The Real Slim Shady

The Real Slim Shady is a song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, the song was released on May 16, 2000 as the first single off his third album The Marshall Mathers LP, The song debut at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first Eminem song to top the UK Charts.

How it came about
The song came about after Eminem submitted the record to Interscope and said it was one song short and CEO Jimmy Iovine suggested a song similar to My Name Is from The Slim Shady LP, approaching the deadline, Em wrote the song and recorded the song and released it as a single.

Lyrical context
The song takes jabs at popular culture and news around at the time. For example: Actress Pamela Anderson's alleged abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, rocker Tommy Lee (Jaws all on the floor, like Pam, like Tommy just burst in the door, and started whoopin' her ass worse than before, they first were divorced, throwin' her over furniture)

Eminem claims in one line to have murdered Dr. Dre, and that he's locked him in his basement. This was a spin on one of his previous songs, "My Name Is", where Eminem says, "And Dr. Dre said..." then Dre comes on and says, "Slim Shady, you're a basehead." (And Dr. Dre said—nothing, you idiots/Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement.)

Comedian Tom Green's humping of a deceased moose on TV, and his song "Lonely Swedish". (Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't/but it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose.) Rapper Will Smith's brand of commercialized and clean rap music and his VMA acceptance speech where he boasted that he didn't need to curse or kill anybody on his records (Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records/well, I do. So fuck him, and fuck you too.) Eminem first dissed Smith in the music video in Dr. Dre's Forgot About Dre when a news reporter asked him questions about the fire he and Dre started and he responded, "Well I was just upstairs listening to my Will Smith CD" in replacement to the middle of Eminem's verse due to the explicit lyrics.

Eminem also criticized Britney Spears, (You think I give a damn about a Grammy?/Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me/"But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be weird?"/Why? So you guys could just lie to get me here?/So you can sit me here, next to Britney Spears?) Christina Aguilera was angered by his claim that she performed oral sex on Carson Daly, an MTV VJ, and Fred Durst, of the band Limp Bizkit. (Shit, Christina Aguilera, better switch me chairs/so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst/and hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first.) He also makes fun of the boy band 'N Sync, when he appears to dance in the video, with the "group". (I'm sick of you, little girl and boy groups, all you do is annoy me/so I have been sent here to destroy you.)

Music Video


The video was directed by Philip G. Atwell and features Marshall performing in an Insane Asylum, The Grammy Awards, A factory making copies of "Slim Shady" and features cameo appearances by Limp Bizkit front-man Fred Durst, members of D-12 and Dr. Dre. The video was nominated for best male video at the MTV video music awards and nominated for a Grammy for Best Male solo Performance. An uncensored version is featured on the video album set title "E".

Track Listing

 * UK CD single
 * 1) "The Real Slim Shady" - 4:45
 * 2) "The Real Slim Shady" (Instrumental) - 4:45
 * 3) "Guilty Conscience" (Radio Version with New Hook) (featuring Dr. Dre) - 3:19
 * 4) "The Real Slim Shady" (Video) - 4:45


 * UK Cassette
 * 1) "The Real Slim Shady" - 4:45
 * 2) "My Fault" (Pizza Mix) - 3:53


 * 'German CD single
 * 1) "The Real Slim Shady" - 4:45
 * 2) "Bad Influence" - 3:40


 * German Maxi CD single
 * 1) "The Real Slim Shady" - 4:45
 * 2) "Bad Influence" - 3:40
 * 3) "My Fault" (Pizza Mix) - 3:53
 * 4) "The Real Slim Shady" (Instrumental) - 4:44
 * 5) "Just Don't Give A F**k" (Music Video) - 4:39