Did Eminem Have The Best Year Of His Career?

Two weeks ago, MTV News crowned Kanye West as the 2010 Man of the Year. However, a lot of extremely vocal fans thought that the individual picked for the number two position — rapperEminem — should have been in first place by miles. There is an excellent case to be made for Slim Shady, as he had a tremendously successful year that saw him drop one of his most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful albums of his career (Recovery is on track to be the best-selling album of 2010), top the charts twice with two killer singles ("Not Afriad" and the Rihanna-assisted "Love the Way You Lie"), co-headline the biggest concerts of the year (the extremely well-received Home and Home shows with Jay-Z) and re-ignite the debate over whether or not he is the greatest rapper of all time (an argument that will continue ad infinitum).

With all of those accomplishments (and with the narrative to go along with it), is it possible thatEminem not only had a great year but perhaps his single best year in his career? Let's take a look back at the major accomplishments year-by-year for proof.

Pre-1999
In the era before signing to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, Eminem hit peaks when winning rap competitions (including the 1997 Rap Olympics), attracting label offers and releasing music himself (including Infinite and The Slim Shady EP). But he also had trouble in his personal life that included a suicide attempt. Eventually, he signed a major label deal in 1998.

1999
1999 saw the release of his major-label debut The Slim Shady LP, which moved three million copies in that calendar year alone. Both "My Name Is" and "Guilty Conscience" became radio hits and MTV staples. Em also made key contributions to Dr. Dre's smash album 2001, including "What's the Difference" and "Forgot About Dre."

2000
The Marshall Mathers LP dropped, moving 1.76 million copies in a week and breaking Snoop Dogg's record for the biggest opening week in the history of hip-hop. "The Real Slim Shady," "Stan" and "The Way I Am" all became huge hits (with "The Real Slim Shady" representing his highest chart position yet). Some of his biggest feuds erupted, including his tiff with Christina Aguilera. Em also appeared on tracks with Redman, Method Man, Xzibit and Sticky Fingaz.

2001
In a mad flurry of activity, Eminem toured as a part of both the Up in Smoke Tour (alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre) and the Family Values Tour (which he co-headlined with Limp Bizkit). He also oversaw the release of D12's Devil's Night, hooked up with Jay-Z for "Renegade" on Jigga's The Blueprint album and performed "Stan" on stage with Elton John in a classic television moment.

2002
The Eminem Show dropped over the summer, bringing with it the hit singles "Without Me" and "Cleaning Out My Closet." Eminem also starred in the semi-autobiographical film "8 Mile," which not only featured Slim Shady's excellent acting but also the smash hit "Lose Yourself," which was his first chart-topping hit.

2003
Eminem took home an Oscar for "Lose Yourself," then focused on the remaining singles from The Eminem Show (including "Business" and "Sing for the Moment").

2004
Em released Encore, his fourth album, with also topped the Billboard album chart. He scored another big single with "Just Lose It" and put out his first real protest anthem in "Mosh." He also got into a beef with Michael Jackson over the "Just Lose It" video (which referenced both Jackson's child molestation trial and an incident that saw Jackson's hair catch fire during a commercial shoot in 1984). The second D12 album D12 World also dropped in 2004.

2005
Though he continued to service the singles from Encore (including "Like Toy Soldiers" and "Ass Like That"), rumors swirled that Eminem was retiring from music altogether. Those rumors picked up steam with the release of the career-spanning Curtain Call: The Hits later in 2005. However, his collaboration efforts continued with tag-teams with 50 Cent, the Game, Trick-Trick, Fat Joe and Obie Trice.

2006
Despite a guest appearance on Akon's "Smack That" and the late release of the compilationEminem Presents: The ReUp, it was pretty quiet for Slim Shady.

2007
Outside of two high-profile guest spots ("Touchdown" with T.I. and "Peep Show" with 50 Cent), Eminem laid low.

2008
Another quiet year, highlighted only by his vocal and production work with Trick-Trick.

2009
Eminem emerged from hibernation with Relapse, his first brand-new album in five years. It immediately scored some big hits, including "Crack a Bottle," "3 A.M." and "We Made You."Relapse: The Refill followed later in 2009, as did his contribution to Drake's "Forever," largely considered to be the best collaboration of that year.

Source:Newsroom MTV

Eminem Ruled 2010 -- And Here's How

Rapper rose from ashes of disappointing album to top of the charts and 10 Grammy nominations.

It's fitting that Eminem is planning to return to the big screen next year in the "8 Mile"-inspired boxing film "Southpaw." Because like Rocky after he was counted down and out so many times in that famous pugilist movie serial, Marshall Mathers seemed like he'd run out of gas in 2009 only to come storming all the way back, and then some, in 2010 to post one of his biggest and baddest years to date.

At a time when younger artists like Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Lady Gaga are relying on social media, a dizzying blitz of promotional appearances and concerts, and a nonstop hype machine to keep their careers stoked, Eminem's path back to the top of the musical heap was decidedly old-school: He released a great album in Recovery that emotionally connected with fans thanks to some of the most hook-heavy songs of his career while maintaining an elusive persona that kept them guessing.

"On Recovery, he was really able to tap into the emotive 2002 stuff that people loved in '8 Mile,' " said Complex Editor in Chief Noah Callahan-Bever. "And I think that the fact that he's not tech-savvy or any of that stuff really doesn't hurt him because he's able to cultivate a little bit of a mystery about himself and his comings and goings. That exclusivity creates more value to his limited presence."

While songs like mega first single "Not Afraid" and the inescapable Rihanna hookup "Love the Way You Lie" were getting wall-to-wall spins at radio, Em made only a few promotional appearances, played just a handful of dates -- including the lauded Home and Home shows with Jay-Z -- and managed to keep that air of inscrutability about himself while putting up the best sales figures for any album released in 2010. The less you saw of him, the more you wanted to see him.

"I think it kind of benefited because [of] the whole backstory behind the album," Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, former executive editor of The Fader,said about the drama surrounding Slim Shady's second comeback attempt after five years in drug-induced exile and 2009's so-so reception forRelapse. "And his comeback from a bad album ... the whole thing with the pills, and I think it kind of lent to his mystery. There's something to be said for rappers who have a trillion Twitter followers but at the same time you kind of don't want to be able to say whatever you want to your favorite rapper. I think that he kind of kept his integrity in the way that he needed to as an older rapper."

Putting out a barrage of cameo verses has been the go-to move for up-and-comers like Drake and Nicki Minaj as a way to establish their brand. But Marshall borrowed that same new-school page and made it feel classic by being very selective about which songs he lent his voice to. And, almost without exception, every choice he made was an instant classic, from his killer verse on Drake's "Forever" to a solid duet with Lil Wayne on "Drop the World," some tasty bars on B.o.B's "Airplanes" and a nod to the new kids on the block on Nicki's "Roman's Revenge."

Most of his peers seem to believe that more is more -- more endorsements, more products, more interviews, more guests on their tracks -- even as Em came off as the wily veteran who picks his high-percentage shots while the rest of the squad is firing off endless jumpers.

"When Eminem went away, the feeling of like, 'Well, that whole market's going away. All those people, they're just dispersing off into the ether and no one's gonna be ready for him when he's ready to come back,' " said New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica of the excitement that greeted the rapper's return to form. "And what I think you realize this year is that all those people are like sleeper cells and all got activated. All of a sudden, 'Oh, Eminem's back. It's OK to buy his CD again. I didn't have anyone I feel like I wanted to buy for the last two or three years; now I feel like I can commit to Eminem.' "

What also became clear this year, Caramanica said, is that unlike flash-in-the-pan pop rappers or mainstream acts whose audiences don't grow with them as they mature, Eminem's fans have been loyal, even as he's picked up a whole new generation of followers thanks to his more accessible new songs. The evidence of that trend can be seen in the fact that, months after its release, Recovery was still routinely hanging around the top 20, if not top 10, on the Billboard albums chart, an indication that new fans were being brought onboard every week.

That slow and steady, measured approach clearly paid off, as Em won two VMAs (off of eight nominations) in September and ended the year by loading up with a leading 10 Grammy nominations and a #2 spot on MTV News' Man of the Year countdown. You can be sure when the Grammys are handed out in February, Marshall's name will be mentioned a few times, because if there's anything the Recording Academy (and, let's face it, all of America) loves, it's a comeback.

Source:MTV

Eminem and Lil Wayne: 7 Ways To Continue Their 'SNL' Success

The duo took the stage on the set of "Saturday Night Live" this weekend and when they were finished, the pair left it better off than when they started. After teaming up at the top of the show to perform their collaborative hit, "No Love," alongside a full band, the lethal combination split up at the end of the show for the second half of their production with Em performing his rock-influenced hit, "Won't Back Down" before giving Wayne control of the stage, who wowed us with his performance of "6 Foot 7 Foot." Not bad, fellas — not bad at all.

Now, it's time to capitalize on that success. Despite the fact that Em and Wayne are widely considered to be two of the greatest rappers of all-time, they haven't collaborated on material together nearly enough. But with their recent "SNL" performance behind us, we hope they'll reconsider that decision. To help them along, RapFix came up with a list of seven things the MCs can do to build on their "SNL" success. Hey, guys, all we want for Christmas is ...

1. An Eminem-Lil Wayne collaborative LP!

The first thing that came to our minds after seeing Em and Wayne perform was "Why haven't these guys recorded more songs together?" The second: "And how crazy would an entire Em-Weezy album be?!" Clearly, this is a little bit of a pipe dream. Weezy's working on Tha Carter IV and Em is still basking in the spotlight after receiving 10 Grammy nods for his last album, Recovery. But Wayne works quickly and Em sounds like he's always up for a challenge, so why not shoot for the stars and release a collaborative album? Hey, if Kanye West and Jay-Z can find the time to do one, you guys can, too.

2. A nationwide tour starring Eminem and Lil Wayne

Em hasn't toured the country in what seems like forever. And Wayne hasn't toured for almost a year now thanks to the prison bid he had to complete during the majority of 2010. Neither has anything lined up for the immediate future, either so, why not hit the road together and do something special? After checking them out on "SNL," it doesn't seem like their egos clash, so that shouldn't be a problem. And Em and Weezy are both staying away from booze and drugs — albeit for different reasons — so the support system they could offer one another would be ideal for both. Aw, rappers can get along, see?

3. A series of Em/Wayne late-night talk show appearances

OK, maybe a tour is a reach, but when it comes to performing, why stop at "SNL"? If Em and Weezy want to make the most of "No Love," there are a ton of other late-night shows that they could visit too. From "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to George Lopez's "Lopez Tonight," there are a handful of late-night stops the duo could make to promote their single. Hey, if nothing else, there's probably still a couple extra bucks to make from the song, guys.

4. A mini-concert at the 2011 NBA All-Star Game

For whatever reason, the NBA made a conscious effort not to include rappers during performances at the ASG last week. The result: Um, that "interesting" Usher performance at halftime of the game. This year, NBA Commissioner David Stern should extend an invite to Em and Weezy. With the "SNL" performance on their resume, there's no reason to think a mini-concert at the 2011 ASG featuring the two of them would be anything short of historic.

5. An appearance on the 2011 Grammy Awards stage

Let's take this show all the way to the top. The Grammys are only about two months away and that's the one award show that everyone is bound to be watch. The Grammys are also pretty open to having rap performers do their thing (remember Kanye, Jay-Z, Wayne and T.I. doing "Swagga Like Us" in 2009?) so we think they'd welcome the idea of an Eminem-Lil Wayne performance with open arms. It would also give the guys an opportunity to branch off and bring other MCs into the mix as well (Em and Nicki Minaj's "Roman's Revenge," anyone?). Bottom line: It'd be a good look for rap.

6. A remix of Lil Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Eminem

Ohhhhhh-weeeeee! Can you imagine Em getting the opportunity to rip Bangladesh's instrumental? Let's just hope these two got together backstage on Saturday night and that this is already in the works. We can only hope.

Source:@MTVRapFix

Sirius XM to air Eminem's Comerica Park concert on New Year's Eve From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101220/ENT04/12200367/Sirius-XM

Fans who missed Eminem's Comerica Park concert or those who want to relive it will get a chance when Eminem's Sirius XM radio station, Shade 45, re-airs the performance at 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

The station will broadcast Em's performance from his Sept. 2 concert with Jay-Z, the first of two shows the two rappers did at the Detroit Tigers' home. They followed the shows with two concerts at New York's Yankee Stadium.

Eminem made the announcement today on Shade 45's morning show. "If you weren't there, this is what it sounded like," Em deadpanned.

He also took a moment to toast his fantasy football team, saying he's in the second round of playoffs in his fantasy league.

Following the New Year's Eve broadcast, the Em concert will repeat periodically on Shade 45.

Source:

Detroit News