Is Eminem The Most Successful Rapper Of All Time?

With the chart-topping debut of The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem has now sold close to 50 million albums in the United States. Not counting his indie debut, Infinite, it’s taken him eight albums to do this, which gives him an average of about 6.25 million copies sold per record. XXL was curious to see how other big-name rappers compare to these numbers — how many total units have they sold in the U.S.? And how many albums has it taken them to get there? Not having the convenience of a Soundscan account, we did our best to compile some data. Check it below:

2 Pac
Number of solo albums (before death): 5
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million): 16 million
Average units sold per album: 3.2 million

50 Cent
Number of albums: 4
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million): 13 million
Average units sold per album: 3.3 million

DMX
Number of solo albums: 7
Albums sold in U.S.(rounded to nearest half million): 12 million
Average units sold per album: 1.7 million

Drake
Number of solo albums: 4 (including extended play of So Far Gone)
Albums sold in U.S.(rounded to nearest half million): 5.5 million
Average units sold per album: 1.4 million

Kanye West
Number of solo albums: 6
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million):9.5 million
Average units sold per album: 1.6 million

Jay Z
Number of solo albums: 12
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million): 27.5 million
Average units sold per album:2.25 million

Lil Wayne
Number of solo albums: 10
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million):9 million
Average units sold per album: 900,000

Notorious B.I.G.
Number of solo albums (before death): 2
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million): 14 million
Average units sold per album: 7 million

Outkast
Number of albums: 7
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million): 22 million
Average units sold per album: 3.1 million

Eminem
Number of albums: 8
Albums sold in U.S. (rounded to nearest half million): 50 million
Average units sold per album: 6.25 million

Rankings of average units sold (who sells the most with each album they release):

1. Notorious B.I.G. (only has two albums)
2. Eminem
3. 50 Cent
4. 2 Pac
5. OutKast
6. DMX
6. Jay Z
7. Kanye West
8. Drake
9. Lil Wayne

via [xxl]