The Slim Shady LP
- The second studio album and first commercial release from Eminem. It was released on February 23, 1999, under Interscope Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.
The majority of the record's lyrical content is written from the perspective of the rapper's alter ego Slim Shady, whom the rapper created on Slim Shady EP (1997). The lyrics are noted for their over-the-top depictions of violence and heavy use of profanity.
The record won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and in 2003, the album was ranked number 273 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The Slim Shady LP turned Eminem from an unknown rapper into a high-profile celebrity. During this time, Eminem and his girlfriend Kim Scott lived in a high-crime neighborhood with their newborn daughter Hailie, where their house was burglarized numerous times.
Tracks:
2. My Name Is:
This song was the first single released from Eminem’s major label debut. The song that propelled Eminem into stardom. He was sued by his mother, Debbie Mathers for slander over the line "I just found out my mom does more dope than I do". After a two-year-long trial, she was awarded $25,000, of which she received $1,600 after legal fees.
3.Guilty Conscience: ft Dr.Dre
In this classic song, Eminem and Dr. Dre play the Evil and Good conscience of three separate people who are about to commit violent or sexual crimes. Dre wins the first battle whereas Eminem wins the second. In the third case, the two agree that the bad thing to do is actually the “morally right” thing to do. Eminem later stated that: "The idea came from ‘Animal House,’ which is a movie that everyone thinks is funny and wonderful. Dre and I were talking about doing a song about what’s on somebody’s mind when they are thinking of doing something bad, and I remember ‘Animal House’ when the girl passes out and the guy was about to rape her. He had a devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other saying don’t do it. So, we did the same thing, only a little more graphic detail.”
4. Brian Damage:
Slim Shady spins a grotesque and surreal tale about his childhood and how he became so crazy. Eminem went into a coma when he was young after getting hit by a bully so it is perfect that he starts off the song with doctors talking in an operating room. In the second verse Eminem talks about his grade school bully, D'Angelo Bailey, and how he used to beat him up. Bailey later sued for slander and the judge dismissed it in the form of her own rap: "Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain/Because Eminem used his name in vain."
5. Paul(skit):
One of the earlier skits humorizing Eminem’s interactions with his overworked lawyer, Paul Rosenberg.
6. If I Had:
Eminem’s take on The Bare Naked Ladies' “If I Had $1000000” written when he was poor, couldn’t provide for his daughter, and wasn’t seeing much success in rap. This song is more of a spoken word poem than a true rap song, especially in the intro. The first line he says "Life by Marshall Mathers" the fact that it is by Marshall Mathers, Eminem’s real name, indicates that it is going to be about his real life; not Slim Shady’s fictional escapades.
7. 97 Bonnie & Clyde:
The scene from this song where Em and Hailie are at a dock with Kim’s body in a car trunk is used for the album cover. In the song Eminem coos “Bonnie” (really his daughter, Hailie) into calm as he murders her mom and disposes of her body. The song is called “97' Bonnie & Clyde” as homage to 2Pac’s “‘96 Bonnie and Clyde” (also it was written in 1997). Hailie plays herself and can be heard saying various things in the background.(She is also on the album cover and liner notes). “I lied to Kim and told her I was taking Hailie to Chuck E. Cheese that day,” Em recalls. “But I took her to the studio."
8. Bitch(skit):
In this "skit" a girl is leaving a voice-mail for a friend after listening to Eminem’s then-unreleased album: “It’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” she says. The voice-mail made its way to Eminem’s team. And they paid her $300 to put it on the album. The girl turned out to be Zoe Winkler. Her father is Henry Winkler, an actor best known for his role as ‘The Fonz’ on Happy Days.
9. Role Model:
In this song, Eminem tries to dissuade his young fans from thinking of him as a role model by convincing them that he’s insane. The second verse is a reference to the O.J Simpson murder trial, where he claims Slim Shady is actually the killer and he framed O.J.
10. Lounge(skit):
This is an acoustic mini version of the hook to the upcoming song on the album, “My Fault”.
This skit was apparently created before the song. Producer Jeff Bass “came up with the ‘mushrooms’ line.”, and he’s also the main voice singing here.
11. My Fault:
A song about how Eminem gave this girl Susan mushrooms. When Jeff Bass came up with the “mushrooms” line, Eminem got to thinking about an incident in which one of his friends had a bad acid trip. “He was talking about how worthless he was and how fucked up his life was,” recalled Eminem, who took it on himself to reassure the guy, who was going through a bout of depression. In this fictional scenario, Em’s friend is a girl, and he’s not quite as helpful.
12. Ken Kaniff(skit):
A homosexual, Ken Kaniff (voiced by Aristotle an underground rapper) calls Eminem.
13. Cum on Everybody:
Eminem’s official dance song from the Slim Shady LP in 1999. Verse 2 contains the line "I tried suicide once and I'll try it again/ that's why I write songs where I die at the end." Eminem actually did attempt suicide in 1997 (during the recording of “Rock Bottom”) reportedly due to frustration over Kim leaving him and trying to stop him from seeing their daughter Hailie. As for songs where he dies in the end, Em gets shot at the end of “Murder, Murder”. He also and hangs himself and gets shot in “My Name Is.” After this line was delivered, Em would continue with this theme, referencing having slit his wrists in “Stan”, and getting killed by Stan’s bother in “Bad Guy” and “Parking Lot”.
14. Rock Bottom:
Rock Bottom was written during a depressed point in Eminem’s life, around December 20, 1996. Days before his daughter’s first birthday, Eminem got fired from his cooking job at Gilbert’s Lodge. “That was the worst time ever, dog,” he says. “It was, like, five days before Christmas, which is Hailie’s birthday. I had, like, $40 to get her something. I wrote ‘Rock Bottom’ right after that.”
15. Just Don't Give a Fuck:
Eminem: “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” was a song that I wrote when I was staying at my mother’s house. It was around the time that Hailie was born. She wasn’t even a year old yet. All of kinds of shit- not being able to provide for my daughter, my living situation, etc., just started building up so much that I had just had it."
16. Soap(skit):
A skit from The Slim Shady LP which parodies soap operas.
17. As the World Turns:
The title of this song is a reference to the soap opera As the World Turns and also references Days of Our Lives where characters have to deal with most of the trials and tribulations Shady is talking about. This track follows a skit on the album called “Soap” to establish the soap opera reference.
18. I'm Shady:
Eminem raps about his life as a white trash drug dealer, and helps introduce the Slim Shady character to the masses. Off The Slim Shady LP, which came out when Slim Shady was not yet widely known.
Melodically and thematically similar to Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman”:
Em said: “It’s funny cause I didn’t get the idea from Mayfield’s song. I got it from Ice-T’s “Power” record. I didn’t know Ice got it from “Pusherman.” I used the melody, but changed the words.
19. Bad Meets Evil:
The name of this song would be applied to the duo themselves in future releases. (Eminem and
Royce Da 5'9"). Royce has a line in the song "see you in hell for the squeal". 12 years later, Royce and Em have gotten back together and recorded a new EP called Bad Meets Evil: Hell the Sequel.
20. Still Don't Give a Fuck:
Eminem: “This was my manager Paul’s concept. He called me one day while I was in Cali, saying ‘You need to do a Just Don’t Give A Fuck Part 2’. I responded ‘Yeah…still don’t give a fuck’". Eminem continues the running theme on this album: he doesn’t give a fuck about what anyone else has to say about him, he is going to keep doing what he wants to do.
- Public Service Announcement (skit):
2. My Name Is:
This song was the first single released from Eminem’s major label debut. The song that propelled Eminem into stardom. He was sued by his mother, Debbie Mathers for slander over the line "I just found out my mom does more dope than I do". After a two-year-long trial, she was awarded $25,000, of which she received $1,600 after legal fees.
3.Guilty Conscience: ft Dr.Dre
In this classic song, Eminem and Dr. Dre play the Evil and Good conscience of three separate people who are about to commit violent or sexual crimes. Dre wins the first battle whereas Eminem wins the second. In the third case, the two agree that the bad thing to do is actually the “morally right” thing to do. Eminem later stated that: "The idea came from ‘Animal House,’ which is a movie that everyone thinks is funny and wonderful. Dre and I were talking about doing a song about what’s on somebody’s mind when they are thinking of doing something bad, and I remember ‘Animal House’ when the girl passes out and the guy was about to rape her. He had a devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other saying don’t do it. So, we did the same thing, only a little more graphic detail.”
4. Brian Damage:
Slim Shady spins a grotesque and surreal tale about his childhood and how he became so crazy. Eminem went into a coma when he was young after getting hit by a bully so it is perfect that he starts off the song with doctors talking in an operating room. In the second verse Eminem talks about his grade school bully, D'Angelo Bailey, and how he used to beat him up. Bailey later sued for slander and the judge dismissed it in the form of her own rap: "Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain/Because Eminem used his name in vain."
5. Paul(skit):
One of the earlier skits humorizing Eminem’s interactions with his overworked lawyer, Paul Rosenberg.
6. If I Had:
Eminem’s take on The Bare Naked Ladies' “If I Had $1000000” written when he was poor, couldn’t provide for his daughter, and wasn’t seeing much success in rap. This song is more of a spoken word poem than a true rap song, especially in the intro. The first line he says "Life by Marshall Mathers" the fact that it is by Marshall Mathers, Eminem’s real name, indicates that it is going to be about his real life; not Slim Shady’s fictional escapades.
7. 97 Bonnie & Clyde:
The scene from this song where Em and Hailie are at a dock with Kim’s body in a car trunk is used for the album cover. In the song Eminem coos “Bonnie” (really his daughter, Hailie) into calm as he murders her mom and disposes of her body. The song is called “97' Bonnie & Clyde” as homage to 2Pac’s “‘96 Bonnie and Clyde” (also it was written in 1997). Hailie plays herself and can be heard saying various things in the background.(She is also on the album cover and liner notes). “I lied to Kim and told her I was taking Hailie to Chuck E. Cheese that day,” Em recalls. “But I took her to the studio."
8. Bitch(skit):
In this "skit" a girl is leaving a voice-mail for a friend after listening to Eminem’s then-unreleased album: “It’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” she says. The voice-mail made its way to Eminem’s team. And they paid her $300 to put it on the album. The girl turned out to be Zoe Winkler. Her father is Henry Winkler, an actor best known for his role as ‘The Fonz’ on Happy Days.
9. Role Model:
In this song, Eminem tries to dissuade his young fans from thinking of him as a role model by convincing them that he’s insane. The second verse is a reference to the O.J Simpson murder trial, where he claims Slim Shady is actually the killer and he framed O.J.
10. Lounge(skit):
This is an acoustic mini version of the hook to the upcoming song on the album, “My Fault”.
This skit was apparently created before the song. Producer Jeff Bass “came up with the ‘mushrooms’ line.”, and he’s also the main voice singing here.
11. My Fault:
A song about how Eminem gave this girl Susan mushrooms. When Jeff Bass came up with the “mushrooms” line, Eminem got to thinking about an incident in which one of his friends had a bad acid trip. “He was talking about how worthless he was and how fucked up his life was,” recalled Eminem, who took it on himself to reassure the guy, who was going through a bout of depression. In this fictional scenario, Em’s friend is a girl, and he’s not quite as helpful.
12. Ken Kaniff(skit):
A homosexual, Ken Kaniff (voiced by Aristotle an underground rapper) calls Eminem.
13. Cum on Everybody:
Eminem’s official dance song from the Slim Shady LP in 1999. Verse 2 contains the line "I tried suicide once and I'll try it again/ that's why I write songs where I die at the end." Eminem actually did attempt suicide in 1997 (during the recording of “Rock Bottom”) reportedly due to frustration over Kim leaving him and trying to stop him from seeing their daughter Hailie. As for songs where he dies in the end, Em gets shot at the end of “Murder, Murder”. He also and hangs himself and gets shot in “My Name Is.” After this line was delivered, Em would continue with this theme, referencing having slit his wrists in “Stan”, and getting killed by Stan’s bother in “Bad Guy” and “Parking Lot”.
14. Rock Bottom:
Rock Bottom was written during a depressed point in Eminem’s life, around December 20, 1996. Days before his daughter’s first birthday, Eminem got fired from his cooking job at Gilbert’s Lodge. “That was the worst time ever, dog,” he says. “It was, like, five days before Christmas, which is Hailie’s birthday. I had, like, $40 to get her something. I wrote ‘Rock Bottom’ right after that.”
15. Just Don't Give a Fuck:
Eminem: “Just Don’t Give a Fuck” was a song that I wrote when I was staying at my mother’s house. It was around the time that Hailie was born. She wasn’t even a year old yet. All of kinds of shit- not being able to provide for my daughter, my living situation, etc., just started building up so much that I had just had it."
16. Soap(skit):
A skit from The Slim Shady LP which parodies soap operas.
17. As the World Turns:
The title of this song is a reference to the soap opera As the World Turns and also references Days of Our Lives where characters have to deal with most of the trials and tribulations Shady is talking about. This track follows a skit on the album called “Soap” to establish the soap opera reference.
18. I'm Shady:
Eminem raps about his life as a white trash drug dealer, and helps introduce the Slim Shady character to the masses. Off The Slim Shady LP, which came out when Slim Shady was not yet widely known.
Melodically and thematically similar to Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman”:
Em said: “It’s funny cause I didn’t get the idea from Mayfield’s song. I got it from Ice-T’s “Power” record. I didn’t know Ice got it from “Pusherman.” I used the melody, but changed the words.
19. Bad Meets Evil:
The name of this song would be applied to the duo themselves in future releases. (Eminem and
Royce Da 5'9"). Royce has a line in the song "see you in hell for the squeal". 12 years later, Royce and Em have gotten back together and recorded a new EP called Bad Meets Evil: Hell the Sequel.
20. Still Don't Give a Fuck:
Eminem: “This was my manager Paul’s concept. He called me one day while I was in Cali, saying ‘You need to do a Just Don’t Give A Fuck Part 2’. I responded ‘Yeah…still don’t give a fuck’". Eminem continues the running theme on this album: he doesn’t give a fuck about what anyone else has to say about him, he is going to keep doing what he wants to do.