Eminem Tops Album Charts for 2nd Week

Eminem may be in trouble with the law, but he’s still No. 1 with the nation’s music fans.

The rapper’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” sold 794,000 copies in its second week to remain atop the U.S. album chart released Wednesday, the same day Eminem was scheduled to be arraigned in Michigan on charges of assault and carrying a concealed weapon. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

“The Marshall Mathers LP” sold close to 1.8 million copies in its debut week, a record for a solo artist, and has now topped 2.5 million--an especially impressive figure considering that the controversial rapper’s first major-label album, now 2 years old, has totaled only 3.5 million. That disc, “The Slim Shady LP,” won a Grammy for Eminem, who has become both famous and infamous for his graphically violent and lewd lyrics.

Eminem’s second-week sales easily topped another Detroit rapper, Kid Rock, on the new chart. Kid Rock’s “The History of Rock” debuts at No. 2 with 457,000 copies sold. “The History of Rock” collects old, independently released material, unreleased songs and a handful of new tracks, most building on his brand of hip-hop fused with Southern-fried rock and arena metal bombast.

At No. 3 is “Oops! . . . I Did It Again” from youth-pop superstar Britney Spears, which has sold 2.4 million copies in three weeks. The 18-year-old singer, already riding a wave of television talk-show appearances and major magazine covers, hosts her first nationally televised concert special on Fox tonight.

Matchbox Twenty’s “Mad Season” slips a notch this week to No. 4 with sales of 192,000 copies, while ‘N Sync’s “No Strings Attached” holds steady at No. 5 with a tally of 176,000. The No. 6 slot belongs to the “Mission: Impossible 2” soundtrack, a collection featuring Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Rob Zombie and others.

Creed’s “Human Clay” climbs one spot to No. 7 with 110,000 copies sold for the week. The Florida rock band’s disc debuted at No. 1 in October, and despite slipping out of the Top 10 early this year, it has now gained steam and posted 12 straight weeks in that elite tally.

Among the notable debuts this week: “Brave New World,” the new disc from venerable metal group Iron Maiden at No. 39 and “Mermaid Avenue Vol. 2,” the second teaming of Billy Bragg and Wilco mining Woody Guthrie songs, at No. 88.