Eminem once boldly rapped “Look at my sales, Let’s do the math; if I was Black, I would have sold half, I ain’t have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that, But I could rap, so f*ck school, I’m too cool to go back, gimme the mic, show me where the f*cking studio’s at” on 2002’s The Eminem Show.
The Detroit MC was never naive that his ethnicity aligned with the majority of Hip-Hop’s buying public but no one could ever say he didn’t possess the skills to pay the bills, either. After more than fifteen years of making the Billboard Charts his personal reusable condom, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has taken noticed and bestowed two Digital Diamond Awards, making him the first artist to earn them.
According to the statistics, Eminem has earned the fourth most diamonds-certifications of any artist with only The Beatles with five and both Garth Brooks and Led Zeppelin with six ranking ahead of him. The Digital Diamond Awards come courtesy of his previous hit singles in 2010’s “Not Afraid” and “Love The Way You Lie,” both from the album Recovery. Had iTunes been the norm for the bulk of his career surely he and several other artists would have received more.
Instead of lounging in the sunset, Eminem is shifting his musical focus to television. As Deadline is reporting, Paramount TV has recruited the versatile rapper to be an executive producer and music supervisor for the Detroit police drama series Narc, inspired by the 2002 Joe Carnahan movie of the same name.
Carnahan is set to direct and executive produce the show and it is expected to attract some big names to star ahead of it being shopped to networks.
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Photo: Jenny Risher
