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May 26 has been an important date in Hip-Hop history for the past 20 years.
On this day in 2002, Eminem delivered his best-selling album to date, The Eminem Show. It's the Detroit rapper's fourth studio album and released via Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. The title of the album was inspired by the 1998 film The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey. His 20-track album was led by its first single "Without Me" and also contained other stand-out tracks including "Cleanin' Out My Closet," "Sing for the Moment," "Superman," and "'Till I Collapse" featuring the late Nate Dogg.
"Eventually, I might need some drama in my life to inspire me," he told SPIN about the album in 2002. "With The Marshall Mathers LP, everything that everybody was saying--I took that, and it was my ammo. And then when s**t died down a little bit, I had other turmoil in my personal life, so that was what I was able to dump out on The Eminem Show. Now, I just gotta wait for the next phase of my life. But something always seems to happen, man; something's always gotta be f**king turbulent.
The album also features collaborations with Obie Trice, D12, Dr. Dre and even his daughter Hailie Jade. The album went on to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. Since its release, The Eminem Show has goes 12x platinum according to the RIAA. It's considered the second best-selling album of the 21st century behind Adele's 21 album. In honor of its 20th anniversary, Eminem recently announced his plans to reissue an expanded version of the album.
14 years after Eminem dropped his prolific album, Gucci Mane officially became a free man for good.
On this day in 2016, the 1017 founder was released from an Indiana penitentiary after serving three years over federal drug and gun charges. He was first arrested in 2013 for a parole violation after police found him with a loaded hand gun and marijuana. He spent some time behind bars at a jail in Atlanta before he was transferred to the Indiana prison where he was released from.
“It’s been tough to be a Gucci fan,” he said in his first interview after his release. “It’s been tough to be a Gucci friend, a Gucci sibling, a Gucci girlfriend or a Gucci partner. I done took people through a lot, man.”
Gucci was met at the gates by Keyshia Ka'ior, who would later became his wife and the mother of his newborn son. Although he was free, the Atlanta rapper was required to be on house arrest for a few months and then probation right after. Nonetheless, Gucci Mane took advantage of his newfound freedom by jumping right back into the rap game. A couple of days after his release, Gucci dropped his first post-prison record "First Day Out Tha Feds" produced by Mike Will Made-It. The rapper has been gucci ever since.
Listen to "First Day Out Tha Feds" below.