If Eminem isn’t mad at you, he’s probably at least making fun of you. This prickly rapper has a chip on his shoulder the size of a football field, and record sales show his fans are happy to listen to his bellyaching. He might be living proof that money doesn’t buy happiness.
Every album produced by Eminem showcases his frustration and annoyance with someone or something. More specifically, however, he’s got major beef with his on-again, off-again girlfriend/wife, Kim Scott, his mother, the bullies from grade school and everyone who ever thought he might not be good enough. Despite the controversial topics and violent story lines of his songs, the Detroit-based rapper’s albums have gone platinum and even diamond.
From his successful albums to his tours and his movie career (8 Mile), Eminem has raked in some moolah. Album after album of untamed anger has apparently not brought him much closure, however. With every record released, there’s still something grinding his gears. Here’s a timeline of the rapper’s major-label albums and the unending hostility he hollers about in each of them.
The Slim Shady LP (1999)
This album was Eminem’s major-label debut and second studio album. (He released Infinite in 1996 on Web Entertainment.) “My Name Is,” the first single released, blindsided the world. No one was safe from Em’s venomous penmanship. Eminem had a point to bemoan: He was mad at the world for everything that stood in his way. Sure, the lyrics are violent, but most of them are entertaining and humorous when not taken seriously. However, what might be the most disturbing track on the album is “‘97 Bonnie & Clyde,” where he tells the story of taking his toddler daughter, Hailie, along as he dumps the body of her mother (his girlfriend, Scott) into a lake. “Here, you wanna help Da-Da tie a rope around this rock/We’ll tie it to her footsie then we’ll roll her off the dock.”
The Slim Shady LP peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It sold 3 million copies.
The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
The Marshall Mathers LP followed The Slim Shady LP a year later and didn’t skip a beat. Eminem dug up some fresh resentments for listeners’ enjoyment. Whereas the previous album involved several violent storylines, swearing and allusions to sex and drugs, The Marshall Mathers LP also addressed homosexuality, religion and strained relationships with his mom and Scott. Em’s combative approach to lyric writing caused uproar with his first major album, but the criticism didn’t slow him down; he even wrote a song about it. In “Criminal,” he sings: “I’m a criminal/‘Cause every time I write a rhyme, these people think it’s a crime/To tell ‘em what’s on my mind—I guess I’m a criminal/But I don’t gotta say a word, I just flip ‘em the bird.” In another song, “The Way I Am,” he addresses and defends his cantankerous, grumpy tendencies, saying he’s been “cursed with this curse to just curse.” In the same song, he expresses his annoyance with the media and the negative way people regard him.
The Marshall Mathers LP sold more than 10 million copies and went diamond.
The Eminem Show (2002)
This fourth studio album takes a more serious and personal tone for Eminem. Although it still has the same themes, The Eminem Show features Em’s versatility more so than in past albums: His lyrics don’t always have to be so unnerving and he can actually sing—not just rap. In what might be his most reflective song on the album, “Cleanin’ Out the Closet,” he pours out his emotions. He sings: “I got some skeletons in my closet/And I don’t know if no one knows it/So before they throw me inside my coffin and close it/I’ma expose it.”
Beyond confirming that Em has sizable mommy issues, The Eminem Show also sold more than 10 million copies and made him the first rap artist to go double-diamond.
Encore (2004)
A fifth studio album, Encore, sounds a lot like a broken record. Despite selling millions of copies of his previous albums, Em is still pissed about the same things. His singles, as usual, are catchy enough for the mainstream crowd, but the meat of his songs isn’t anything new. In “Evil Deeds,” he complains, again, about his disrupted childhood. He sings: “Father, please forgive me for I know not what I do/I just never had the chance to ever meet you/Therefore I did not know that I would grow to be/My mother’s evil seed and do these evil deeds.”
Relapse (2009)
After a five-year hiatus (rumored to be because of prescription drug addiction and writer’s block), Eminem released his sixth studio album. Even after an extended break, he’s still mad at the world and complaining about the same things. Much of the album reflects drug-related themes such as relapsing and addiction. Combine drug use and the issues Em has with his mom and out comes a recipe for a typical, multiplatinum Eminem album. In “My Mom,” he sings “My mom loved Valium and lots of drugs/That’s why I am like I am ‘cause I’m like her.”
Although the meat and potatoes of his lyrics didn’t change, fans still ate it up. Relapse went platinum and was followed up by Relapse: Refill, which included outtakes and new recordings.
Recovery (2010)
With this seventh album, Eminem’s sound returns to its gritty roots. As to be expected, Em’s anger is consistent with all his past works. The most refreshing part of Recovery is the collaboration with Rihanna on the single “Love the Way You Lie,” where the lyrics parallel his love-hate relationship with Scott. “Not Afraid,” lead single for the album, is slightly more positive than most of Eminem’s songs, but it still carries the theme of him having to prove himself. “I’ma be what I set out to be, without a doubt, undoubtedly/And all those who look down on me, I’m tearing down your balcony,” he sings. The song comes close to diverging from his usual path, but doesn’t quite achieve a different flavor.
Not only did Recovery go platinum, Eminem also became the first artist to sell more than 1 million digital sales of an LP in the United States (as of July 5).
Eminem may never stop being mad. His wounds aren’t fresh, and he isn’t using his piles of money to blot out the pain. It’s hard to tell what will run out first: sources for Eminem to be frustrations or fans’ tolerance for his angry, whiny songs.
