# Relapse (Eminem album)
**Relapse** is the sixth studio album by the American rapper Eminem, released on May 19, 2009 in the United States after a May 15 release in select countries, and his first studio album in five years, following *Encore* (2004).[1](https://www.eminem.net/relapse/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/15/eminem-relapse-review) Produced almost entirely by [Dr. Dre](https://www.edgepedia.org/dr-dre), the album is a concept record centered on addiction, drawing directly on Eminem's dependence on prescription drugs, his rehabilitation, and the death of his friend Proof in 2006.[3](https://newuniversity.org/2009/05/26/eminems_relapse_cant_save192/) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | May 15, 2009 in select countries; May 19, 2009 in the United States[1](https://www.eminem.net/relapse/) |
| Labels | Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope Records[5](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/relapse/) |
| Production | Dr. Dre produced every track except one; Eminem self-produced "Beautiful"[3](https://newuniversity.org/2009/05/26/eminems_relapse_cant_save192/) |
| Standard tracklist | 20 tracks including skits, from "Dr. West (Skit)" to "Underground"[6](https://www.eminem.com/releases/relapse-0/) |
| Chart peak | Number 1 on the UK Official Albums Chart, first chart date May 30, 2009, two weeks at No. 1[7](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/eminem-relapse/) |
| Sales | About 3 million copies sold[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/20/eminem-recovery-cd-review) |
| Award | Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, 2010[9](https://musicbrainz.org/release/a5afe885-aac7-4dd0-98c6-e59507663d8c) |
| Reissue | *Relapse: Refill*, December 21, 2009, adding seven new songs[10](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/relapse-refill-mr0002857324) |
## Background and recording
Eminem had been away from recording since *Encore* in 2004. In the intervening years he struggled with an addiction to painkillers and sleeping pills, gained weight, grew depressed, and lost the creative drive that had powered his career; the murder of his best friend and D12 collaborator [Proof](https://www.edgepedia.org/proof-rapper), real name DeShaun Dupree Holton, on 8 Mile Road in Detroit in April 2006 deepened the spiral.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse) The album's lyrics name the drugs directly: Ambien, Valium, Seroquel, Xanax, Lunesta, Percodan, and Vicodin all appear, and the cover art builds his face out of pills.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/15/eminem-relapse-review) • [11](https://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2009/05/27/TT-980527-P14-IB.pdf)
**The Orlando sessions.** Just two months out of rehab, Eminem met Dr. Dre in [Orlando, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/orlando-florida) to try recording.[11](https://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2009/05/27/TT-980527-P14-IB.pdf) The pair cut 11 songs over two weeks, and Eminem described the feeling as the same as when he made his first two records; the word "relapse" kept recurring in his mind, in the sense of relapsing back into his old ways of being himself, without the drugs.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse) He had considered reinventing himself on his return, but concluded he needed to go back to what had made him distinctive in the first place.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse) After returning to Detroit he worried the inspiration would stop, but it did not; once sober, he said, thoughts he could not control produced lines he had to get up and write down before forgetting them.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse)
## Music and themes
The album revives Eminem's Slim Shady persona and his shock-oriented style. Several songs are horror-themed character pieces: "3 a.m." portrays a serial killer quoting *The Silence of the Lambs*, "Same Song & Dance" inhabits a stalker, and "Stay Wide Awake" references [Ted Bundy](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-bundy) and the slasher Jason of *Friday the 13th*.[12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-aftermath-shady-1684995.html) "Insane" depicts childhood abuse at the hands of his stepfather, and "My Mom" blames his addictions partly on his mother's.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/15/eminem-relapse-review) • [13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-aftermath-1690262.html)
The most personal songs address the addiction itself. "Déjà Vu" recounts in darkly comic detail how he disappeared into a cocktail of intoxicants, and "Beautiful", the one track Eminem produced himself, is widely identified as the album's emotional high point, a lyrically honest look at his past.[3](https://newuniversity.org/2009/05/26/eminems_relapse_cant_save192/) • [14](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13034-relapse/) A distinctive feature of the record is Eminem's use of altered accents and voices, which he employed to vary his rhyme schemes and to voice horror-movie characters; the device made the lyrics harder to follow and became a major reason contemporary reception was divided.[15](https://eminemjp.com/lp/relapse/)
Dr. Dre produced every track except "Beautiful", many with Eminem as co-producer.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse) Critics split on the results: some found the beats inert and repetitive, while others praised individual tracks such as the booming bass of "Medicine Ball" and the dark piano and strings of "Stay Wide Awake".[3](https://newuniversity.org/2009/05/26/eminems_relapse_cant_save192/) • [14](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13034-relapse/)
## Release and commercial performance
The album was one of the most anticipated releases of 2009 after nearly five years without a studio record.[1](https://www.eminem.net/relapse/) Its lead singles included "[We Made You](https://www.edgepedia.org/we-made-you)" and "Crack a Bottle", the latter of which set a record for most first-week downloads sold.[16](https://forum.dvdtalk.com/music-talk/554469-eminem-relapse-5-19-09-a-5.html) In the United Kingdom, *Relapse* entered the Official Albums Chart at number 1 on May 30, 2009 and spent two weeks at the top, with a chart run of 21 weeks in 2009 and a further seven weeks in early 2010.[7](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/eminem-relapse/) Total sales reached about 3 million copies, and the album won the [Grammy Award for Best Rap Album](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-award-for-best-rap-album) at the 2010 ceremony.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/20/eminem-recovery-cd-review) • [9](https://musicbrainz.org/release/a5afe885-aac7-4dd0-98c6-e59507663d8c)
## Critical reception
Contemporary reviews were mixed. Reviewers who disliked the record called it a rehash of his debut-era shock tactics, objecting to the accents, the serial-killer fantasies, and dated celebrity references, with *The Independent* judging the album drably repetitive.[12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-aftermath-shady-1684995.html) • [14](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13034-relapse/) The Guardian's review was more positive, finding Eminem re-energized on tracks like "Insane" and praising the absence of self-pity in "Déjà Vu" and "Hello".[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/15/eminem-relapse-review) A recurring critical pattern was that the self-directed songs carried the album while the singles were its weakest tracks.[14](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13034-relapse/)
## Relapse: Refill and the shelved sequel
On December 21, 2009 the album was reissued as *Relapse: Refill*, a two-CD set adding seven new songs, including "Forever" with Drake, Kanye West, and [Lil Wayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/lil-wayne), and "Elevator".[10](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/relapse-refill-mr0002857324) • [17](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-refill-polydor-1854561.html) A sequel, *Relapse 2*, had been announced for later in 2009, but it was shelved after the first album's lukewarm reception, and several of its intended tracks appeared on *Refill* instead.[11](https://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2009/05/27/TT-980527-P14-IB.pdf)
Eminem later explained the pivot himself. He said the response to *Relapse* was lukewarm, and that this illuminated the need to do something different; the result was *[Recovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/recovery-eminem-album)* (2010), a more accessible and introspective follow-up that included "Love the Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna.[18](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-08-13/eminem-recuerda-sus-peores-momentos-en-un-documental-despues-de-la-sobredosis-pense-que-iba-a-morir-si-no-hacia-algo.html) • [19](https://www.eminem.com/releases/recovery/) He has also recalled the *Relapse* period as the first time in a long while that he enjoyed recording.[18](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-08-13/eminem-recuerda-sus-peores-momentos-en-un-documental-despues-de-la-sobredosis-pense-que-iba-a-morir-si-no-hacia-algo.html)
## Legacy
Reputation of the album has shifted over time. While initial reaction focused on the accents and shock content, later commentary has treated *Relapse* as a cohesive concept album about addiction.[15](https://eminemjp.com/lp/relapse/) The album's commercial performance, about 3 million copies, was strong by ordinary standards but modest next to Eminem's earlier releases, and the contrast between its mixed reception and *Recovery*'s success set the direction of his subsequent career.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/20/eminem-recovery-cd-review)
## References
1. [Eminem: Relapse (album), Eminem.net](https://www.eminem.net/relapse/)
2. [Eminem – Relapse, review by Alexis Petridis, The Guardian (May 14, 2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/15/eminem-relapse-review)
3. [Eminem's "Relapse" Can't Save Him, New University (UC Irvine)](https://newuniversity.org/2009/05/26/eminems_relapse_cant_save192/)
4. [Being Eminem, interview by Anthony Bozza, The Guardian (May 16, 2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/17/eminem-urban-music-relapse)
5. [Relapse, Shady Records](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/relapse/)
6. [Relapse, Eminem.com](https://www.eminem.com/releases/relapse-0/)
7. [RELAPSE – EMINEM, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/eminem-relapse/)
8. [Eminem: Recovery, review, The Guardian (June 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/20/eminem-recovery-cd-review)
9. [Release "Relapse: Refill" by Eminem, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/a5afe885-aac7-4dd0-98c6-e59507663d8c)
10. [Relapse: Refill – Release Info, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/relapse-refill-mr0002857324)
11. ["Relapse," Eminem's first album in five years, Taipei Times (May 27, 2009)](https://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2009/05/27/TT-980527-P14-IB.pdf)
12. [Album: Eminem, Relapse (Aftermath/Shady), The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-aftermath-shady-1684995.html)
13. [Album: Eminem, Relapse, (Aftermath), The Independent (May 24, 2009)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-aftermath-1690262.html)
14. [Eminem: Relapse Album Review, Pitchfork, by Ian Cohen (May 19, 2009)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13034-relapse/)
15. [エミネム『Relapse（リラプス）』徹底解説, eminemjp.com](https://eminemjp.com/lp/relapse/)
16. [Eminem – Relapse (5/19/09) discussion, DVD Talk Forum](https://forum.dvdtalk.com/music-talk/554469-eminem-relapse-5-19-09-a-5.html)
17. [Album: Eminem, Relapse: Refill (Polydor), The Independent, by Andy Gill (January 1, 2010)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-eminem-relapse-refill-polydor-1854561.html)
18. [Eminem recuerda sus peores momentos en un documental, El País (August 13, 2025)](https://elpais.com/gente/2025-08-13/eminem-recuerda-sus-peores-momentos-en-un-documental-despues-de-la-sobredosis-pense-que-iba-a-morir-si-no-hacia-algo.html)
19. [Recovery, Eminem.com](https://www.eminem.com/releases/recovery/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Hip hop albums › East Coast hip hop albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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