The Slim Shady

I remember quite vividly the first time I heard `My Name Is'. I was at my best friend's house and we were watching MTV (you know, back when they still showed music videos) and I saw this blond rapper spouting off some of the funniest, catchiest lyrics I had ever heard. I think I had memorized the song within a week and had rushed out to buy the album (which I instinctively hid under my mattress) the minute it was released. All these years later, this is still Eminem's best album. He has since become a global phenomenon, an artist known as much for his sheer talent as he is for his outlandishness and controversial personal life. His lyrics shock and offend, but that is their purpose, and for that I respect him. Despite what you think about the message he delivers, one cannot refute the fact that in his prime, there was not a more polished lyricist working the scene. While he has subsequently idled himself with a few flukes (both `Encore' and `Relapse' were ill received albums) he is in the midst of a resurgence (`Recovery' is not perfect, but I smell redemption) and thanks to a few hits under his belt (`Love the Way You Lie' may be the best track he's ever penned) I think he is about to land on his feet once again.With all this in mind I decided to revisit his albums and give them my personal rundown.`The Slim Shady LP' was a great way to introduce us to the madman that is Marshall Mathers. It is twisted, funny, off-color, controversial and highly memorable. Like he says himself, he sticks out like a green hat with an orange veil.For a 20-track album (littered with six interludes), this album is surprisingly strong, and while not every track delivers as strongly as the one that came before or after it, I cannot say that there is a single `bad' track on the list. In fact, only `I'm Shady' peeks out at me as a `filler' track, and no matter how uncomfortable '97 Bonnie & Clyde' makes me (no where near as disturbing as `Kim' off of his sophomore album), there is no denying that it is a brilliantly constructed song.The album can be broken up in a few categories. First we have the loose, comical side of Eminem. The album's debut single is a great advocate for the many ways that Eminem can strike the funny bone. `Brain Damage' is one of my favorite tracks on the album. As Marshall spits off about bring bullied at school and the symbolic `monster' it transformed him into, we can see the harsh side to his humor. While there is not really a single song here to be taken literally (aside from maybe `Rock Bottom' and `If I Had') there are obvious slivers of reality laced into every outlandish `offence' uttered by Eminem. These insults and `fantastical' spoutings of debauchery stem from something internal, and it shows.Eminem raps with heart, which is more than can be said for a lot of rappers today.`Guilty Conscience' may go a little too far at times (and may make some squeamish) but there is no real debate as to the lyrical intent of songs like `My Fault' and `As the World Turns'. Rapping about naïve girls overdosing at parties or fat chicks eating your leg (before you kill her) may seem harsh and or ever unappetizing, but Eminem crafts much of his humor around these elements creating something sharp, witty and unforgettable.His more serious tone can be heard on tracks like `If I Had' and `Rock Bottom', which give Eminem a way to expose his life pre-rap, where he struggled like so many to remain grounded while juggling a baby, a job and a wife who didn't always seem to care. `Rock Bottom' (the better of the two) is truly heartbreaking and stirring to the soul. For anyone who says this man lacks depth, listen to the earnestness with which he weaves these tales of pain.Songs like `Bad Meets Evil' blend the comical with the dramatic, taking a darker more malicious tone. Both the `I Don't Give...' and `I Still Don't Give...' tracks show sharp lyrics and refined delivery amidst an edgy and calculated backdrop.Eminem, the rapper, struggled in the center of his fame to top what he came out with. This is a shockingly strong debut album that would be hard for any rapper to transcend. While he faltered at moments, it is apparent that Eminem has matured as a lyricist (his latest album may not be as universally strong as `The Slim Shady LP', but it shows a real maturity in his subject matter and lyrical structure) and I am eager to see where he goes from here.

I am for the most part a very conservative person, and those who know me would probably never imagine that I am a devoted Eminem fan. When The Slim Shady LP came out in 1999, I heard a lot about it, but I had almost no exposure to the music itself. The only song I really heard at the time was the radio version of My Name Is, and that little ditty seemed to have "gimmick" written all over it. I expected Eminem to disappear from the music scene after a few months. I, like many people, was uninformed and wrongly dismissed this artist out of hand. Then, I actually listened to the man's music, and I soon realized that Eminem was in fact a musical genius. This first album is a little more bare-bones and gritty than The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show, but it is nonetheless nothing short of amazing. I am not exactly a big fan of rap or hip-hop, although I have wandered down those lanes a few times in my past, but Eminem actually transcends rap, creating a musical genre all his own that reaches out to even the most unlikeliest of places to win fans like me. Sure, the lyrics are explicit, but what I have come to realize is this: Eminem does not use the explicit lyrics to attract notoriety and sell albums; he uses explicit lyrics because he is expressing himself in a shockingly honest way, and what he gives us is his own version of truth and reality. He really does have something to say, and he says it in a way that speaks not only to the culture of the streets but also to boring conservative individuals like me.I can't find a bad song on this album, although I'm not that fond of the Ken Kaniff sketch. Eminem does things with beats and rhymes that I have never heard anyone else do, using the very rhythm of his music as a further means of communicating his ideas and feelings. 97 Bonnie and Clyde is rightfully well-known, a song which addresses real issues that many people deal with every day; it's much more than a song about someone killing his wife. Guilty Conscience is a notable track, with Eminem and Dr. Dre playing devil and angel to folks encountering real, albeit, extreme situations. One of the greatest things about Emimen is his denial of himself as some kind of role model or superman; you can't pin him down to anything, as he shifts back and forth between a "don't do like I do" message (such as can be found in Role Model) and a celebration of the parents' nightmares he is creating. His life hasn't been easy, as he relates in Rock Bottom and further expounds upon in Brain Damage. As the World Turns is a great song with pop appeal, but my favorite has to be My Fault. Lounge, the preamble of My Fault, is just amazing because its Beach Boys-esque sound is quite unexpected and a perfect lead-in to what has to be the funniest song on the album. There's all kinds of variety here, including the designated "dance track" [Come] on Everybody. "Still Don't Give a" is the perfect ending to this emotionally complex diatribe of an album, summing up in the introductory words the very essence of Eminem.There are many individuals who would never agree with me, but I truly think there is a little Eminem in all of us. As an introvert who tries to avoid conflict, I can't help but idolize Eminem for his fearlessness, boldness, and complete dedication to individualism. His reputation guarantees a legion of men and women who will never even consider listening to his music or consider him anything more than a moral cancer on the younger generations, but I think Eminem has already proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is a talented musician capable of influencing the music of today and tomorrow in ways that many people will probably never even realize. While I enjoy his next two albums a little bit more than this one, The Slim Shady LP serves as an absolutely crucial piece to the fascinating puzzle that is Eminem.

Original Shady!

Product arrived on time and was in good condition.

Whats there to say we all know how phenomenal this album, and the bonus tracks are an awesome piece of hip hop history. The packaging for this edition is great, the poster is awesome. I just dont like the way the middle record goes in and out of the sleeve its a bit difficult to get out unless you completely open on a table or something. It's not that big of a deal.

This album was released in 1999 and is given credit for returning Dr Dre to the A list production crew. Some of the material has not aged as gracefully as other material. For things that have, they are still worth a listen to. Sample choice is also excellent here.

After pirating albums my whole life, I finally purchased some Eminem CD’s for my oldest offspring- the case arrived cracked but that didn’t matter for my need! 😍