The Slim Shady LP is the major label debut album from legendary Detroit rapper, Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers). Eminem started off as an underground rapper, performing at small venues and was discovered by Dr. Dre at an event called the Rap Olympics. Impressed with Eminem’s skilled rapping and crazy alter ego, Slim Shady, he signed him to his label, Aftermath. The rest is history now, as Eminem is one of the best selling and most famous rappers on the planet, but it’s easy to forget that he started off as a poor dad and husband who was working 9-5 jobs and struggling to put food on the table. I will say, I’m not a massive Eminem fan these days, not because of who he is as a person, or because his music offends me, but because there’s artists that I feel make better music than he does currently. While this album does showcase his zany and crazy rapping abilities with his Shady persona, there’s also moments where he gets serious and talks about the struggles in his life, and his frustration with not being able to provide for himself and his daughter. In addition, he also talks about his rough upbringing, whether its living in rough neighborhoods, or being bullied by other kids. What made Eminem appeal to so many people was that he was this relatable anti-hero who was a reflection of everything that the political elites and religious right was afraid of. 25 years later, a lot has changed and a lot hasn’t about Eminem, but most importantly, how does this album stack up after such a long time?
We open up the album with the track, “My Name Is,” which was Eminem’s second single off this record, in it we get an introduction to his Slim Shady alter ego. I love the beat, which samples “I Got The…,” by British singer, Labi Siffre. The humorous rhymes are edgy because, to quote him, “I don’t give a fuck, God sent me to piss the world off.” This track was somewhat disliked by Eminem for a long time, because he felt that there were better songs of his that he wanted to be remembered for, rather than “My Name Is.” While it’s not my favorite Eminem song of all time, it’s a classic, and one of the best tracks on this record.
“Guilty Conscience,” has a cool premise with Dr. Dre and Eminem playing the good vs. evil sides of different individuals’ conscience throughout the song. I love the eerie beat with the funky guitar chords and creeping piano. I also like how dark the song is, and how sinister Eminem sounds on it. However, I think it’s worth mentioning that if this album was released today, it would probably be even more controversial than it was when it first came out. Following that, we have “Brain Damage,” where Eminem turns his traumatic childhood into an empowering and darkly comedic track. The rhyme schemes he uses are smooth and concise, for example, the childhood picture that he paints is vivid, with lines such as, “A corny-lookin’ white boy, scrawny and always ornery. ‘Cause I was always sick of brawny bullies pickin’ on me.” The track demonstrates how jaded Eminem is, as while some of it is clearly exaggerated and played for humor, he was actually bullied and beaten nearly to death when he was a kid. He also got sued by the bully he named in the track, DeAngelo Bailey. His matter-of-fact attitude about his heartbreaking early life, shows how resilient he is. His story about beating up his bully, is his way of coping with the trauma that he experienced not only from his bullies, but his mom who was a drug addict that abused him. His anger at the world and his mom, empowered kids who were bullied and abused. I’m not going to review the multiple skits on this album, but I will say, skits on rap albums have generally not aged super well, and feel unnecessary.
Next is, “If I Had,” where Eminem talks about how he’s tired of fake friends, and other shitty aspects of his life. It’s an incredibly raw and relatable track, especially when he talks about the grueling misery of a low paying, minimum wage job, being poor, and what he would do if he was rich. The Bass Brothers produced beat is relaxing, and Eminem flows naturally on it. After that, is probably the darkest track on the album, “’97 Bonnie & Clyde,” where Eminem talks about how he killed his ex-wife and is driving his daughter with him to dispose of the body. It’s a very well written song, where he’s talking to his daughter, and not so subtly hiding the fact that he’s going to get rid of the evidence. It’s the successor to The Marshall Mathers LP’s track, “Kim,” which is the track where he kills Kim. It has a much humorous tone in comparison to “Kim,” because in that track, he’s a lot angrier, screaming the entire song, and the hatred he has for her feels a lot more genuine. I firmly believe Eminem would have an angry mob outside of his house if he released this album in 2024.
Next up, we have my favorite track off the entire album, “Role Model,” which is a darkly comedic track with a phenomenal Dr. Dre produced beat. Another Slim Shady-themed track, Eminem’s rhymes on this song are funny, dark, and self-aware. He’s sarcastically explaining why he’s a terrible role model for America’s youth, while also making 90s era references. His cartoonishly violent bars such as, “I strangle you to death and choke you again. And break your fuckin’ legs till your bones poke through your skin.” Absolutely brutal, he also showcases why dissing him is a mistake for any rapper, which has been true throughout his career, whether its his beef with MGK or Benzino. No rapper has survived a beef with Eminem. His dark sense of humor on this track is showcased whether he’s talking about Sonny Bono’s fatal skiing accident, Bill Clinton’s sex scandals, and tearing out Vanilla Ice’s dreads. It’s easily the best song on the album, because of his vivid and tight rhymes.
“My Fault,” is one of the weaker tracks on the album, and it just doesn’t feel as humorous or dark as the other tracks on the record. It’s just a track about how Eminem gave a girl magic mushrooms. The beat isn’t super memorable either, it’s just a simple bass loop with some guitar riffs thrown in, so it’s one of my least favorite tracks on the record. “C’mon Everybody,” is another weak track on the record, as it’s meant to be a dance style, boy band parody track, but it just doesn’t really fit sonically with the rest of the album. Eminem’s rhymes are humorous enough, so that’s a bright spot, but the beat is weak and Dina Rae’s feature on the track, feels kinda unnecessary. Her contribution isn’t memorable as her other tracks with Eminem, such as “Superman,” and “Drug Ballad.”
We get another serious track, in “Rock Bottom,” in which Eminem discusses being impoverished and the difficulty of providing for his family. I like the Bass Brothers produced beat with its choir and hard hitting drums. I really like his metaphors on this track, “I feel like I’m walkin’ a tight rope without a circus net. Poppin’ Percocet, I’m a nervous wreck.” Eminem’s lyrics are another strong point on this album. You really feel the pain and desperation in Eminem’s voice as he says, “That’s rock bottom when this life makes you mad enough to kill. That’s rock bottom, when you want somethin’ bad enough to steal.” I also like the line, “My life is full of empty promises and broken dreams. I’m hopin’ things look up, but there ain’t no job openings.” The rhyme scheme on another one of his bars is fantastic, “And I’m sick of workin’ dead-end jobs with lame pay. And I’m tired of being hired and fired the same day. But fuck it, if you know the rules to the game, play.” One of my favorite tracks off the album.
“Just Don’t Give a Fuck,” has another great Bass Brothers-produced beat, like most of the album, I love how hungry and angry Eminem sounds on this track. It’s probably one of Eminem’s most underrated tracks, in my opinion. I like the line, “I’m colder than snow season when it’s twenty below freezing.” “As the World Turns,” is another zany track where Eminem fires off humorous raps including a portion where he was vividly describes a conversation where he insults a girl in gym class for being fat, while also having enough self-awareness to make fun of himself saying, “She picked me up to snap me like a skinny twig.” “I’m Shady,” focuses on the character of Slim Shady and features quite a funky beat, with a groovy bass riff. I love Eminem’s lyricism on this track as it’s dark and funny. Eminem really didn’t take himself super seriously when he started out. Another favorite.
The second to last track, “Bad Meets Evil,” featuring Royce Da 5’9, is just a pure demonstration of the two’s technical rapping skills, where they’re competing with each other to see who can outrap the other. It’s got a funky beat, with cool guitar riffs scattered throughout. This track is actually the origin of the rap duo’s stage name. When these two collaborate, they usually make great music together. Finally, we close the album off with, “Still Don’t Give a Fuck,” where Eminem is unapologetic and adamant about how he’s never going to behave or conform to society’s expectations. He himself says he can’t change the way he thinks, or the way he is. “If I offended you good, ‘cause I still don’t give a fuck.” I like his technical rapping skills on this track, and the reworked beat from, “Just Don’t Give a Fuck.”
This album is not for the easily offended, or the faint of heart. In fact, it feels like Eminem went out of his way on this record to piss as many people off as possible. His anger, self-awareness, and vulnerability on this record still resonates 25 years later, and sure there’s some tracks that probably should’ve been cut, and the skits haven’t aged great, but the majority of this album is incredibly raw, funny, and relatable. Eminem’s rebellious and give-no-fucks alter ego, Slim Shady, was revolutionary in hip hop, and he paved the way for not only other white rappers, but hundreds of rappers in general. I recommend this album to every hip-hop fan as it’s essential listening. It’s not perfect, but discography wise, it’s one of Eminem’s best albums all these years later.
Overall Score: 8/10
Favorite Tracks: “Role Model,” “My Name Is,” “Just Don’t Give a Fuck,” “Rock Bottom,” “Guilty Conscience,” “I’m Shady”
Least Favorite Tracks: “C’Mon Everybody,” “My Fault”
Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2szD0xhCr4w
Genres: Hip Hop/Horrorcore