Today In Hip-Hop: ‘The Eminem Show’ Goes Diamond

On this day, March 7, in hip-hop history...

2011: Coming off of the success of his 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem followed up with the release of The Eminem Show two years later. Following a similar formula to his previous major label records, Slim Shady managed to further continue his reign in the hip-hop game. While Eminem received plenty of accolades for his work on The Eminem Show soon after it was released, it wouldn’t be until years later that he would be able to celebrate a rare feat. On this day in 2011, almost nine years after the album’s release date in 2002, The Eminem Show was officially certified Diamond status in the U.S. according to the RIAA. For those who didn’t know there was anything past platinum status; that means the album hit the ten million sold mark.

The Eminem Show debuted with the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200 chart. The album secured the top ranking by moving 285,000 copies in just one weekend. The album was originally supposed to come out on June 4, but thanks to people pirating and illegally downloading the album on peer-to-peer networks, the labels released it early. With the help of strong singles like “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” and “Without Me,” The Eminem Show sold 1,322,000 copies its first full week of release. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album went on to become the highest-selling U.S. album of 2002 with 7.6 million copies sold. The next year, Em would take home the Grammy for Best Rap Album.—Jamal Bell