Maps of Music

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013)

Where the lyrics of The Marshall Mathers LP 2 take you, and where it was really made.

Two days after the album came out, the house on its cover went up in flames; the site was later turned into a sanctuary for bees.

Key places

Eminem's childhood home on the cover (2013)

Album cover Hitsville USA — The album cover shows Eminem's childhood home in Detroit, a house that was later damaged by fire and then converted into a sanctuary for bees. The point marks the city centre, not the exact house. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Asshole's studio session in Detroit (2013)

Recording site Detroit — Asshole was first created during a studio session with Alex da Kid and Eminem in Detroit in 2012. Skylar Grey later wrote the hook for the song during a trip to Detroit. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Monster chorus recorded in Harlem (2013)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Bebe Rexha recorded the chorus of The Monster in November 2012 at Stadium Red studio in Harlem while she was working on her debut album. The track was produced by Frequency. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (MMLP2): eighth studio album by American rapper Eminem
• Released 5 November 2013 by Shady Records, Goliath Artists, Aftermath Entertainment, WEB Entertainment, and Interscope Records
• Dr. Dre serves as executive producer alongside Rick Rubin
• A sequel to Eminem's third album, The Marshall Mathers LP
• Features guest singers Rihanna and Nate Ruess, and outside producers S1, Alex da Kid and Rick Rubin

Background

• The sequel idea came after Eminem recorded a handful of songs early in the album's creation that reminded him of his earlier music
• For the sequel he wanted to experiment with retro, vintage sounds from turntablism
• Influences: arena rock and old-school hip-hop, mainly Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill (1987) and LL Cool J's Radio (1985)
• Production is more minimalist than Eminem's previous albums
• Singles: Berzerk, Survival, Rap God, The Monster, and Headlights
• The title and release date were revealed in Beats by Dre commercials aired during the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2013

Recording

• In a behind-the-scenes video for Berzerk, Rick Rubin said the throwback idea came later in the creative process
• Survival was chosen as the song that best fit the Call of Duty: Ghosts partnership, and Eminem turned in five successive versions of it
• The Monster was recorded by Bebe Rexha in November 2012 at Stadium Red studio in Harlem while she worked on her debut album
• Asshole was first created during a 2012 studio session in Detroit with Alex da Kid and Eminem

Cover

• The cover shows a picture of Eminem's childhood home, which is now in a dilapidated state
• Its design closely resembles the cover of The Marshall Mathers LP, which also shows the house
• The artwork was revealed on 20 September 2013 on Eminem's Twitter account
• Art direction by Mike Saputo, photography by Kevin Mazur

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Artist

Career

• Marshall Bruce Mathers III, born October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri; American rapper, songwriter, record producer and record executive.
• Known for rap flow and conscious rap including political criticism and social commentary; widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time.
• Credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America and the acceptance of white rappers in popular music.
• Debut album Infinite (1996) was a commercial failure; Slim Shady EP (1997) led to signing with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope.
• The Slim Shady LP (1999) brought mainstream popularity; The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002) each sold over one million copies in a single week.
• The Eminem Show became the best-selling album worldwide in 2002; Recovery (2010) was the best-selling album worldwide in 2010.
• Co-founded Shady Records in late 1999; the label signed D12, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Cashis.
• Starred in 8 Mile (2002); "Lose Yourself" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the first hip-hop act to win it.
• Over 220 million records sold; eleven number-one albums on the Billboard 200, with The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (2024) the latest.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 in his first year of eligibility.

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: weighted average of 72 out of 100 from 33 critic scores, indicating generally favorable reviews
• Paul MacInnes of The Guardian gave the album a perfect five-star rating
• Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone wrote that nostalgia is everywhere on the record
• Christopher Weingarten of Spin compared Eminem's rapping to an athletic competition, praising his pure ability and flexibility
• Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times said Eminem sounds more alive than he has in years
• Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune gave the album two out of four stars in a mixed review
• Craig Jenkins of Pitchfork gave the album a mixed review, saying Eminem's wordplay was not matched by how he applied it
• Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C+ and criticized its slurs
• Dan Rys of XXL gave the album an XL rating
• Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club gave the album a B
• David Jeffries of AllMusic called it a vicious, infectious, hilarious triumph

Reappraisal

• Damien Scott of Billboard placed the album second to last among Eminem's 12 studio albums in a 2024 ranking
• Scott highlighted Berzerk and The Monster but concluded that the album did not reach the creative heights of the original

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling more than 792,000 copies in its first week
• Became the second-biggest debut of 2013 in the US
• Debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with over 143,000 copies, Eminem's seventh consecutive UK number-one album
• Best-selling album of 2013 in Canada, with over 242,000 units sold
• Debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia
• Certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA in March 2017
• Won Eminem a record sixth Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Two days after release, the house in the cover photo went up in flames for unknown reasons and the upper part was damaged
• The house was later demolished, and by 2022 the site had been converted into a sanctuary for bees by local beekeepers
• Rick Rubin and Paul Rosenberg made cameo appearances in the Berzerk music video alongside Kendrick Lamar and Kid Rock
• Bebe Rexha said she co-wrote the Rihanna collaboration The Monster, and the producer Frequency then sent the verses to Eminem for his own additions
• Eminem's Survival was made for Call of Duty: Ghosts, and the final version was turned in only a day before its reveal on 14 August

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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