The Marshall Mathers LP

The Marshall Mathers LP
Studio album by
Publication (s)	May 23, 2000
admission	1999-2000
Label (s)	Aftermath , Interscope
Format (s)	CD , vinyl , MC
Genre (s)	Hardcore rap , horrorcore
Title (number)	18th
running time	72:17
production	Dr. Dre ( Executive Producer ) Eminem Bass Brothers (FBT) Mel-Man The 45 King Richard Huredia Danny Lohner
Studio (s)	Encore Studios The Mix Room Larrabee Sound Studios Chung King The Record Plant 54 Sound Studio (Detroit)
chronology The Slim Shady LP (1999) The Marshall Mathers LP The Eminem Show (2002)
Single releases May 16, 2000 The Real Slim Shady September 7, 2000 The Way I Am November 20, 2000 Stan

The Marshall Mathers LP ( Marshall Mathers is Eminem's real name) is the third solo album by the American rapper Eminem , which was released on May 23, 2000 on the labels Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records . It is the rapper's most commercially successful album and, alongside its successor, The Eminem Show, is considered by many critics to be one of the best rap albums of all time. For more than ten million copies sold, it was awarded a diamond record in the United States in 2011, making it one of the most commercially successful rap albums.

On November 5, 2013, a follow-up album was released with the title The Marshall Mathers LP 2 .

Prehistory and origin

Eminem's second solo album, The Slim Shady LP , had become a huge commercial hit in 1999, taking him from an unknown rapper to a celebrity. The level of fame quickly became uncomfortable for him, as he stated: “I don't trust anyone now because everyone (...) meets me as Eminem. I don't know if they hang out with me because they like me, or because I'm famous, or because they think they can get something from me. ”Eminem also became a very controversial figure because of his textual content. He was a misogynist and nihilist and appearing in an editorial the editor of accused Billboard , Timothy White to make money through the "exploitation of the world misery".

The label, fans and critics already had fixed expectations of the upcoming album. In particular, the label's high expectations of the record's success put the rapper under pressure: “I was scared to death. I wanted to be successful, but first and foremost I want respect. ”Within two months, the Marshall Mathers LP was completely written and recorded, a“ creative excess ”that also included 20 hours of studio sessions. Eminem describes himself as a "studio rat" who benefits from the isolated studio environment. Most of the album was written on the fly in the studio; Dr. Dre explained in an interview: "We don't wake up at two in the night, we call each other and say, 'I have an idea. We have to go to the studio. ' We just wait and see what happens when we get [into the studio]. ”Eminem noted that his favorite tracks on the album were made from clowning and jamming in the studio. This is how Marshall Mathers came about when Jeff Bass was casually strumming a guitar while Criminal was based on a piano riff that Eminem heard Bass play in the studio next door. He wrote Kill You after hearing the beat during a phone call with Dr. Heard Dre walking in the background and got interested in using it for a song. He wrote the lyrics at home, met Dre in the studio, and the two recorded the song together. The writing process for Stan, on the other hand, was very different from Eminem's usual strategy of only developing song concepts while writing: “ Stan was one of the few songs where I sat down and worked it all out. I knew what [the song] would be about. "

After work on the album was completed, Interscope Records found that none of the songs had the potential for a main single. Then Eminem wrote the song The Way I Am , which deals with the expectations and criticism of the label and fans. That was his way of saying, “That's all I can do. I cannot give you a second My Name Is . I can't just sit here and let the magic happen. ”However, after the song was added to the album, Eminem felt the urge to write another song and gave Dr. Dre a hook around which this one built a beat. That track eventually became The Real Slim Shady .

content

As the name after Eminem's real name suggests, the album is more personal than its predecessor , as Eminem raps the songs more from his point of view and less often uses his alter ego Slim Shady . However, the texts are still very explicit and controversial. a. Attacked people who criticized his first album. Eminem processes both the problems with his ex-wife Kim (Kim) , as well as his difficult childhood and the arguments with his mother ( Kill You , Marshall Mathers ). He raps about the disturbed relationship between him as a superstar and the public or about the high expectations of his fans ( I'm Back , Stan ). Furthermore, he deals with his rise to star and the associated influence on society and youth ( Who Knew , The Way I Am ). The songs Drug Ballad and Under the Influence are about Eminem's drug use, while Remember Me? and Bitch Please II yourself u. a. to deal with its return and the impact on the music industry. The first single The Real Slim Shady is an ironic song - typical for Eminem - that parodies the popular pop songs of the time and mocks their performers (including Britney Spears , Christina Aguilera ). A typical horrorcore track can also be found on the album (Amityville) . The final song, Criminal, is an ironic song aimed at anyone who takes its lyrics too seriously, while the bonus track The Kids warns (also ironically) about the consequences of drug use.

censorship

In addition to the explicit version, as with all Eminem albums, a clean version was also pressed, in which the offensive words (e.g. fuck, fagot) were cut out. However, due to current events at the time (e.g. the school massacre in Littleton ), some lines have also been [censored] in the normal version:

• " I take seven [kids] from [Columbine], stand 'em all in line " (I'm Back)
• “Which is it bitch, Mrs. Briggs or Ms. Mathers? It doesn't matter [your attorney Fred Gibson's a] fagot! " (Marshall Mathers)
• "There's a [four] year old little [boy] layin dead with a slit throat in your living room" (Kim)

Production and samples

Production was mainly done by Dr. Dre , who as executive producer with Mel-Man the beats for Kill You , Who Knew , The Real Slim Shady , Remember Me? and I'm Back contributed. Another producer team were the Bass Brothers and Eminem themselves, who jointly produced the songs Marshall Mathers , Drug Ballad , Amityville , Under the Influence and Criminal , as well as the bonus track The Kids . The song Kim was produced by the Bass Brothers alone. Richard Huredia shows up together with Dr. Dre and Mel-Man were responsible for the beat for Bitch Please II . The 45 King also produced the hit Stan in collaboration with Eminem (co-producer) . The Way I Am was produced by Eminem alone, a remix of the song produced by Danny Lohner is included on the limited edition.

A total of five tracks on the album contain samples of songs by other artists. In the track Kill You, for example, the title Pulsion by Jacques Loussier is sampled. The chorus of the song Stan contains elements of Thank You by Dido . Amityville samples The Sorcerer of Isis from Power Of Zeus, Kim contains a drum sample of the song When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin and Under the Influence you can hear elements of Give in to Me by Michael Jackson .

Cover design

Cover of the album
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

Alternative cover of the album
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

Limited edition cover
Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

The standard version of the Marshall Mathers LP appeared with two different illustrations, both in black and white. In the first version, Eminem sits on the porch in front of a wooden house where he spent part of his childhood. There is a conifer in the left foreground. The lettering Eminem and The Marshall Mathers LP are on the top right of the picture. The alternative cover shows Eminem crouched in front of a building to which he is chained. The lettering Eminem and The Marshall Mathers LP are in the center of the picture this time.

The limited-edition illustration shows Eminem writing texts, wearing a white undershirt. Eminem looks at the viewer and puts a hand in which he is holding a pen on his forehead. The lettering Eminem and The Marshall Mathers LP are this time in the lower part. The limited edition was sold in a cardboard slipcase.

Guest Posts

Six songs on the album contain guest contributions. Probably the most famous appearance comes from the British singer Dido , Eminem sampled her song Thank You in the chorus of the hit Stan . Only after its publication did the singer make her international breakthrough. In Remember Me? the two rappers RBX and Sticky Fingaz can be heard. As with Eminem's Slim Shady LP, R&B singer Dina Rae has a guest part on track 13 (Drug Ballad) . D12 member Bizarre makes an appearance in Amityville , while the whole rap crew at Under the Influence is represented for the first time on an Eminem album. The song Bitch Please II also features guest contributions from Eminem's mentor and producer Dr. Dre (who can also be heard in a dialogue in Criminal ), as well as rapper Snoop Dogg , Xzibit and Nate Dogg . Furthermore, Eminem's producer Jeff Bass, his manager Paul Rosenberg and Steve Berman play in various skits. Rock musician Marilyn Manson is another feature on a remix of The Way I Am on the Limited Edition .

Track list

#	title	Guest Posts	producer	length
1	Public Service Announcement 2000	Jeff Bass		0:25
2	Kill you		Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	4:24
3	Stan	Dido	The 45 King and Eminem (Co)	6:44
4th	Paul (Skit)	Paul Rosenberg		0:11
5	Who Knew		Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	3:48
6th	Steve Berman (Skit)	Steve Berman		0:54
7th	The Way I Am		Eminem	4:50
8th	The Real Slim Shady		Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	4:45
9	Remember me?	RBX and Sticky Fingaz	Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	3:39
10	I'm back		Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	5:10
11	Marshall Mathers		Bass Brothers and Eminem	5:21
12	Ken Kaniff (Skit)			1:02
13	Drug Ballad	Dina Rae	Bass Brothers and Eminem	5:00
14th	Amityville	Bizarre	Bass Brothers and Eminem	4:15
15th	Bitch Please II	Dr. Dre , Snoop Dogg , Xzibit, and Nate Dogg	Richard Huredia, Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	4:48
16	Kim		Bass Brothers	6:18
17th	Under the influence	D12	Bass Brothers and Eminem	5:22
18th	Criminal	Dr. Dre	Bass Brothers and Eminem	5:19

Limited Edition Bonus CD:

#	title	annotation	producer	length
1	The Real Slim Shady	Instrumental	Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	4:46
2	The Way I Am	Instrumental	Eminem	4:52
3	Stan	Instrumental	The 45 King and Eminem (Co)	6:45
4th	The kids		Bass Brothers and Eminem	5:06
5	The Way I Am (Remix)	featuring Marilyn Manson	Danny Lohner	4:58
6th	The Real Slim Shady	Video	Dr. Dre and Mel-Man	4:27
7th	The Way I Am	Video	Eminem	5:00
8th	Stan	Video	The 45 King and Eminem (Co)	8:08

Individual songs

Stan

→ Main article : Stan

In Stan , Eminem tells the story of a fan who writes to him but receives no response and ultimately commits an extended suicide .

The Way I Am

→ Main article : The Way I Am

This song is a sweeping blow from Eminem to all of his critics (including those from his own label) and against intrusive fans.

The Real Slim Shady

→ Main article : The Real Slim Shady

The song is a typical Eminem first single in which many celebrities are ridiculed.

Chart successes and singles

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

The Real Slim Shady   DE 7th 06/26/2000 (17 weeks)   AT 6th 06/25/2000 (21 weeks)   CH 2 06/25/2000 (32 weeks)   UK 1 07/08/2000 (18 weeks)   US 4th 06/24/2000 (19 weeks) The Way I Am   DE 19th October 16, 2000 (13 weeks)   AT 11 October 29, 2000 (12 weeks)   CH 19th 10/15/2000 (17 weeks)   UK 8th 10/14/2000 (10 weeks)   US 58 09/30/2000 (10 weeks) Stan   DE 1 December 25, 2000 (18 weeks)   AT 1 12/17/2000 (22 weeks)   CH 1 12/10/2000 (26 weeks)   UK 1 12/16/2000 (25 weeks)   US 51 02.12.2000 (14 weeks)

The Marshall Mathers LP entered the German charts at number 3 in the 23rd week of the year 2000. The following week the album fell to number 7, but then returned to number 3 for two weeks before falling to position 6. Overall, the album stayed in the top 100 for 85 weeks, 24 weeks of which in the top 10. The Marshall Mathers LP reached top positions in Austria, USA, Great Britain, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It landed at number 2 in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Sweden. The album stayed in the US charts longest at 171 weeks, although it has 200 places.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	3 (85 weeks)	85
Austria (Ö3)	1 (57 weeks)	57
Switzerland (IFPI)	2 (72 weeks)	72
United Kingdom (OCC)	1 (93 weeks)	93
United States (Billboard)	1 (171 weeks)	171

Annual charts

Charts (2000)	placement
Annual charts (2000)
Germany (GfK)	12
Austria (Ö3)	12
Switzerland (IFPI)	12
United Kingdom (OCC)	3
United States (Billboard)	3
Worldwide	2

Charts (2001)	placement
Annual charts (2001)
Germany (GfK)	24
Austria (Ö3)	7th
Switzerland (IFPI)	17th
United Kingdom (OCC)	40
United States (Billboard)	72

The first of three singles was the song The Real Slim Shady a week before the album was released. The song entered the German charts at number 9 and rose to number 8 and 7 in the following weeks. In total, the single stayed in the top 100 for 17 weeks and received a gold record for more than 250,000 units sold in Germany . While the second single The Way I Am (DE # 19, 13 weeks) was not quite as successful, the last single was Stan Eminem's first number one hit in Germany, stayed in the top 100 for 18 weeks and reached for more Platinum status than 500,000 sales .

Sales figures and awards

The Marshall Mathers LP is Eminem's most successful album with around 32 million copies sold worldwide. With 1.79 million units sold in the first week, it is still the fastest-selling rap album in the USA. The album was u. a. Awarded three platinum awards in Germany due to the high sales figures of more than 900,000 . In the USA, The Marshall Mathers LP was sold over ten million times by 2011 and was awarded a diamond record .

At the Grammy Awards 2001 Eminem received the award for the best album of the year in the rap category and for the best solo performance in the rap category for the song The Real Slim Shady . It was also nominated in the main album of the year category. The music magazine Rolling Stone selected The Marshall Mathers LP in 2012 as the best Eminem album at number 244 on its list of the 500 best albums of all time and at the end of 2009 at number 7 of the best albums of the 21st century. It was also named one of the top 100 albums in history by Time Magazine in 2006. In the charts for the last decade (2000–2009), The Marshall Mathers LP was 58th in Germany and 7th in the United States.

Overview:

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Argentina (CAPIF)	gold	20,000
Australia (ARIA)	4 × platinum	280,000
Belgium (BEA)	2 × platinum	(60,000)
Brazil (PMB)	gold	50,000
Denmark (IFPI)	5 × platinum	(100,000)
Germany (BVMI)	3 × platinum	(900,000)
Europe (IFPI)	6 × platinum	6,000,000
Finland (IFPI)	platinum	(30,000)
France (SNEP)	2 × platinum	(600,000)
Greece (IFPI)	gold	(10,000)
Italy (FIMI)	gold	(25,000)
Japan (RIAJ)	platinum	250,000
Canada (MC)	8 × platinum	800,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)	platinum	150,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	5 × platinum	75,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	platinum	(80,000)
Norway (IFPI)	2 × platinum	(60,000)
Austria (IFPI)	platinum	(20,000)
Poland (ZPAV)	platinum	(100,000)
Sweden (IFPI)	2 × platinum	(80,000)
Switzerland (IFPI)	4 × platinum	(160,000)
Spain (Promusicae)	platinum	(100,000)
Hungary (MAHASZ)	gold	(3,000)
United States (RIAA)	diamond	10,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	8 × platinum	(2,400,000)
All in all	5 × gold 58 × platinum 1 × diamond	17,625,000

Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards

Reviews

Professional reviews
Average rating
source	rating
Metacritic	78%
More reviews
source	rating
laut.de
laut.de (2016)
rap4fame.de
Rolling Stone
allmusic
RapReviews

The reviews of The Marshall Mathers LP were mostly positive. The side Metacritic calculated from 21 Reviews of English-language media is a section of 78%.

• In laut.de the album was originally three out of a possible five points. Eminem is credited with high rap skills, but criticizes the lack of variety:

“ 'Kill You', the beginner impresses with a bass line that pauses briefly again and again. As long as Eminem is rapping along with it, that's not too tragic, but before the chorus it is completely silent for 1-2 seconds and the listener waits longingly for the bass. […] [Stan is] for me a song suitable for charting. Likewise 'Who Knew', the following song. This is Dr. Dre as a producer unmistakable, 1a Westcoast Loops. [...] It's not an album that you can listen to from start to finish, the beats and choruses are too similar for that. For all its perfection, melodic simplicity soon becomes noticeable to the disadvantage. And now everyone knows that Eminem is actually Slim Shady. "

- Excerpt from the review by laut.de.

• In 2016, the album was rated five out of five possible points in the column Milestones on laut.de.

“ " The Marshall Mathers LP "brings up touching, whimsical, brutal, creepy, hilarious, hair-raising stories in addition to the elaborate rhyme schemes and the rapid syllable fire, which reveal that their author must be at least as broken as he is gifted: one horrible, fucking sad, one big record. [...] The rest is done by the reduced beats, half of which is done by Dr. Dre and Mel-Man, on the other hand Eminem and the Bass Brothers, who give one of the best technical rappers in the world all their space to develop. "

- Excerpt from the review by laut.de (2016)

• The website rap4fame.de gave the record five out of five crowns in 2010. The Marshall Mathers LP is described as completely successful and called a classic:

“ With this album, Eminem created a milestone in rap history and made it unmistakably clear to the world that he is the undisputed rap superstar of the new millennium. Eminem is bursting with energy, sarcasm and violence on the record. However, the record also contains profound tracks, is partly very personal and therefore a very balanced work with a refreshingly rich diversity. "

- Excerpt from the review of rap4fame.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ MMLP release date on Shadyrecords.com
2. ↑ riaa.com: RIAA database
3. ↑ Nick Hasted: The Dark Story of Eminem . Omnibus Press, London 2011, ISBN 978-1-84938-458-2 , pp. 123 . : “I don't trust nobody now because everybody I meet is meeting me as Eminem ... I don't know if they are hanging with me 'cause they like me or because I'm a celebrity or because they think they can get something from me. "
4. ↑ Anthony Bozza: Eminem Blows Up . In: Rolling Stone . Jann Wenner. November 5, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ultimate Albums: The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem interview . In: VH1 . Retrieved July 16, 2012: “I was scared to death. I wanted to be successful, but before anything, I want respect. "
6. ↑ Hasted, 2011. p. 153
7. ↑ ^{a b} Hasted, 2011. p. 156
8. ↑ ^{a b} Ultimate Albums: The Marshall Mathers LP - Dr. Dre interview . In: VH1 . Retrieved July 16, 2012 .: “We don't wake up at two in the morning, call each other, and say, 'I have an idea. We gotta get to the studio. ' We just wait and see what happens when we get there. "
9. ↑ Explanations for "Kim". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
10. ↑ Explanations for "Kill You". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
11. ↑ Explanations for "Marshall Mathers". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
12. ↑ Explanations for "I'm Back". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
13. ↑ Explanations for "Stan". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
14. ↑ Explanations for "Who Knew". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
15. ↑ Explanations for "The Way I Am". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
16. ↑ Explanations to "Drug Ballad". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
17. ↑ Explanations for "Under the Influence". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
18. ↑ Explanations for "Remember Me?" On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
19. ↑ Explanations for "Bitch Please II". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
20. ↑ Explanations for "The Real Slim Shady". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
21. ↑ Explanations to "Amityville". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
22. ↑ Explanations to "Criminal". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
23. ↑ Explanations for "The Kids". On: rapgenius.com (English). Retrieved May 30, 2012
24. ^ Lyrics in the booklet
25. ↑ Chart sources (singles): DE ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2013 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. AT CH US 
26. ↑ singles by Eminem in the Official UK Charts (English)
27. ↑ Chart tracking The Marshall Mathers LP on officialcharts.de
28. ↑ international chart tracking The Marshall Mathers LP
29. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
30. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} 2000 annual charts: DE AT CH UK US WW
31. ↑ ^{a b c d e} 2001 annual charts: DE AT CH UK US
32. ↑ Chart tracking The Real Slim Shady at musicline.de ( memento of the original from October 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) 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. 
33. ↑ ^{a b c} IFPI : Search result Gold and Platinum Awards from Eminem
34. ↑ Singles from musicline.de ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
35. ↑ Chart tracking Stan at musicline.de ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) 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. 
36. ↑ Eminem album sales on statisticbrain.com, July 11, 2015, English. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
37. ↑ HITS Daily Double: Previous Album Sales Chart, May 29, 2000 (Fastest selling rap album) ( Memento of November 17, 2000 in the Internet Archive )
38. ↑ RIAA : Search Results Gold and Platinum Awards from Eminem
39. ↑ Grammys 2001 ( Memento of the original from March 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) 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. 
40. ↑ 500 best albums of all time: # 244 The Marshall Mathers LP
41. ↑ 100 best albums 2000–2009: # 7 The Marshall Mathers LP
42. ↑ Time Magazine: The All-TIME 100 Albums
43. ↑ Charts of the decade DE # 58
44. ↑ Charts of the Decade US # 7
45. ↑ Rating: metacritic.com
46. ↑ Rating: laut.de
47. ↑ Rating: laut.de (milestones)
48. ↑ Rating: rap4fame.de
49. ↑ Rating: Rolling Stone
50. ↑ Rating: allmusic.com
51. ↑ Review: RapReviews.com
52. ↑ laut.de: Review of the sound carrier
53. ↑ laut.de: Milestones - Review of the album (5/5)
54. ↑ rap4fame.de: Review of the sound carrier