Eminem's Rap God sets new world record for most words in a song

Have you ever found yourself wondering, idly, what the greatest number of words contained in a hit single might be? Do you sit in meetings, scrolling through lyrics sites, counting how many words appear in Subterranean Homesick Blues? Then wonder no more, for the latest edition of the Guinness Book of World Records has the answer.

As Billboard reports, Eminem’s Rap God is the holder of this record, with Marshall Mathers working his way through 1,560 words in 6’04”, at an average of 4.28 words per second.

Rap God, which was released in October 2013, comes from Eminem’s eighth album, The Marshall Mathers LP2. The song features a verse about the Columbine High School massacre that had been written for the song I’m Back from the first Marshall Mathers LP, but which was censored from the original release. One section of the song features 97 words in 15 seconds, for an average of 6.5 words per second.

Eminem is one of five new rock and pop record holders in the forthcoming new edition of Guinness Book of World Records. Elsewhere, Metallica become the only band to have performed on all seven of the world’s continents following their gig last year in Antarctica; One Direction become the first act to debut at No 1 in the US with their first three albums; Miley Cyrus becomes the most searched-for pop star on the internet; Shakira becomes the most “liked” person on Facebook; and Katy Perry is the musician with the most Twitter followers.