Eminem MMLP2 Release Date, Tracklist & Leak Download: 'The Monster' No. 1 on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart Despite Low Radio Airplay
Eminem has made it to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for the first time with "The Monster."
Eminem's Rihanna collaboration reached No. 1 in its first week. According to Nielsen BDS, 36.6 million listeners checked out "The Monster" between Oct. 30 and Nov. 5. From Oct. 28 until Nov. 3, the song had 2.3 million U.S. streams. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the song was digitally downloaded 327,000 times during its first week out.
Eminem's "Berzerk," "Survival," and "Rap God," are also on the chart, with the No. 6, 7 and 8 spots, respectively.
You may be wondering how after such a long career, Eminem has never made it to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Eminem has had eight songs reach top-10 on the chart, and five of them came after Oct. 2012. This is because since then, the methodology used to rank songs changed. For the first time, streaming data and digital sales were included, as well as monitored airplay.
Before the methodology change, Eminem suffered on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart because he gets low radio airplay. Still, the rapper made it to the chart 42 times, including his first single, 1998's "Just Don't Give a Fuck," which peaked at No. 62.
On the other hand, none of the singles from The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (including the platinum single "Berzerk") have made it to the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks the top-50 most-played songs on R&B/hip hop radio. Eminem has made it to the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart 31 times, five of which were top-10 singles.
According to Billboard, most of Eminem's airplay comes from rhythmic and rap and mainstream top-40 stations. "The Monster" is currently No. 19 on rhythmic airplay, No. 17 on rap airplay and No. 27 on the Pop Songs chart. Meanwhile, on the Radio Songs chart, which monitors all radio station genres, both "Berzerk," which peaked at No. 41 last month, and "The Monster," which debuted at No. 31, appear.
MMLP2 was released Nov. 5.