The UK's Official Top 40 biggest rap albums of the Millennium revealed

With rapper Post Malone atop the Official Albums Chart, we look back at other big rap albums to grace the UK Top 40.
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Since its founding in America in the 1970s, rap and hip-hop music has rarely strayed from the charts. With rap reigning supreme once again on this week's Official Albums Chart thanks to Post Malone's beerbongs & bentleys, we look back at the UK's biggest rap albums of the Millennium. 

Unsurprisingly, Eminem dominates the list, with a mighty ten albums in the Top 40, including his work on the 8 Mile Original Soundtrack, and D12's album Devils Night.

Slim Shady is responsible for the biggest album in the Top 40, his third record The Marshall Mathers LP featuring the UK Number 1 singles The Real Slim Shady and Stan. With a combined total of 2.52m (2.46m sales and 58,000 streaming units), it is one of only two rap albums to shift over 2 million copies since the turn of the century.

The other? Eminem's Curtain Call: The Hits (2.07m). Check out Eminem's biggest songs on the Official Chart.

In fact, the top seven albums on the chart have also sold over one million copies in pure sales, including Dr Dre's iconic 2001 in fifth place (1.2m) and 50 Cent's Get Rich Or Die Tryin' from 2003 (1.17m). 

Elsewhere, Jay-Z, who has more Number 1 albums than any other soloist on the US charts, features four times in the rap Top 40. His best-selling work since 2000 is 2004's Collision Course, his collaborative album with Linkin Park at Number 31.

Rap's origins are in the America, but homegrown UK talent also appears in the all-time rap best-sellers. The Streets chart highest at Number 7 with their second album A Grand Don't Come For Free (1.18m), with their debut record Original Pirate Material in 17th place.

Elsewhere, Tinie Tempah's first record Disc-Overy is the 11th biggest rap album since 2000 (873,000), while duo Rizzle Kicks appear at Number 35 with Stereo Typical.

Kanye West almost makes multiple appearances in the chart, lead by 2005's Late Registration at Number 12 (846,000), and Nicki Minaj's debut album Pink Friday from 2010 sneaks in at Number 36. 

The UK's Official Top 40 biggest rap albums of the Millennium:

POS TITLE ARTIST CHART PEAK YEAR
1 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP EMINEM 1 2000
2 CURTAIN CALL - THE HITS EMINEM 1 2005
3 THE EMINEM SHOW EMINEM 1 2002
4 2001 DR DRE 4 1999
5 ENCORE EMINEM 1 2004
6 GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' 50 CENT 2 2003
7 A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE STREETS 1 2004
8 THE SLIM SHADY LP EMINEM 10 1999
9 RECOVERY EMINEM 1 2010
10 SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW OUTKAST 8 2003
11 DISC-OVERY TINIE TEMPAH 1 2010
12 LATE REGISTRATION KANYE WEST 2 2005
13 SHOCK VALUE TIMBALAND 2 2007
14 THE COLLEGE DROPOUT KANYE WEST 12 2004
15 THE MASSACRE 50 CENT 1 2005
16 8 MILE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 1 2002
17 ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL STREETS 10 2002
18 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP 2 EMINEM 1 2013
19 GREATEST HITS 2PAC 17 1998
20 RELAPSE EMINEM 1 2009
21 TROUBLE AKON 1 2004
22 PAIN IS LOVE JA RULE 3 2001
23 VIEWS DRAKE 1 2016
24 FREEDOM AKON 6 2008
25 GRADUATION KANYE WEST 1 2007
26 TAKE CARE DRAKE 5 2011
27 THE SCORE FUGEES 2 1996
28 COLLISION COURSE JAY-Z & LINKIN PARK 15 2004
29 TONGUE N'CHEEK DIZZEE RASCAL 3 2009
30 DEVILS NIGHT D12 2 2001
31 THE DOCUMENTARY GAME 7 2005
32 R & G - THE MASTERPIECE SNOOP DOGG 12 2004
33 WATCH THE THRONE JAY-Z & KANYE WEST 3 2011
34 THE BLUEPRINT 3 JAY-Z 4 2009
35 STEREO TYPICAL RIZZLE KICKS 5 2011
36 PINK FRIDAY NICKI MINAJ 16 2010
37 THE BLACK ALBUM JAY-Z 34 2003
38 STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON NWA 35 1993
39 MORE LIFE DRAKE 2 2017
40 NOTHING WAS THE SAME DRAKE 2 2013

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

Fugees Image: Rex/Shutterstock

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Kriti Punjabi

1

Eminem has 6 spots in the Top 10 itself lol