This week we are going to throw it back to 2000 and look at one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums that introduced the world to a different style and inspired so many.

The Marshall Mathers LP might be one of the greatest, if not the best hip hop album of all time. Its cultural impact was insane and it caused so much controversy that really hit the hip-hop game like an 18-wheeler.

This is one of my favorite albums precisely because it is so controversial. It’s violent yet wholesome, scary yet powerful. It is very clear where Eminem’s head was back in the day. I also love this album because it isn’t Eminem that is talking to you on it. With the exception of a few songs, Eminem’s alter ego Slim Shady is the one communicating with the people on this album. It’s a great transition from the less publicly-aggressive Slim Shady of Em’s first album The Slim Shady LP, to the more aggressive one that could care less about what people think of him.

This album brought the world one of the most incredible and influential songs of all time, “The Real Slim Shady.” This song really is iconic. It has the perfect amount of carefree energy and empowerment in it. It also brought so much attention to Em since he dissed so many artists on the track. It’s safe to say that this song set him up for life.

One of the other most iconic songs on this album was “Stan” featuring Dido. The track tells the story of a fan named Stan who is obsessed with Slim Shady and writes to him constantly. When Stan doesn’t hear back from Slim, he becomes violent and drives himself off a bridge with his pregnant girlfriend. The song had such a huge cultural impact that the word “stan” became the word to describe super-fans of any artist. It was added to the Oxford English dictionary in June of 2018.

My personal favorite off of this album is “The Way I Am.” it is the perfect mix of Eminem, Marshall Mathers, and Slim Shady’s personalities. It’s a true demonstration of how difficult fame was for Marhsall to cope with, and how it bothered him and his family. He asks his fans to leave him alone when they see him out on the streets having a meal with his daughter. I love this song so much because not only does it show his personalities in great detail but it also has crazy double entendres that only those who have studied Em’s music would understand.

It is difficult to narrow down these tracks into a top three but I believe that the three best songs would be “The Way I Am,” “Criminal,” and “Kill You.” The only problem I have with this album is “Kim.” I know this album is very violent but “Kim” crosses the line for me. Kim was Em’s ex-wife who he didn’t end on good terms with. He has since apologized to Kim but it doesn’t change the fact that he released the song.

I could talk about this album all day but I would hate to bore you. This album is one of my favorites of all time and I think it really set the stage for Em and was a better introduction than his first album. It is so funny, controversial, and outlandish. Some critics thought that he would be a one-hit-wonder in hip hop because he was white, but this album proved them wrong on so many levels.