The Real Slim Shady

Production

"The Real Slim Shady" was not originally intended to be part of The Marshall Mathers LP. Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records wanted Eminem to create a song to introduce the album, similar to how "My Name Is" was the first single on The Slim Shady LP. Eminem, Dr. Dre, Tommy Coster, and Mike Elizondo wrote "The Real Slim Shady" just hours before the final copy of the album was due. The first single was intended to be "Who Knew".

The song's first verse interpolated the 1999 novelty single "Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)" by Tom Green, and the intro and chorus of the song interpolate the famous catchphrase "will the real _____ please stand up?" from the television game show To Tell the Truth.

Critical reception

PopMatters described the song as "slamming their 'enemies' with comic book intensity", while also noting its ironic themes surrounding the number of near-identical "wannabes" due to Eminem's overall appearance, citing his "signature style" which bore "bleached blond hair, pale skin, [and] humongous T-shirt". AllMusic highlighted the single.

Rolling Stone expressed the sound of the single as "slick, bright, melodic funk that's so R&B-ish, you can dance to it". Will Hermes wrote in Entertainment Weekly, "In the aftermath of Slim Shady, he married the girlfriend he imagined killing, while his mother, immortalized in his hit single 'My Name Is' (I just found out my Mom does more dope than I do), sued him for $10 million for defamation of character." The defamation case was settled in 2001 for $25,000 as Debbie Mathers' former attorney was awarded $23,354—netting Ms. Mathers just over $1,600 for her efforts.

The Los Angeles Times favored The Real Slim Shady as a "modest step to the mainstream—a fresh and funny, almost PG-rated swipe at everything from the Grammy Awards to shallow teen pop", while IGN wrote: "The album's obligatory 'pop' number is exposed on 'The Real Slim Shady,' which chugs and lurches along to a boinging electro funk beat. It would be a total pop smash if it weren't for the lyrics, though. Leave it to Em to juice it up with ear candy effervescent, but keep the words in the subversive. As with the other Dre crafted tunes on the album, there's plenty of cool special effects bustling about—fart noises, heavy breathing, all of it coalescing with Em's cartoon character on crystal meth delivery. Sure it's pop, but of the most demented nature."

The song has been included as part of many films, notably 21 Jump Street (2012) and Freddy Got Fingered (2001). Ironically, Tom Green, who was criticized in the song stars in Freddy Got Fingered.

Music video

Philip G. Atwell and Dr. Dre directed the music video, filmed from April 7 to 10, 2000. Eminem's friends and former group-mates from D12, including rappers Denaun Porter, Proof, Swifty McVay, Bizarre, Kuniva, and Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst, are featured in the video along with him.

Actress and comedian Kathy Griffin, notable for insulting celebrities in her act, appears in the video as an attending nurse in a psychiatric ward. Griffin said during a July 21, 2005, interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that Eminem selected her for the video because fellow rapper Snoop Dogg told him she was "really funny".

The car featured in the music video is a blue 1978 AMC Pacer coupe. The car is doing doughnuts on a parking lot with its hatchback partially open. It is part of the message in The Real Slim Shady's climactic lines, showing petty acts of rebellion that include teenagers going senselessly round a parking lot and spitting on fast food.

Credits

Information from the interior booklet of The Marshall Mathers LP

• Singing and lyrics: Eminem
• Production: Dr. Dre, Mel-Man
• Mixing: Dr. Dre
• Bass guitar – Mike Elizondo
• Keyboards – Tommy Coster
• Editing – Dan Lebental
• Executive producer – Dr. Dre
• Composer – Andre Young, Marshall Mathers, Tommy Coster, Melvin Bradford, Mike Elizondo

Awards

"The Real Slim Shady" was successful at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, winning for Video of the Year and Best Male Video, as well as being a nominee for Best Rap Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, and Viewer's Choice. The song was also performed by Eminem at the show with look-a-likes of himself, as in the video.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

References

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