A new way to measure an artist’s global reach has crowned Eminem the Most Global Rapper of All Time — and he’s landed in the Top 10 across all genres.

This new metric ditches familiar sales figures and focuses on something deeper: the number of languages an artist’s Wikipedia page appears in. The logic is simple: the more languages, the wider the reach.

Taking this metric as a foundation, Chartmastes.org has built a list of the most global artists. Classical composers and musicians were put on a separate list because of an exciting academic bias towards classical music noticeable on Wikipedia. Only artists whose pages exist in 100 or more languages made it to the list, and there were only 60 of them.

Expectedly, Eminem is placed within the Top 10, sharing No. 8-9 with Justin Bieber. At the same level of popularity, with pages in 153 languages, are J.R.R. Tolkien (author), Jimmy Carter (US President 1977-1981), and Moses (Hebrew prophet).

The Chartmasters entry on Eminem reads:

The two biggest male stars of this millennium are tied at #8. Eminem, the biggest selling artist of his generation, destroyed the geographical limits of US rap music. By the early 2000s, next to no credit was given to rap artistically speaking outside of North America. Eminem’s success left many rock fans seeing him as the enemy, the flagship of today’s bad, non-music.

The fact that these views sound so dated, reflects how much this American artist has succeeded in making his genre legitimately globally. He did so thanks to groundbreaking singles like My Name Is, Without Me or Love the Way You Lie. He is still smashing in 2024 with Houdini. In-between, Lose Yourself was a monster hit as was the movie 8 Mile, which secured iconic global status.

Here is the Top 10 most global artists of all-time list:

1. Michael Jackson – 260 languages
2. The Beatles – 208 languages
3. The Carpenters – 195 languages
4. The Doors – 181 languages
5. Elvis Presley, Queen – 177 languages
7. Lady Gaga – 163 languages
8. Eminem, Justin Bieber – 153 languages
10. ABBA – 150 languages

If you are looking for other rappers on the list, you will struggle to find them. Hip hop superstars Drake and Jay-Z are tied on 73 languages and didn’t make it to the Top 60. 2Pac (103 languages) ranked at No. 55. And that is all. Once again, the gap between Eminem and everybody else in the genre is mind-boggling.

Eminem, the rap god himself, shattered barriers and made hip hop a global language. From anthems like “My Name Is” to modern bangers like “Houdini”, his music transcended borders.

Read the detailed explanation of the methodology and the complete Top 60 list on the Chartmasters webpage.

Eminem Earns His First Hit On Billboard’s Rock Radio Chart

Eminem’s new single “Houdini” blasted onto the Billboard charts less than a month ago, becoming a huge win for the rapper upon its arrival. The tune launched at No. 1 on a handful of tallies, and it reached the top 10 on many others. As the magical cut begins to decline on some rosters, it also debuts on another, earning the hip-hop star his first hit on a list few could have predicted he’d ever appear on.

“Houdini” debuts on this week’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart. The Billboard list ranks the tracks that rack up the largest number of total audience impressions across all radio stations in the U.S. that focus on rock or alternative music–or perhaps both.

Eminem’s current single starts its time on the Rock & Alternative Airplay roster at No. 42. That’s a fairly low start, but the fact that “Houdini” has made it to the rock radio list–the most competitive one, as well–is impressive.

Unsurprisingly, “Houdini” marks Eminem’s first hit on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart. It’s his only career placement on any of Billboard’s rock rankings–radio, streaming, sales, or any form of consumption.

Eminem has, however, appeared on one of Billboard’s alternative lists. He’s actually managed to score four hits on the Alternative Airplay chart, which looks only at the most-played and most successful tracks every week on alternative radio stations, which are slightly different from rock radio outlets. On that tally, his singles “The Real Slim Shady,” “My Name Is,” “Without Me,” and “Lose Yourself” have all placed, though he hasn’t earned a new win in decades.

“Houdini” scores the loftiest debut on this week’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart. Coming in behind the rapper–but not too far behind, as the tally only includes 50 spaces–are singles from artists like Tim Montana, Artemas, Halestorm, I Prevail, and newcomer Benson Boone.