Crack a Bottle

Crack a Bottle
feat. Dr. Dre and 50 cents
publication	February 2, 2009
length	4:57 / 5:16
Genre (s)	Hardcore rap
text	M. Mathers , C. Jackson , A. Young , D. Parker , M. Batson, T. Lawrence, J. Renard
music	Dr. Dre
Label	Shady Records , Aftermath Entertainment , Interscope Records
Award (s)	Grammy 2010 ( Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group )
album	Relapse

Crack a Bottle (. Engl about for " Break a Bottle ") is a song by American rapper Eminem , Dr. Dre and 50 cents . It is included on Eminem's album Relapse and was released as a single on February 2, 2009.

backgrounds

Crack a Bottle first caused a sensation in December 2008 when an older version of the song, in which Eminem rapped all three verses, was still included on the mixtape 4th Quarter Pressure Part 2 under the name Number One . On January 6, 2009, the official version with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent then released. Many media outlets reported that the song would be the first single from Eminem's Relapse album , but Universal Music Group's Italian subsidiary stated that Crack a Bottle would only be a promo single . On February 2, 2012, the song was published on iTunes and amazon.com , among others . 50 Cent announced that the song would also find a place on his new album Before I Self Destruct . Opinions on which album the track would be included on differed. While HipHopDX's Danielle Harling was certain that Crack a Bottle would be featured on both albums, Rolling Stone's Daniel Kreps was unsure whether the song would be featured on Relapse or Before I Self Destruct . Universal Music then made it official that the title would only find a place on Eminem's album.

content

In the intro, after years of absence, Eminem returns with his alter ego Slim Shady . In the chorus, the rapper calls for the comeback to be celebrated with a big party, lots of alcohol and loads of women. Then Eminem's verse begins, in which he announces that he is now back to conquer the rap game again. He compares Dr. Dre with André the Giant and describes himself, Dre and 50 Cent as a platinum trio. In the second verse, Dr. Dre on how long he's been in the rap genre and how much wealth he's made. Among other things, he speaks of his car collection and that he cannot decide which one to drive after destroying his Benz. 50 Cents verse is also about his wealth and that he has parties day and night while money is not an issue.

Song part	Artist
Intro	Eminem
refrain	Eminem
1st verse	Eminem
2nd stanza	Dr. Dre
3rd stanza	50 cents

Production and sample

The song's instrumental was performed by Dr. Dre produces. He used a sample of Mike Brant's song Mais Dans La Lumière from 1970.

Music video

The video premiered in early June 2009, four months after the song was released. The rappers themselves can not be seen in the clip made by Syndrome .

In the beginning, a homeless person is sitting against a wall with a bottle of alcohol next to them. The camera zooms into the bottle and you can see a house with several rooms. Two men are filmed in a room. One man is tied to a chair, while the other is painting words related to Eminem's verse on the walls. The former is finally able to break free and leave the room. When Dr's verse starts, the camera pans to another room. It's a tattoo parlor where a woman is doing words from Dr. Dres verse can be tattooed. The rapper Cashis can also be seen. At 50 cents verse, the camera changes the room again. It's a bar where several women sit together, smoke cigars, drink alcohol, and throw money. At the end you see the homeless person throwing the empty bottle on the ground, whereupon it breaks.

reception

Chart successes

Crack a Bottle reached number 1 on the charts in the US and Canada. In Canada it stayed in the top 100 for 15 weeks and in the United States for 17 weeks. In Austria, the song reached number 41 and stayed in the charts for five weeks, in Switzerland and the United Kingdom the song reached number 4 and stayed 19 weeks in the top 100. In Germany the track did not reach the top 100.

Chart placements Charts Top ranking Weeks Chart placements  Austria (Ö3) 41 (5 weeks) 5  Switzerland (IFPI) 4th (19 weeks) 19th  United Kingdom (OCC) 4th (19 weeks) 19th  United States (Billboard) 1 (17 weeks) 17th

Annual charts Charts (2009) placement Annual charts (2009)  United Kingdom (OCC) 89  United States (Billboard) 47

Sales figures and awards

On February 12, 2009, Crack a Bottle broke Live Your Life's previous record for most downloads in the first week of sales in the United States, with 418,000 downloads . In the next week, however, this record was broken again by Flo Ridas and Ke $ has Right Round with 636,000 downloads. In 2018, the song was awarded a double platinum record for more than two million sales in the United States . At the Grammy Awards 2010 , Crack a Bottle won an award in the category Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group .

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	platinum	70,000
United States (RIAA)	2 × platinum	2,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	400,000
All in all	1 × gold 3 × platinum	2,470,000

Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards

criticism

Critics had different opinions. Jacqueline Rupp from Common Sense Media said that Crack a Bottle would n't bring anything new, but rather contained those aspects that made rappers successful in the past and awarded three out of five possible stars. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy said that Eminem hadn't forgotten how to push people's “buttons”, but that 50 Cents Part could be left out without much loss. To the beats of Dr. Dre thought they were still good. Here, too, three stars were awarded.

Web links

• Lyrics with interpretations (English)
• Lyrics (German)
• Music video on YouTube.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Shaheem Reid: New Eminem Song 'Number One'. In: MTV News . December 5, 2008, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Shaheem Reid: Eminem's New Song, 'Crack A Bottle,' Featuring Dr. Dre And 50 Cent, Hits The Web. In: MTV News. January 6, 2009, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
3. ^ New Eminem single appears online. In: NME . January 7, 2009, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
4. ↑ Giancarlo Passarella: Un saggio del nuovo Eminem: Crack A Bottle, un brano demo che lancia il nuovo CD! (No longer available online.) In: Musicalnews.com. January 14, 2009, archived from the original on June 18, 2009 ; Retrieved September 17, 2012 (Italian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Eminem, dopo il buio un ritorno da re del rap. (No longer available online.) In: Tiscali Musica. Tiscali , January 3, 2009; archived from the original on January 31, 2009 ; Retrieved September 17, 2012 (Italian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Reid Shaheem, Ramirez, Grace: 50 Cent Says Rick Ross Beef Will Only 'Get Worse'. In: MTV. MTV Networks, February 6, 2009, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
7. ↑ Danielle Harling: "Crack A Bottle" Sets SoundScan Record. (No longer available online.) In: HipHopDX. February 11, 2009, archived from the original on February 12, 2009 ; Retrieved September 17, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ^ Daniel Kreps: Eminem's "Crack A Bottle" Rockets Shady and 50 Cent to Top of Hot 100. In: Rolling Stone . Jann Wenner , February 12, 2009, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
9. ↑ Eminem's new album "Relapse" Drops In May, "Relapse 2" Later This Year. In: Universal Music Group . March 5, 2009, archived from the original on July 17, 2011 ; Retrieved September 17, 2012 . 
10. ↑ Lyrics in the booklet
11. ↑ Mike Brant "Mais Dans La Lumière" in Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent "Crack a Bottle" WhoSampled.com
12. ↑ Crack A Bottle. In: Billboard. Rovi Corporation, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
13. ↑ Eminem featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent - Crack A Bottle. In: αCharts.us. Retrieved September 17, 2012 . 
14. ↑ EMINEM / DR. DRE / 50 CENT - CRACK A BOTTLE (SONG). In: austriancharts.at. Hung Medien, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
15. ↑ EMINEM / DR. DRE / 50 CENT - CRACK A BOTTLE. In: Hung Media. hitparade.ch, accessed on September 17, 2012 . 
16. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
17. ↑ ^{a b} 2009 annual charts: UK US
18. ↑ Eminem's 'Bottle' Breaks Digital Record. In: Billboard . Nielsen Business Media Inc., December 5, 2008, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
19. ↑ Silvio Pietroluongo: Flo Rida Topple's Single-Week Download Mark. Billboard , accessed September 17, 2012 . 
20. ↑ US: 2x platinum
21. ^ And the 2010 Grammy Nominees Are ... rap-up.com, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
22. ↑ Jacqueline Rupp: "Crack a Bottle" (CD single). Common Sense Media, accessed September 17, 2012 . 
23. ↑ Alex Fletcher: Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent: 'Crack A Bottle'. In: Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK, accessed September 17, 2012 .