Child pages

...

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

...

• 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.

...

• 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"

...

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

...

• 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

...

15. Just Don't Give a Fuck

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

• the intro lasts 29 seconds
• 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

• I really think Eminem's songs tend to suffer when they have other rappers on them. Royce is a good rapper, but his lyrics just aren't in the same league as 

20. Still Don't Give a Fuck

• 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

...

• 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.

...

• 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 with this much emotion in the vocals.
• 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.

...

• 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.

...