Child pages

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1996 - Infinite

General Thoughts

• he was 24 when this was released (1996)
• his delivery of the lyrics is a lot more flat / disengaged than on the Marshal Mathers LP
• his mic is noticeably worse than in later albums; their voices don't sound as clear
• he's not at ALL offensive in this album; he comes off as a really nice guy (eg Never 2 Far's message is that you can lift yourself out of poverty if you try hard enough).
• he doesn't posture in such an exaggerated way as in his future albums; it's standard rap posturing ("my flow's the best", etc.)
• he has a love song ("Searchin'"); neither of his next two albums have anything like that
• his voice sounds higher than on his later albums, with less bass in the recording.

Stuff I've learned

• He says in one of his Genius annotations that he recorded the entire album with one take per song, in an hour of studio time, because he had needed to save up the money to pay for it himself.

Open Mic

• they repeat the chorus too much

1997 - The Slim Shady EP

• Wikipedia - The Slim Shady EP

  • Unlike Infinite, The Slim Shady EP helped Eminem garner significant underground attention and eventually garnered the interest of famous West Coast hip-hop producer Dr. Dre, who subsequently signed Eminem to his Aftermath label, and executive-produced his breakthrough major-label debut The Slim Shady LP. Eminem first introduced his "Slim Shady" persona on this EP, and his lyrics are a marked departure from those found on Infinite, featuring constant references to drug use, sexual acts, mental instability, and over-the-top violence. Another departure was his exploration of more serious themes of dealing with poverty, his direct and self-deprecating response to criticism, and of marital and family difficulties. His flow is also noticeably different than on Infinite; whereas critics claimed he sounded too much like Nas and AZ on that album. Eminem also began using story telling on this EP. The production value of the music on the tracks was also noticeably higher than on prior album efforts.
    [...]
    Eminem desperately tried to contact big producers such as Dr. Dre, (who would later sign Eminem) to do production work on the album but with no luck.

• 
  • No writing credits  Maybe it was all Em? Especially considering the Bass Brothers are only listed at Producers on two tracks, that seems to make it unlikely that they were helping him write his lyrics on every track. And he has sick lyrics on every track.

General Thoughts

• the difference between this album and the previous one seems (to me) to be an acknowledgement from Eminem that people want rappers to be very unusual, like cartoon characters or WWF wrestlers or movie characters.
• he was 25 when this was released (1997)
• he's started to layer on second takes of him saying things to emphasize certain words. I still haven't figured out the pattern that determines when he decides to use the technique.
• he's started to combine humorous imagery with more serious imagery; it reminds me a lot of what I've noticed about my favorite movies (Back to the Future, Star Wars, Indiana Jones): they do a fantastic job of taking you through a range of different emotions
• There's no writing credits

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• The snare(?) on the 2 and 4 beats seems like it might be too loud or at the wrong frequency, it makes it hard to make out what Em's saying.

Just Don't Give a Fuck

• He does a great job of loading up the song with lots of sounds, so it sounds "full"
  
• He uses lines that I'm guessing he developed while doing freestyle battles, because they aren't relevant to a wider audience:
  • You wacker than the motherfucker you bit your style from
    You ain't gonna sell two copies if you press a double album
    (...)
    Better hide your wallet 'cause I'm coming up quick to strip your cash
    Bought a ticket to your concert just to come and whip your ass

• "Raped" is uncensored on the line "Raped the women's swim team", as I think it originally was on the SSLP, but now if you listen to the Explicit version of the SSLP on Spotify, that word is censored.

• He uses new ways of referring to a noun:
  •  "snow season" instead of "winter"
    • I'm colder than snow season when it's twenty below freezing
• The range of the tone of his voice is smaller here than on the SSLP version. He doesn't go as low, and he doesn't go as high.

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• This skit was shortened (I think?) and included in the actual song on the SSLP.

Just The Two Of Us

• The Bass brothers' production here is not bad, but it's also not amazing. It's not SSLP-level. But Dre isn't listed as a producer on most of the SSLP songs, so I wonder if the BB did a second pass without much input from Dre, or if Dre was providing substantial feedback but decided to not try to get listed as a producer.
• The underlying melody-loop is more noticeable than in the LP, and IMO gets annoying from the repetition. It's 8 bars, but the second 4 bars are just a small variation on the first 4, so it basically sounds like a 4 bar loop. And it's a 4-minute song.
  
• They changed the name of the song on the SSLP to "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", probably because copying both the underlying loop and the name of "Just The Two Of Us" would've been too much and would've gotten them sued. The underlying melody-loop is much less pronounced in the SSLP, it's almost implied, where all that's really played is an accompaniment to the actual melody.
• internal rhyme "hurt" and "her"

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1999 - The Slim Shady LP

General Thoughts

• he was 27 when this was released (1999)

What's the purpose of the little scenes between songs?

• It could be a way of transitioning from one emotional state to another. eg he'll go from a funny song to a serious song or vice versa.
• It may serve as a "breathing period" between songs, so listeners can have a short break. I think the same thing happens at swing dances: the DJ will alternate high-energy songs with lower-energy songs to give people a break.
• It may also be there to add length to the album.

Cover Art

• Image Modified ← He's wearing really wide clothing (if that's even him); it makes him look a lot bigger. The all-black also adds to the menace.
  

1. Public Service Announcement

• This skit sets up 'My Name Is' so, so well.

2, My Name Is

• The melody/loop is from Labi Siffre - I got the

3. Guilty Conscience

The main sample:
Ronald Stein - Go Home Pigs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD82-bTtwqY&t=0m06s

4. Brain Damage

• asdf

5. Paul - Skit

6. If I Had

• asdf

7. '97 Bonnie & Clyde

• The violence aside, this is really an absolutely brilliant song.
• The accompaniment in this song seems more advanced than almost every rap song that's come out since then.

8. Bitch - Skit

9. Role Model

10. Lounge - Skit

11. My Fault

12. Ken Kaniff - Skit

13. Cum On Everybody

14. Rock Bottom

15. Just Don't Give a Fuck

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• it's VERY interesting to listen to this song back-to-back with the version of the song on the EP.
• Production Changes:

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  • • The original has a repetitive sample that repeats every 8 beats (2 measures), and it quickly gets old. They replace it with a MUCH better sample that repeats every 4 measures. They lead the song with the loop repeating twice and each note being held down, and then they cut it out and only play each note quickly with the same instrument, but instead play the same note multiple times with a different-sounding instrument. Then they vary it again for the chorus, with the higher instrument playing a short flourish instead of the same note.

  16. Soap - Skit

  
  17. As the World Turns

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  • the intro lasts 29 seconds

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  • the entire song is absolutely ridiculous, but it gradually gets more and more ridiculous, which makes it really funny. If you listen to "Tonite" immediately afterwards you'll notice that he uses exaggeration a little bit

  
  18. I'm Shady

  
  

  
  19. Bad Meets Evil

  
  

  20. Still Don't Give a Fuck

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  • he overlaps two different takes of him talking to fit in lyrics: "to all the people I've offended (Yeah fuck you too!)" The last syllable of "offended" and the following "yeah" seem almost overlapping.

  
  

  2000 - The Marshal Mathers LP

  • Released May 2000
  • Wikipedia - The Marshall Mathers LP

  

  Criminal

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  2. Kill You

  • shut the hell up
    I'm tryna develop these pictures of the Devil to sell 'em
    
    I absolutely love this image, it's maybe my favorite line in the song.

  • Blood, guts, guns, cuts
    Knives, lives, wives, nuns, sluts
    
    Great sequence.

  • 'tweece' ← This is an early example of the kind of imperfection that became way more prevalent in his later songs.

  
  

  3. Stan

  • An absolutely brilliant song, one of the best songs Em ever made.
  • This is a drastic change in tone from the previous song, which is a nice way to mix things up. In this song Em is the reasonable guy, and his fan is the crazy one.

  • Hey, Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?
    You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night"
    About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drownin'
    But didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?

    
    An absolutely brilliant set of lines
  • The song ends weirdly abruptly.

  
  

  4. Who Knew

  • This is a weaker song. It's directed at the critics of the violence in his songs.

  • I don't got that bad of a mouth, do I?
    Fuck! Shit! Ass! Bitch! Cunt! Shooby-de-doo-wop!
    Skibbedy-be-bop, a Christopher Reeve
    
    Probably the best lines in the song.

  • How many retards'll listen to me
    And run up in the school shootin' when they're pissed at a tea
    -cher? Her? Him? Is it you? Is it them?
    
    The 'tea – cher' split isn't nice.

  
  

  7. The Way I Am

  • This was one of the singles.
  • His delivery in this song is just perfect. I can't think of any other rapper who can get anywhere close to this level of intensity.

  • When a dude's getting bullied and shoots up his school
    And they blame it on Marilyn and the heroin
    Where were the parents at? And look where it's at!
    Middle America, now it's a tragedy
    Now it's so sad to see
    
    Great lines.

  
  

  8. The Real Slim Shady

  • Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records
    Well, I do, so fuck him and fuck you too!
    
    Great lines.

  • And there's a million of us just like me
    Who cuss like me, who just don't give a fuck like me
    Who dress like me; walk, talk, and act like me
    And just might be the next best thing, but not quite me
    
    The flow here is great.

  • The entire third verse is incredible:

    I'm like a head trip to listen to, ‘cause I'm only givin' you
    Things you joke about with your friends inside your livin' room
    The only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all
    And I don't gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all
    I just get on the mic and spit it
    And whether you like to admit it, I just shit it
    Better than 90% of you rappers out can
    Then you wonder: "How can
    Kids eat up these albums like Valiums?"
    It's funny, ‘cause at the rate I'm going, when I'm 30
    I'll be the only person in the nursing home flirting
    Pinching nurse's asses when I'm jacking off with Jergens
    And I'm jerking, but this whole bag of Viagra isn't working
    And every single person is a Slim Shady lurking
    He could be working at Burger King, spittin' on your onion rings
    Or in the parking lot, circling, screaming, "I don't give a fuck!"
    With his windows down and his system up
    So will the real Shady please stand up
    And put one of those fingers on each hand up?
    And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control
    And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?

  
  

  9. Remember Me?

  • This is a really weak song.
  • Verse 1 (RBX) : His voice is interesting but the lyrics are bad, and I suspect he speaks too slowly to be able to say anything interesting.
  • Verse 2 (Sticky Fingaz): His delivery is great, but the lyrics are bad.

  
  

  10. I'm Back

  • This is a really weak song.
  • "Slim, for pete's sakes, put down Christopher Reeve's legs!"

  
  

  11. Marshall Mathers

  • This song has a great accompaniment, but the actual lyrics are addressing stupid beefs.
  • Startin' shit like some 26-year-old skinny Cartman (Goddamn it!)
    
    This is maybe the first example of Eminem using the Cartman voice that he ended up using
  • Faggy 2 Dope and Silent Gay
    
    IMO these guys were way too far below him to be worth space on his album.

  
  

  12. Ken Kaniff (Skit)

  • This depicts ICP giving head to Ken Kaniff.
  • IMO it's just gross to have it on the album.

  13. Drug Ballad

  • The accompaniment here is great. The lyrics are good, but I feel like they could have been even better.

  14. Amityville

  • This is a weak song. Weak accompaniment, weak lyrics, weak concept.
  • He let his D12 friend Bizarre have a short verse on this song  ...

  15. Bitch Please II

  • Man, hearing this right after Amityville makes me appreciate just how good Dre / Snoop / Nate Dogg are as a team.
  • The lyrics aren't anything especially memorable, but the delivery is very clean.

  16. Kim

  • By far the best song on the album, no contest. Maybe the best single song he ever made.
  • Em just killed this. I can't think of any other song, rap or otherwise, like this.
  • I think it may have more of an impact on people who have heard / seen serious domestic disputes.
  • It seems obvious to me, but maybe not to others, that Em is just depicting

  17. Under the Influence

  • A very weak song.
  • A D12 song... 
  • The chorus is terrible.
  • Bizarre's delivery is really terrible.
  • Proof's delivery is great.
  • Too many rappers with full-length verses. It sounds like Em was hooking up his friends at the expense of his fans.

  18. Criminal

  • The accompaniment on this song is amazing.
  • Eminem: “Criminal” was my new “Still Don’t Give a Fuck” for The Marshall Mathers LP. That’s why I did the same intro as I did on the ‘'Still Don’t Give A Fuck’‘. That’s why–just like ’‘Still Don’t Give A Fuck’‘–it’s the last song on the record. It sums up the whole album. (Source: "Angry Blonde", via the Genius page on 'Criminal')
    • Lesson: You really can just copy certain things from the past.

  • Come on, relax, guy! I like gay men
    Right, Ken? Give me an amen!
    
    Em speaking as Em with the Cartman voice... 

  • The chorus is one of the best in any Eminem song:
    
    I'm a criminal! ‘Cause every time I write a rhyme
    These people think it's a crime
    To tell 'em what's on my mind
    I guess I'm a criminal! But I don't got to say a word
    I just flip 'em the bird and keep going
    I don't take shit from no one; I'm a criminal!

  • The skit in this song is hilarious, the funniest one I can think of by Eminem, and maybe any rap artist.

  • If I ever gave a fuck, I'd shave my nuts
    Tuck my dick in between my legs and cluck
    
    Very well-delivered.

  
  

  2002 - The Eminem Show

  • Wikipedia - The Eminem Show

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