Culture

How Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sent shockwaves through the '00s

Eminem's third studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, is almost instantly an act of provocation. The Detroit rapper, in the guise of his furious Slim Shady persona, uses this record's intro to encourage naysayers to go "sue me", setting the unapologetic tone for everything that follows. Released 25 years ago this month, The Marshall Mathers LP was Eminem's ticket to superstardom and, more broadly, a real inflection point for Western pop culture. This was a moment where a white emcee from Warren, Detroit, was suddenly the most debated artist on planet Earth. A celebrated anti-hero, who could provoke outrage while also shifting tonnes of hummable records in the process: MMLP went on to sell more than 35 million copies worldwide.

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