It’s probably safe to say that by late 2002, Eminem was the most popular rapper in the world.

With three full-length solo albums under his belt, Slim Shady had come quite a long way in the four years since taking the world by storm with The groundbreaking Slim Shady LP in 1999 - introducing the world to his devil-may-care madcap rhymes that ranged from insightful, to absurd, to downright offensive; sometimes all at once.

There was no denying Marshall Mathers’ talent on the mic - combining the sounds of the underground with a hurricane flow, lyrical wizardry, and pop culture irreverence - Eminem’s popularity was bolstered by the frustrated angst of the emerging nu metal, horror-core and even pop punk sounds of the era.

Realistically, he didn’t even *sound* like anything from those genres, but his aura was so strong that he became a sort of crossover artist without even needing to actually cross over. It was just *cool* to like Eminem.

With the backing of music industry heavy hitters like Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Eminem also had serious critical credibility - He’d won Rap Grammys for the aforementioned Slim Shady LP and it’s lead single ‘My Name Is’ in 2000; He followed it up with three more the following year for the likes of The Real Slim Shady, Forgot About Dre, and his sophomore album The Marshall Mathers LP - and would eventually go on to win two MORE Grammys in 2003 for his ‘02 album The Eminem Show and its lead single ‘Without Me’.

And, while we’re on the topic of the successes of Slim Shady - the records show that by late 2002 Eminem’s 3 Solo LPs had gone no less than 18x Platinum in America alone.

There is just one thing Em hadn’t done yet - and quite honestly I can barely believe it myself - Eminem had never had a US Billboard hot 100 Number 1 Hit.

That all changed when Eminem recorded the lead single for his feature film debut - changing how we all thought about Eminem forever.

This is the story of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' with newly unearthed audio from Marshall Mathers himself!

When your name means “The highest, most exalted one, the best” you know you’re destined for great things. And Aaliyah definitely achieved great things in her life. An icon of ‘90s R&B, Aaliyah immediately became one of the genre's biggest artists at the young age of 14, eventually redefining the role of what an artist in that genre could be, breaking through into the hip-hop and pop charts.

Since her untimely death in 2001, the proclaimed “Princess of R&B” has left behind a legacy in which, to this day, she continues to be celebrated for her talent as both a recording artist and a motion picture star, while being credited for introducing a sound that is widely considered the blueprint for R&B today.

This is the true story of Aaliyah's 'Try Again' with newly unearthed audio from Aaliyah herself!

In many ways, the mid-to-late 1990s were the golden age of so-called ‘bubblegum pop’.

As technology began to evolve, so did the world’s pop stars, with what seemed like an endless supply of perfectly groomed, perfectly styled, young, boy and girl-next-door type pop stars that smoothed off all of the edges found in contemporary Rock, Hip Hop, and R&B, leaving fans with a slew of safe pop idols to worship. There would always be innuendo in pop music - with a sparkle in the eye of a singer belting out suggestive lyrics; or a bit more skin being shown in a music video than you’d normally see at your local community center - but there was a bubble that was not to be popped when promoting pop music, and most stars played it safe.

Christina Aguilera - one of the famed students of the Mickey Mouse club of ‘93 - which, of course also introduced the world to Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez of NSYNC, as well as Canadian Hero Ryan Gosling; debuted her self titled album in August 1999 at Number One on the Billboard 200 with the smash hit ‘Genie in a Bottle’ also topping the Charts mere months after contemporary Britney Spears did the same with ‘Baby One More Time’.

Christina wasn’t shy about her uneasiness around Genie - the song was not her first choice for a debut single, but with the success that followed, she felt like she had to follow the label's direction. Aguilera’s debut would go a nearly unfathomable 8x platinum before the end of the year 2000.

Now clearly sitting at the head of the pop-star table, and with the sounds of pop music shapeshifting around her. Christina Aguilera was ready to break free from the bubblegum-pop package she had originally been presented in.

By the end of the year 2000, Christina fired her manager Steve Kurtz, hired supermanager Irving Azoff, and was ready to give her image a major shakeup, and show people who she *really* was. It was time to enter the era… of Xtina.

This is the story of Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty' with newly uncovered audio from Christina Aguilera herself!

Also includes audio from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doXqDkzFEkQ