tape for record producer Dr. Dre, founder of Aftermath Entertainment. Dr. Dre recalled, “In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD.
When Jimmy played this, I said, ‘Find him. Now. Eminem and Dr. Dre subsequently beg. a work on his first major-label album, The Slim Shady LP. The Slim Shady LP would drop in little more than a year from their meeting. The Slim Shady LP was a massive success after selling almost seven million copies. The album garnered Eminem the first awards of his career, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2000 Grammy Awards. A little over a year later, Eminem returned with The Marshall Mathers LP. The Marshall Mathers LP sold 1.76 million copies in the United States in its first week. The controversial album went on to sell over 12 million copies. A couple of years later, Eminem returned with his fourth studio album called The Eminem Show. The Eminem Show marked his third consecutive album that was considered a classic.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 317 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Eminem Show debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 284,000 copies in its first day. The album went on to sell over 12 million copies, also. Encore was the fifth studio album released by Eminem a couple of years later. Encore was a solid album, but it didn’t sell as many records as his previous three albums. Despite that, Encore still sold a little less than six million albums. A little over a year later, Eminem released his greatest hits album called Curtain Call: The Hits. The album collects Eminem’s most popular singles, as well as three new songs: “Fack”, “When I’m Gone”, and “Shake That. The album racked up first-week sales of nearly 441,000.
When I’m Gone is one of the new tracks on the album, and it’s my featured Throwback Thursday track. When I’m Gone is one of my favorite Eminem songs. The song was written in 2005, immediately after Eminem’s first stint in rehab. The single itself sold over five million copies. Curtain Call: The Hits went on to sell over 10 million records. My playlist this week consisted of the King album from T.I., the Dungeon Family joint, and a personal J. Cole & Kendrick project. Check out the video for When I’m Gone above. Below you can check out the Curtain Call: The Hits track listing and stream link.
Curtain Call: The Hits Track Listing
- My Name Is
- The Way I Am
- Stan ft. Dido
- Lose Yourself
- Shake That ft. Nate Dogg
- Sing for the Moment
- Without Me
- Like Toy Soldiers
- The Real Slim Shady
- Mockingbird
- Guilty Conscience ft. Dr. Dre
- Cleanin’ Out My Closet
- Just Lose It
- When I’m Gone
- Stan (Live) ft. Elton John
