Eminem Albums: Encore - 2004
Label: Aftermath
Length: 76:40
Genre: Hip Hop, Horrorcore
Release Date: November 12, 2004
Encore is the fifth studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was set for release on November 16, 2004, but was moved up to November 12, after the album was leaked to the Internet. Encore sold 760,000 copies in its shortened three day opening week and claimed the #1 spot on the Billboard Top 200. The album sold 1,835,000 copies in its first two weeks of release in the United States in November, 2004. Worldwide sales of the album stand at 15 million copies, with 7.8 million being sold in the United States alone.
This is the only Eminem album that does not include a Steve Berman skit or a Ken Kaniff skit (besides Infinite). However, both characters reappeared on Eminem's recent studio album Relapse, which included a Steve Berman skit appearing as its own track while the Ken Kaniff skit appears following the end of the song 'Underground' as a hidden skit. This also the first Eminem major label album to not feature Dina Rae on Track 13.
The copy of the song "We as Americans" was the source of controversy when, as an unreleased bootleg it circulated with the lyrics "Fuck money, I don't rap for dead presidents. I'd rather see the president dead." Eminem was investigated by the Secret Service (referenced in the video for his song "Mosh" as one of the news clips on the wall). These lyrics were censored on the bonus disc.
Despite being viewed by many critics as Eminem's weakest album in terms of quality, three songs from the album were eventually included on Eminem's compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits; Mockingbird, Just Lose It, and Like Toy Soldiers.
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