Since his explosion onto the scene in 1999 with the Slim Shady LP, Eminem (real name Marshal Mathers) has become one of the most popular hip-hop artists in the world and is, officially, the best-selling rapper of all time.
Even though Eminem saw vast amounts of success in the early-2000s, during the mid to late 2000s, Mathers started to see a decline in the quality of his work. The hits still came, but the initial intent seemed absent. However, Eminem has only seen this decline in hindsight.
The rapper, on many occasions, has admitted that there are projects of his own that today he hates. Furthermore, he has admitted that some of his albums he now regrets he even made. Two of these albums are his most famous: Encore and Relapse.
Released in 2005, Encore sold over 5.3 million units and was certified five times platinum by the RIAA. His 2009 project, Relapse, sold over 2.6 million units. Some would argue that these numbers alone mean both were a success, but Mathers is not content with his output looking back.
Speaking to radio personality Sway of Sway In The Morning about the two albums, Mathers explained, “I have made albums that definitely would not be at the top of my list. Encore, Relapse, although I believe Encore is a better album than Relapse. Relapse is something that I looked at in a couple of years, went back to it and cringed at!!!”
The rapper continued, “I was like, ‘Oh Jesus Christ! I didn’t realise I was doing that many accents!’ I just started for whatever reason. I just got into it and started on this weird serial killer vibe kinda thing.”
Throughout the interview, the rapper expressed his frustration with how he performed but insisted that he had to do those albums to get to the good and stable place that he is now. You can view the interview in the video below to hear Eminem speaking on how he “cringed at” Relapse.
