| Overview |
| Credits |
| Editions |
Relapse is the sixth studio album by American rapper Eminem, released through Aftermath, Shady, Interscope, and Web Entertainment on May 15, 2009. It serves as the follow-up to his album Encore (2004), where he took a five-year hiatus due to writer's block and addiction to sleeping pills. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2007 to 2009. Dr. Dre, Mark Batson, and Eminem handled production. Conceptually, Relapse concerns the ending of his drug rehabilitation, rapping after a fictional relapse, and the return of his Slim Shady alter-ego. The album was mostly horrorcore oriented. On the day of its release, Eminem appeared on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.
One of the most anticipated album releases of 2009, Relapse debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 608,000 copies in its first week. It has become certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album received generally mixed reviews from most music critics, who were mostly divided in their responses towards Eminem's lyrics. It earned him two Grammy Awards and has sold 2.2 million copies in the United States and 4.5 million copies worldwide.
Description[]
The first verse on 2009's Relapse starts with the line, "You're walkin' down a horror corridor/It's almost four in the mornin' and you're in a/Nightmare, it's horrible." Typical Eminem scenario. But students of rap history might also hear it as a sly allusion to horrorcore, a short-lived subgenre characterized by rappers saying the most extreme, violent, and generally unpalatable stuff possible. An artist with this many murder fantasies under his belt has a high bar to clear here, and Eminem does so energetically, whether it's the image of him playing ping-pong with his own eyeball on "Insane," or the unprintable details of his plans for the "two brain-dead lesbian vegetables" on "Bagpipes From Bagdad." He's sick—sick, he tells ya!
However ugly Eminem's thoughts, they had nothing on real life. He later said his pill addiction had gotten so severe that, in the months following a 2007 overdose, he had to relearn how to rap the way, say, a stroke victim might have to relearn how to talk. (His manager, Paul Rosenberg, went a step further, asking doctors if he'd suffered permanent brain damage.) A grim image. But on the other hand, a strangely hopeful one: "I remember when I first got sober and all the shit was out of my system," he told Rosenberg on a podcast several years later. "I remember just being, like, really happy. And everything was fucking new to me again." With Relapse, the sweeping societal indictments and grave self-examinations were paused to make room for strangling Lindsay Lohan with an extension cord ("Same Song & Dance") and venting yet more hatred for the mother that, according to Em, got him interested in drugs in the first place ("My Mom"). The relapse wasn't the pills—it was Slim Shady. – Apple Music
Background[]
Marshall felt that these two albums represented him badly, was a disappointment, and thought that they weren't the best. This is expressed in future work, most popularly in "Not Afraid":
And to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back
I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact
Let's be honest, that last Relapse CD was "ehhhh"
Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground
Artwork[]
The album cover was designed and directed by Julian Alexander, which depicts Eminem made out of pills. Photography was done by Karin Catt, with additional photography by Alexander.
Accolades[]
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | American Music Awards | Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album | Nominated |
| BET Hip Hop Awards | CD of the Year | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Music Album: Male | ||
| 2010 | Choice Music: Best Rap Album | Won | |
| Grammy Awards | Best Rap Album |
Track listing[]
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dr. West (Skit)" (performed by Dominic West and Marshall Mathers) | Marshall Mathers, Paul Rosenberg | Dr. Dre, Eminem | 1:29 |
| 2. | "3 a.m." | Mathers, Andre Young, Mark Batson, Dawaun Parker, Trevor Lawrence, Mike Elizondo | Dr. Dre | 5:19 |
| 3. | "My Mom" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence | Dr. Dre | 5:19 |
| 4. | "Insane" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Elizondo | Dr. Dre | 3:01 |
| 5. | "Bagpipes from Baghdad" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Elizondo, Sean Cruse | Dr. Dre, Trevor Lawrence, Jr. | 4:43 |
| 6. | "Hello" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence | Dr. Dre, Mark Batson | 4:08 |
| 7. | "Tonya (Skit)" (performed by Elizabeth Keener) | Mathers, Rosenberg | Dr. Dre, Eminem | 0:42 |
| 8. | "Same Song & Dance" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Elizondo | Dr. Dre, Dawaun Parker | 4:06 |
| 9. | "We Made You" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Walter Egan | Dr. Dre, Eminem, Doc Ish[a] | 4:29 |
| 10. | "Medicine Ball" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence | Dr. Dre, Mark Batson | 3:57 |
| 11. | "Paul (Skit)" (performed by Paul Rosenberg) | Mathers, Rosenberg | Eminem, Bass, Luis Resto[a] | 0:19 |
| 12. | "Stay Wide Awake" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Elizondo | Dr. Dre | 5:19 |
| 13. | "Old Time's Sake" (featuring Dr. Dre) | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence | Dr. Dre, Mark Batson | 4:38 |
| 14. | "Must Be the Ganja" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence | Dr. Dre, Mark Batson | 4:02 |
| 15. | "Mr. Mathers (Skit)" | Mathers, Rosenberg | Dr. Dre, Eminem | 0:42 |
| 16. | "Déjà Vu" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Cruse | Dr. Dre | 4:43 |
| 17. | "Beautiful" | Mathers, Luis Resto, Jeffrey Bass, Don Black, Andy Hill | Eminem, Jeff Bass | 6:32 |
| 18. | "Crack a Bottle" (with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent) | Mathers, Young, Curtis Jackson, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Jean Renard | Dr. Dre | 4:57 |
| 19. | "Steve Berman (Skit)" (performed by Angela Yee, Marshall Mathers and Steve Berman) | Mathers, Rosenberg | Eminem, Resto[a] | 1:29 |
| 20. | "Underground" | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence | Dr. Dre, Curtis "Sauce" Wilson (chorus vocals) | 6:11 |
| Total length: | 76:05 | |||
| Deluxe edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 21. | "My Darling" | Mathers, Young, Resto, Mike Strange | Eminem | 5:20 |
| 22. | "Careful What You Wish For" | Mathers, Resto, Steve King | Eminem | 3:47 |
| Total length: | 85:12 | |||
| iTunes deluxe edition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 21. | "My Darling" | Mathers, Young, Resto, Strange | Eminem | 5:20 |
| 22. | "Careful What You Wish For" | Mathers, Resto, Steve King | Eminem | 3:47 |
| 23. | "We Made You" (single version) | Mathers, Young, Batson, Parker, Trevor Lawrence, Jr., Walter Egan | Dr. Dre, Eminem, Doc Ish[a] | 4:46 |
| 24. | "Crack a Bottle" (single version) (featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent) | Mathers, Jackson, Young, Batson, Parker, Lawrence, Renard | Dr. Dre | 5:15 |
| 25. | "3 a.m." (music video) | 5:31 | ||
| 26. | "We Made You" (music video) | 4:53 | ||
| Total length: | 105:48 | |||
Notes
- ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
- On the clean version, "Must Be The Ganja" is written as "Must Be The".
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
 Australian Albums (ARIA)
|
1 |
 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|
2 |
 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|
1 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
|
4 |
 Canadian Albums (Billboard)
|
1 |
 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
|
1 |
 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
|
3 |
 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
|
5 |
 French Albums (SNEP)
|
1 |
 German Albums (GfK)
|
2 |
 Greek Albums (IFPI)
|
13 |
 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)
|
14 |
 Irish Albums (IRMA)
|
1 |
 Italian Albums (FIMI)
|
4 |
 Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|
1 |
 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)
|
24 |
 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|
1 |
 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
|
1 |
 Polish Albums (ZPAV)
|
1 |
 South African Albums (RISA)
|
10 |
 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)
|
5 |
 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
|
3 |
 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|
2 |
 UK Albums (OCC)
|
1 |
 US Billboard 200
|
1 |
| US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)
|
16 |
Year-end charts[]
| Chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|
17 |
| Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)
|
4 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
|
50 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|
43 |
| Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
|
22 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)
|
9 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
|
63 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
|
72 |
 European Albums (Billboard)
|
38 |
| French Albums (SNEP)
|
73 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
|
61 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|
70 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
|
17 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)
|
96 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
|
27 |
| UK Albums (OCC)
|
30 |
| US Billboard 200
|
9 |
| Chart (2010) | Position |
| Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)
|
25 |
| US Billboard 200
|
43 |
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 140,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 10,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 15,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 10,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 50,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 3,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 100,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 30,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 30,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 100,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 15,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 10,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 20,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 30,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 588,000 | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4× Platinum | 4,000,000*** | |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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