'Music To Be Murdered By': Eminem Bags 10th Record-Breaking No. 1 Spot on Billboard 200
It has been only a few days since Eminem released his new 2020 album. Though he received criticisms because of it, he still proved that he is one of the greatest rappers alive by notching another history in the music field.
Eminem successfully grabbed his 10th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart after his new album, "Music to Be Murdered By," managed to top the list since its release on Jan. 17.
With its 279,000 tallied equivalent album units, Nielsen Music said that its debut until Jan. 23 has grabbed the first spot for the rapper. Of the equivalent album units earned, 154,000 of it are in SEA units, 117,000 are in album sales, and the remaining 8,000 are in TEA units.
Aside from being the 10th first of Eminem, "Music To Be Murdered By" also set a record for the "largest streaming week for an album" since Post Malone's "Hollywood's Bleeding". Malone's album garnered 220.9 million clicks on Sept. 28, 2019 during its second week of release.
The recognition will be included on the Feb. 1 chart, which will be posted on Billboard's sites on Jan. 28.
Successful New Album
In addition to being the rapper's current No. 1 album, "Music To Be Murdered By" also allowed the 47-year-old rapper to have three additional records.
First, he became the sixth act to have 10 or more No. 1 albums. Eminem followed the roll of the artists who previously achieved the feat before him, starting with The Beatles (who had 19 No. 1 albums), Jay-Z (14 albums), Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand (each with 11), and Elvis Presley (10).
Eminem also tied Kanye West for "the most No. 1 debuts in a row" in the same chart. "Music To Be Murdered By" became his 10th chart-topping album, while Kanye West 2019 album "Jesus is King" became the rapper's ninth No. 1 arrival.
Lastly, both rappers also got their record-extending 10th Consecutive No. 1, which means that they have produced consecutive No. 1s and made them debut at No. 1 at the same time.
All these recognitions came after Eminem received heavy backlash because of the same album, particularly for a song where he highlighted the Manchester bombing.
Distasteful Lyrics
In one of the album's songs entitled "Unaccommodating," Eminem sparked controversy after the lyrics of the said song cited Ariana Grande's 2017 Manchester concert bombing.
During the concert, a suicide bomber killed over 20 people outside the "Thank U, Next" singer's concert venue.
Eminem rapped his song "Unaccommodating" with the lyrics, "But I'm contemplating yelling 'Bombs away' on the game like I'm outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting."
The rapper added more fuel as he included an explosion sound effect.
Ariana Grande's fans started to call the 47-year-old rapper's attention, showing their rage after Eminem turned the deaths of the people into a "punchline".
"Maybe try and have a little respect, and don't use a terrorist attack to gain clout," one fan wrote.
