Eminem's surprise album 'Music to Be Murdered By' debuts at No. 1

Eminem dropped a surprise album Thursday night and it's already landed at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

Posted 3:00 p.m. Jan 29, 2020 — Updated 3:00 p.m. Jan 29, 2020

Marianne Garvey

, CNN

CNN — Eminem dropped a surprise album Thursday night and it's already landed at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

The album, titled, "Music to Be Murdered," follows Eminem's last album, "Kamikaze," which was released in 2018.

Since the new album's release on Jan. 17, it's had more than 218 million streams, according to Nielsen Music.

It's the rapper's tenth album to reach the chart's top spot. That puts Eminem in the same category as The Beatles, Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley.

"Music to Be Murdered By" includes controversial Eminem lyrics, which include references to the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas and the Manchester, England, bombing at an Ariana Grande concert.

Eminem released a statement about the topics he covers on the album, writing on Instagram, "murder has become so commonplace that we are a society obsessed and fascinated by it. I thought why not make a sport of it, and murder over beats?"

He added: "This album was not made for the squeamish. If you are easily offended or unnerved at the screams of bloody murder, this may not be the collection for you."

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