Eminem - Lose Yourself

In the 2000s, music all started to sound a little bit the same. If you review the list of Billboard Hot 100 #1 tracks for the decade a majority of them fall into the Hip Hop or R&B category. Don't get me wrong, there are some great songs on there and of course some outliers from to the majority like Carrie Underwood.

Usher, Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas, and Nelly led the decade with a combined dominance of 126 weeks holding a #1 hit, but there is one artist and song, that jumps out to me. Maybe it's the Midwest Grit that I feel shining through, but this song achieved some firsts that none other had before.

Eminem released his first album in 1999 and had immediate success, likely in part to gaining instant credibility by association with Dr. Dre, who discovered Eminem from a demo tape played for him by Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine. Dre was the producer for "The Slim Shady LP" released in February of that year.

"In my entire career in the music industry, I have never found anything from a demo tape or a CD. When Jimmy played this, I said, 'Find him. Now.' - Dr. Dre

Eminem released "Lose Yourself' in 2002 as a single written for the film 8 Mile, which was loosely based on Eminem's life growing up near 8 Mile Road in Detroit, MI.

"Lose Yourself" charted #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and held rank for 12 weeks, which was the 2nd longest-held spot behind "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas and, of course, Mariah Carey with "We Belong Together."

"Lose Yourself" however did achieve an unexpected first, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song, making it the first hip hop song to receive the award. The song also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance.

Sources:

Photo Credit: Britannica