Hometown Hero Eminem hit another Spotify milestone Saturday with “Rap God” days after his 51st birthday.
The 2013 single, already a Guinness World Records title holder, passed the 1 billion streams threshold on the music streaming service as the Detroit hip-hop star’s eighth single to do so. The 6-minute and 4-second track is from Eminem’s album “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” and features him rapping 1,560 words, averaging 4.28 words per second.
This 2022 photo shows Eminem performing onstage during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater in California. With over 25 records under his belt, including the fastest rap in a hit single and the most words in a hit single, the Detroit hip-hop star certainly isn’t a stranger to Guinness World Records.
Guinness honored Eminem with the record for “most words in a hit single” for “Rap God” in 2014. The song’s music video recently surpassed 1.3 billion views on YouTube.
Eminem performed the song as part of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Footage of the performance is available below.
“Rap God” joins previous Eminem entries “Mockingbird,” which crossed the 1 billion streams mark in March thanks to TikTok, as well as “Godzilla,” “The Real Slim Shady,” “Love the Way You Lie,” “Lose Yourself,” “’Till I Collapse” and “Without Me.”
Across Spotify, nearly 500 songs have made it into the Billions Club, a playlist launched in 2020 that includes all of the songs on the platform that have hit the major milestone. After the achievement, Spotify gifts artists the Billions Club plaque.
Artists with more songs than Eminem on the list include Justin Bieber (14), Bad Bunny, Drake (12 each), Ed Sheeran, the Weeknd, Rihanna (11 each), Post Malone, XXXTentacion, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande (10 each), Coldplay and Dua Lipa (9 each), according to the playlist.
Eminem is Spotify’s 18th most listened-to artist in the world as of this writing. He has won 15 Grammy Awards.Eminem began as an underground battle rapper in Detroit before developing his career. He scored second place in the freestyle category at the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, catching the attention of Dr. Dre, who later became his producer and mentor, according to a Guinness World Records report.
In 1999, Eminem released “The Slim Shady LP;” the rest is history. The album sold millions of copies and earned Eminem two Grammy Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards.
Eminem holds additional record titles for:
Most simultaneous albums on the U.S. Billboard 20 by a rapper — 8
Fastest-selling rap album (USA) — On June 10, 2000, “The Marshall Mathers LP” debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart after selling 1.76 million copies in the first week.
Biggest-selling rap artist from albums (USA) — 61.5 million albums sold
Best-selling album of hip hop in the first week of the U.K. chart release — The Eminem Show sold 315,000 copies in its first week on sale in the U.K. in June 2002.
Most successive U.S. albums to debut at No. 1 by a solo artist — 8
Biggest-selling artist of digital singles (USA) — 166 million units sold
Most U.K. No. 1 albums by a rapper — 10
Most successful rap artist in the U.K. — Eminem scored his sixth U.K. No.1 with “Like Toy Soldiers” on 12 February 2005
Most U.K. No. 1 singles by a rapper — 10
Most words in a hit single — 1,560 words
Most likes for a musician on Facebook (male) — 94,578,542 likes
Most likes for a rapper on Facebook — 94,578,542 likes
