Eminem is ‘The People’s Champ’ at the XXL Awards

Eminem had a phenomenal 2024. He released The Death of Slim Shady, earning his eleventh number1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. The lead single from his album “Houdini” debuted at number 2 on the charts. The Detroit legend’s album was well-received by the fans and is believed to be an important addition to his legendary discography.

The “Rap God” is now enjoying the fruits of his labor. He was previously nominated for three Grammys in the Best Rap Performance, Best Music Video, and Best Rap Album categories. Although Eminem couldn’t bring home any Grammys, he was recently honored at the XXL Awards.

He was nominated in five categories at those awards, including Album of the Year, Male Rapper of the Year, Lyricist of the Year, Video of the Year for “Houdini,” and The People’s Champ.

Em lost the first four categories to Kendrick Lamar who has been on the best run of his career. It’s worth noting that the first four categories were voted for by the members of the board, whereas The People’s Champ award is decided through fan votes. As we've seen in the past three decades with Em, his fans have his back.

The fan-voted award was won by the Detroit legend, despite facing strong competition from the likes of J. Cole and Travis Scott. Nearly 30 years into his career, Eminem is still The People’s Champ. His good friend 50 Cent also took home an important honor from the XXL Awards 2025. He was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year award.