Eminem was the only solo artist of 2018 to sell 500,000 “pure” copies of his album in the US, after the surprise release of ‘Kamikaze‘ triggered huge success.

The rap icon surprised fans by releasing ‘Kamikaze’ in August, only nine months after he unveiled ‘Revival’ to mixed reviews.

The record debuted at the top spot of the Billboard 200 after securing 434,000 equivalent album units in its first weekend of release – including 252,000 traditional album sales and a career record of 225.5 million streams.


As the year drew to a close, subsequent sales confirmed that Eminem was the only solo artist of 2018 to bag over 500,000 traditional album sales.

‘Kamikaze’ is also only the second album from 2018 that exceeded 500,000 traditional sales, trailing narrowly behind Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack.

But when his back catalogue was added into the equation, Eminem also scored the highest album sales for any artist in 2018. He also remains the best selling rapper of all time.

He could also be in line for more success in 2019, after 50 Cent revealed plans to collaborate with both Eminem and Ed Sheeran.