Marshall Bruce Mathers III grew up on 8 mile road in Detroit, where he developed one of the most famous and recognizable personalities in rap. Marshall wasn't able to gain much respect or record sales from the first album, Infinite(Its was by no means a bad album, just not the type of music you're going to gain local radio play with). That all changed when Andre Young was given a copy of "The Slim Shady EP", Marshall's second product. Dre signed him immediately, and you all know the rest.
I'm sure Mr. Mathers had high ambitions when he started recording The Slim Shady LP, but not even he could expect the millions of sales his second album went on to obtain. After releasing his first single--"My Name Is"--to the world, it wasn't hard to tell that the album was going to be successful. Eminem was a white guy with bleached blond hair from Detroit, receiving hype from Dr. Dre, and it didn't hurt that he was REALLY good at rapping.
While Dre did produce all three singles, the rest of the production is directed by Marshall and The Bass Brothers, who produced all of Eminems former work. Nothing groundbreaking, but the Bass Brothers produced tracks really add to the dark lyrics and overall theme of the album.
Here we go.
1. Public Service Announcement
These skits can be found at the beginning of all of Eminem's early albums. They are often humorous, but serve no more purpose than to let you know that Eminem does not care about you as a listener or your opinions. After a first listen, you can go ahead and skip it.
2. My Name Is
This being the single that skyrocketed Eminem to stardom I'm almost sure you have heard this. It displays Em's vivid storytelling abilities and twisted sense of humor, including a line where he mentions dreaming of killing his father. We can only wonder where Eminem would be today if not for this song.
3. Guilty Conscience (Feat. Dr. Dre)
This song epitomized every thing about the slim shady persona. Marshall and dre follow people around, and act as their conscience. Still sounds pretty good today.
4. Brain Damage
This, in my opinion, is the best display of Em's story telling on the album. Marshall goes in and out of character with ease over the bass brothers beat. Definitely one of the most over looked songs in his entire catalogue. This was actually a B-side track on the "I Just Don't Give A F***" single.
5. Paul
Boring and unneeded skit.
6. If I Had
This song was on the original Slim Shady EP, which is why it is found on this album. This is the first time we really see that Em isn't joking... his life sucks. He has no money, and in a great lyrical display he tells us all the things he'd want to have, including an impossibly large ass intended for the whole world to kiss.
7. 97' Bonnie & Clyde
Another polished up version of "Just the Two of Us" from the Slim Shady EP. Marshall kills his wife and takes his daughter on the ride to dump her into a lake. This might have caused a little controversy.
8. Bitch
Would have been better left of the album, but i guess it serves as a good introduction to "Role Model".
9. Role Model
Come up with some of the most ridiculous, repulsive, and offensive things you can think of, and you have Eminem on Role Model. Not only is he mentioning these things, but telling kids to do them as well. With the best beat on the album courtesy of the D-R-E, Em destroys this song lyrically to the point where the images could make you sick. Highlight of the album.
10. Lounge
This is my favorite skit on the album, but calling it necessary is a lie.
11. My Fault
Not one of the most memorable tracks on the album, but certainly a fun one. Em talks about accidentally poisoning a white-trash whore with an entire bag of mushrooms causing her eventual death... Yeah.
12. Ken Kaniff
Extremely homophobic and creepy skit. Not going to lie, i laughed after my first listen. Sue me.
13. Cum On Everybody
This is a party dance track, but doesn't really have happy-go-lucky lyrics. At a point, Eminem suggests he is putting out a video of this song where he will pose a a mummy with his wrists slit. That may not be the lyrics you'd ideally dance to, but if you're doing as much acid as em was at the time, you'd probably find this song relatable.
14. Rock Bottom
In one of the highlights of the album, Eminem revisits how shitty his life is. In this song however, it would seem that Eminem actually has a soul. He takes on a visit to his life in which he can't even dress his own daughter. He talks about the horrors of unemployment in a bad city, and will leave you actually feeling sorry for him.
15. I Just Don't Give A F***
This was an enjoyable listen for the most part. The whole theme is kind of corny, but it really does describe Eminem's atitude. This was also on "The Slim Shady EP", but as the radio edit. I don't know if that was a joke or something, because i can't imagine something like this getting radio play nowadays.
16. Soap
This is just an introduction to @TechJevans favorite song.
17. As The World Turns
Now I can imagine you listening up to this point and thinking, "this shit couldn't possibly get more insane," then you hear this song. From him letting us know that he blew up his hamster in a microwave, to him killing a fat girl in gym class, to attempting to rape a fat whore, getting his leg ripped off, and eventually slicing off her left tit(you heard me, her LEFT TIT), this song displays Eminem's ability to make a completely fictional story a masterpiece.
18. I'm Shady
This song is used to tell us who Eminem is(see track 2 also), and to make fun of listeners for believing what he says in his rhymes. He disclaims his use of crack, and leads listeners(dumb ones) to believe that he has full blown AIDS. Eminem truly doesn't care about you as a listener, no matter what you think.
19. Bad Meets Evil (Feat. Royce da 5'9")
Eminem and Royce da 5'9" come from the same neighborhood, and have almost identical styles. Surprisingly, the chemistry here isn't great, and makes for one of the lesser tracks on the album. If you're still paying attention to Eminem's career, you will know that he kept his word on making us all stay tuned to the sequel.
20. I Still Don't Give A F***
Marshall clears up any confusion he may have caused on track 15. Personally, i enjoy this better than its predecessor for no particular reason. Just sounds good.
Rating: 4.5/5
I give this album a 4.5 because of what Eminem is able to do with the albums that follow. You can't listen to this album, though, and tell me it isn't a great work of art. Eminem puts himself on the map by shocking all of us with his vile opinions and almost scary vivid story-telling abilities. He does, however, not consider the listener when putting together the skits, and the production is under par. When listening to Em though, you have to respect the classics on this album.