With hits 'My Name Is' and 'The Real Slim Shady,' he ruled the airwaves, but it wasn't long before some detractors acknowledged his depth, helped in part by singles like the mournful 'Stan,' written from the perspective of an obsessed fan. To be certain, a great deal of the controversy Eminem courted - during the turn of the millennium, there was no greater pop culture bogeyman than Marshall Mathers - came through in how his violent fantasias, often directed at his mother or his wife, intertwined with flights of absurdity that appealed to listeners too young to absorb the psychodramas Eminem explored on his hit albums The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP. Dre, he's had music to match: thick, muscular loops evoking the terror and paranoia conjured by Em's lyrics. On sheer verbal skills, Eminem is one of the greatest MCs of his generation: rapid, fluid, dexterous, and unpredictable, capable of pulling off long-form narratives or withering asides.

Certainly, he was the first white rapper since the Beastie Boys to garner both sales and critical respect, but his impact has exceeded this confining distinction. To call him hip-hop's Elvis is fitting to a degree, but it's largely inaccurate. Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in music history, and easily the biggest crossover success ever seen in rap.

Eminem discography download free