The Slim Shady LP

The Slim Shady LP
Studio album by Eminem
Released	February 23, 1999
Recorded	December 1996-January 1999
Genre	Hip hop
Length	59:39
Label	Aftermath, Interscope
Producer	Dr. Dre (exec.) Mark & Jeff Bass (exec.) Eminem, Mel-Man
Eminem chronology
The Slim Shady EP (1997) The Slim Shady LP (1999) The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
Special Edition cover
Singles from The Slim Shady LP
"My Name Is" Released: February 23, 1999 "Role Model" Released: May 26, 1999 "Guilty Conscience" Released: June 8, 1999

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]
Melody Maker	[3]
Mixmag	[3]
Muzik	[3]
RapReviews	[4]
Robert Christgau	(A-) [5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
Spin	[3]
Piero Scaruffi	[7]

The Slim Shady LP is the second studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on February 23, 1999. It is his major-label debut, and was released under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and Web Records.

The album was met with critical, and commercial success. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart behind TLC's FanMail with 283,000 copies sold in its opening week.^{[citation needed]} The album went on to be certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. To date, it has sold over five million units in the United States, and over nine million units worldwide.^{[citation needed]} "Just Don't Give a Fuck" was the first, and only underground single from the album. The first official single was "My Name Is". The album won the Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. It also won Outstanding National Album at the 2000 Detroit Music Awards.^[8]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 273 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,^[9] the highest ranking of Eminem's albums on the list.

Background

Upon its release, there were several complaints about The Slim Shady LP's lyrical content. The song "Guilty Conscience" (the album's second single) ends with Eminem, and Dr. Dre apparently succeeding in encouraging a man to murder his wife and a man having sex with her. In 1997, Eminem recorded "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", in which Eminem raps about a journey by car toward the beach with his daughter, with the purpose of this journey being to dispose of his dead wife's corpse. In an interview, Eminem stated that he made the song to relieve anger that he was facing towards his wife at the time. Most songs feature substantial amounts of swearing, numerous references to sex and drugs, and over-the-top descriptions of violence like in the songs "My Name Is", "As The World Turns", "Guilty Conscience", and "Brain Damage". Fans of the album have generally defended it by saying that the lyrics are not to be taken seriously, and the media is equally to blame. Eminem himself has referenced Slim Shady as an exaggerated persona. It is clear that the persona does not accurately represent Eminem's real life, and many lyrics are meant as a joke in contrast to his more serious second effort The Marshall Mathers LP. There are some connections between "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" and the album cover, which depicts Eminem and his daughter Hailie looking down at a pier, as if looking for a perfect place to drop the corpse (the corpse's legs are visible in the open trunk of the car). A huge view of the moon is shown as well, as if the plot takes place in the middle of the night.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Public Service Announcement" (skit)			0:33
2.	"My Name Is"	Mathers, Young, Siffre	Dr. Dre	4:28
3.	"Guilty Conscience" (featuring Dr. Dre) (Narration by Richard Huredia)	Mathers, Young	Dr. Dre, Eminem	3:19
4.	"Brain Damage"	Mathers, Jeff Bass, Mark Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	3:46
5.	"Paul" (skit) (performed by Paul Rosenberg)			0:15
6.	"If I Had" (featuring Kristie Abete)	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	4:05
7.	"97' Bonnie & Clyde"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	5:16
8.	"Bitch" (skit) (performed by Zoe Winkler)			0:19
9.	"Role Model"	Mathers, Young, Melvin Breeden	Dr. Dre, Mel-Man	3:25
10.	"Lounge" (skit) (featuring Jeff Bass & Mark Bass)			0:46
11.	"My Fault"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	4:01
12.	"Ken Kaniff" (skit) (featuring Aristotle & Mark Bass)			1:16
13.	"Cum On Everybody" (featuring Dina Rae)	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	3:39
14.	"Rock Bottom"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers	3:34
15.	"Just Don't Give a Fuck"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	4:02
16.	"Soap" (skit) (performed by Jeff Bass & Royce da 5'9")			0:34
17.	"As the World Turns"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	4:25
18.	"I'm Shady"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	3:31
19.	"Bad Meets Evil" (featuring Royce da 5'9") (Intro by Jeff Bass)	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	4:13
20.	"Still Don't Give a Fuck"	Mathers, J. Bass, M. Bass	Bass Brothers, Eminem	4:12

Special edition tracks
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
21.	"Hazardous Youth" (Acapella version)		0:47
22.	"Get You Mad" (featuring King Tech)	Sway & King Tech	4:21
23.	"Greg" (Acapella version)		0:53

Notes

• In the clean version of the album, "Bitch", "Cum on Everybody", "Just Don't Give a Fuck" and "Still Don't Give a Fuck" are titled "Zoe", "Come on Everybody", "Just Don't Give" and "Still Don't Give" respectively.

Samples

• "My Name Is" samples "I Got The" by Labi Siffre and "I Don't Love You" by Millie Jackson
• "Guilty Conscience" samples "Go Home Pigs" by Ronald Stein
• "Cum on Everybody" samples "Gimme What You Got" by Le Pamplemouse
• "Bad Meets Evil" samples "Me & My Girlfriend" by 2Pac and "Modaji" by Dave Grusin
• "Rock Bottom" samples "Summertime" by Big Brother & The Holding Company

References

• Some say that "If I Had" loosely references the melody to the chorus of "If I Had $1,000,000" by Barenaked Ladies
• The chorus of "I'm Shady" is based on "Pusherman" by Curtis Mayfield & The beat is sampled from "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
• "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" is a cut version of "Just the Two of Us" from The Slim Shady EP

Charts and certifications

Chart	Provider	Peak position	Certifications
Australia Albums Chart[10]	ARIA	49	Platinum[11]
Austria Albums Chart[12]	IFPI Austria	12
Belgium Flanders Albums Chart[13] Special edition	IFPI Belgium	27
Belgium Wallonia Albums Chart[13] Special edition	IFPI Belgium	7
Canadian Albums Chart[14]	CRIA	9	2× Platinum[15]
European Top 100 Albums	IFPI	—	Platinum[16]
Germany Albums Chart[17]	IFPI Germany	51
Netherlands Albums Chart	NVPI		Gold[18]
New Zealand Albums Chart[19]	RIANZ	23	Gold[20]
Sweden Albums Chart[21]	IFPI Sweden	40
Switzerland Albums Charts[22]	IFPI Switzerland	77
Switzerland Albums Charts[23] Special edition	IFPI Switzerland	25
UK Albums Chart[24]	BPI	12[25]	2× Platinum[26]
US Billboard 200[27]	RIAA	2	4× Platinum[28]

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1999 (U.S.)

References

1. ^ "Allmusic review". Allmusic. All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r397821. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
2. ^ "Record Rack - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1993-08-08. http://articles.latimes.com/1999/feb/21/entertainment/ca-10040. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "Music: The Slim Shady LP (CD) by Eminem (Artist)". Tower.com. http://www.tower.com/slim-shady-lp-eminem-cd/wapi/106446631. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
4. ^ "Eminem :: The Slim Shady LP :: Aftermath". Rapreviews.com. 1999-03-09. http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/1999_03_slimshadylp.html. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
5. ^ "CG: eminem". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=eminem. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
6. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "The History of Rock Music. Eminem: biography, discography, reviews, links". Scaruffi.com. http://www.scaruffi.com/vol5/eminem.html. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
8. ^ http://www.nyrock.com/worldbeat/04_2000/041700b.asp
9. ^ "500 Greatest Albums: The Slim Shady LP - Eminem | Rolling Stone Music | Lists". Rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/the-slim-shady-lp-eminem-19691231. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
10. ^ "australian-charts.com - Eminem - The Slim Shady LP". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
11. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2003 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
12. ^ "Eminem - The Slim Shady LP - austriancharts.at" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
13. ^ ^{a b} "ultratop.be - Eminem - The Slim Shady LP [Special+Edition]". www.ultratop.be. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
14. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 68, No. 24, April 05 1999". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.7442&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. Retrieved 2010-10-23. 
15. ^ "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum". Cria.ca. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
16. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards". IFPI
17. ^ "Chartverfolgung - Eminem - The Slim Shady LP" (in German). Musicline.de. PHONONET.
18. ^ "NVPI, de branchevereniging van de entertainmentindustrie - Goud/Platina" (in Dutch). NVPI.
19. ^ "charts.org.nz - Eminem - The Slim Shady LP". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
20. ^ "RIANZ: Top 50 Albums". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. 11 June 2000. http://rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp?chartNum=1213&chartKind=A. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
21. ^ "swedishcharts.com - Eminem - The Slim Shady LP". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
22. ^ "Eminem - The Slim Shady LP - swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
23. ^ "Eminem - The Slim Shady LP [Special+Edition] - swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
24. ^ "Chart Stats - Eminem - The Slim Shady Lp". Chart Stats.
25. ^ http://www.everyhit.com/searchsec.php
26. ^ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
27. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard.com.
28. ^ "Gold & Platinum: Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 25, 2010.

External links

• Popular Opinions - Can It Be It Was All So Shady Then - The Slim Shady LP Revisited, Accessed on February 26, 2010.