Eminem's new album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) had a killer first week when it comes to sales, amassing 281K album-equivalent units without counting physical sales. Now, it officially manifested into his 11th career No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 albums chart, breaking Taylor Swift's dominant 2024 record for 12 consecutive chart-topping weeks with The Tortured Poets Department. Moreover, this is the largest debut for any hip-hop album this year so far. Also, the Detroit MC now ties with Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Kanye West for the fifth-most number ones on the Billboard 200 chart.
For those curious, that list has Drake (13 No. 1 albums), Jay-Z and Taylor Swift (both with 14), and The Beatles (19) ahead of Eminem and company. Nevertheless, this is a huge achievement for him, even if the album's critical reception has been less than stellar. However, comparison might be the thief of joy, but in this case, folks are generally much more receptive to this body of work than they were to Em's other post-2000s releases. But whether you're a fan or a hater, you can't deny that there's so much to appreciate and dissect when it comes to The Death Of Slim Shady.
Eminem's The Death Of Slim Shady: Listen
In addition to this album success, Eminem continues to keep a firm grip on commercial dominance within the rap game, at least in a few different metrics. One of those is the goalpost of Spotify monthly listeners, which he sits firmly at the top of with around 86 million at press time. Kendrick Lamar is not far behind as the second rapper on this list with 75 million at press time, ironically surpassing Drake recently. Alas, not even their beef can dethrone Marshall Mathers.
Meanwhile, referring back to the depth and content within The Death Of Slim Shady, fans are still finding new details and interpretations to analyze and discuss. A popular recent theory is that Eminem actually intended to structure this album in reverse, as playing the tracks from last to first apparently reveals another perspective and concept. This isn't the first time that viewpoints like these caused fan debate. But they rarely do, and engaging so many fans beyond a surface level listen is a feat far beyond a No. 1 debut.