Eminem: 50 Greatest Songs (2023)

"Tyrant" (2003)

appear inInternet sometime before its inclusion on Eminem's semi-official mixtapestraight from the lab, "Bully" is the best of the lost that Eminem threw out during his virulent verbal exchange with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti of Benzino and Murder Inc. He rejects claims that he is just one.“Vanilla Ice Cream 2003”Rapping: "So now you're trying to pull the career card / And it backfires / 'Cause you know we don't play this shit in black and white." She then reflects on how death seems to hover over the genre and wonders if all the meat is worth it. He sings: "The thing that bothers me the most about hip-hop is that we're so close to picking up where we left off with Big and Pac/ We just lost Jam Master Jay, Big L was destroyed and we lost Bugz [of D12], Slang Ton [from Outsidaz] and Freaky Tah [from Lost Boyz].”

„Godzilla“ (feat. Juice WRLD) (2020)

a highlight of2020ermusic to kill,"Godzilla" featured posthumous guest vocals from the late emo-rap icon Juice WRLD, who died just weeks before the song's release, and an almost hallucinatory and intense performance from Eminem. It continues for six minutes, his verses gaining speed and density as the song progresses until it reaches a crescendo where his words blur in fast forward, turning a very good song into an absolute spectacle.

"Bad Influence" (1999)

emine alwayshe was adept at spinning dizzying circles around his critics, nullifying attacks by hugging and outrunning them. "People say I'm a bad influence," he sings himself on this track from the album.the end of daysSoundtrack. "I'm saying the world is already screwed, I'm just adding." While Jeff Bass's pacing is prosaic and heavy, Eminem's "human horror movie but with a much funnier plot" has no problem stopping ramping up. Buoyed by his underdog status, he targets the super-rich hip-hop tab.The fountain: "As long as I'm on pills and have a lot of weed / I'll paddle a canoe and make fun of your yacht / But I'd like an award / For the best rapper with a microphone."The fountain.” He saves his best line for critics likebillboardEditor-in-chief Timothy White, who condemned Eminem for "exploiting the world's misery" in 1999. "You probably think I'm a negative person, don't be so sure," Eminem sings. "I don't encourage violence, I just encourage it."

„Talkin2 Myself“ hazaña. Kōbe (2012)

saddenedpeak ofrecreation, Eminem unloads with honest and open revelations. "I almost made a song insulting Lil Wayne/It was like she's jealous of the attention he's getting," Em admits. "I almost ran off with Kanye too." He doesn't joke that they lost some of their importance in the early 2010s; Instead, he criticizes his own uneven output, citing the 2006 murder of his best friend Proof of him and citing his addiction to prescription pills. "The last two records didn't count/Bis, i was highrelapse, I kicked her out," she admits. Meanwhile, the playful synth-funk-rock backdrop of Aftermath/Shady producer DJ Khalil and Kobe Honeycutt's tortured chorus amplify the inner drama. "[Eminem] told me that because the Music is so dense, he literally had to push himself to the limit to deliver this record."Khalil disseminationComplexin 2011. "There's so much music that screams at the top of its lungs."

"Dry Ballad" (2000)

sequentiallyVonO Slim Shady-LP, Eminem became an A-list celebrity and VIP debauchery quickly followed: “The bigger the shows, the bigger the after-parties; Drugs have always been around," he said.I remember Rolling Stonein 2011. But the theme that drives this song is that Eminem never moralizes or expresses his regrets, but nevertheless speaks in vivid detail about the dangers and delusions caused by alcohol and drugs, including the fact that his daughter could inherit his drinking habits: "It's the sound of a bottle when it's empty, when you swallow it all, wallow in your sadness and drown / And tomorrow you want to do it again."

Lina (2009)

Eminem's 2009 album relapse,where he tried to recapture his salad days as the irreverent narrator Slim Shady was widely viewed as a disappointment. But "Beautiful," a self-produced song he reportedly made while he was still addicted to prescription drugs, was poignant and dealt with his frequent depressions. With an uplifting verse from Queen + Paul Rodgers' "Reaching Out," Eminem portrays himself as a modern day Pagliacci "hiding behind a clown's tears." He balances his distaste for society with compassionate lyrical warmth. "In my shoes, just to see / What it's like to be me," he sings in a painfully fragile voice. "But don't let them say you're not pretty / They can all go to hell, just stay true to yourself." The ballad-rock melodrama of "Beautiful" points a way forward for his true comeback in 2010recreation. "I started writing the first verse and half of the second while I was in rehab and going through detox."he saidThe guard in 2009. "It takes me back to a time when I was really depressed, but at the same time it reminds me of what this space is like and never going back there."

BustaRhymes con Eminem, „Calm Down“ (2014)

"Beganfrom making a high-energy hip-hop record to respectful competition and almost a battle”, Busta RhymescountedComplexabout this astonishing feat of technical skill that lasted seven months. He says Eminem initially responded with a 42 bar verse, then went back to 50 and the cue kept coming (60, 62, 64) until it became a song with each rapper saying about 2 at a time, minutes and 30. seconds. . "Kudos to Eminem for continuing to care about music," Busta said. "He cares a lot about being a full-blooded MC and he would never be the type of artist to worry about disappointing me or hurting his skills because he's trying to do something that people want."

Eminem, Matadero, Yelawolf, „Shady Cxvpher“ (2014)

to promote thebuilt in 201415 dark, members of Slaughterhouse (Kxng Crooked, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9″), Yelawolf and Eminem recorded extended a cappella verses in their respective cities for Vevo in the 18-minute “Shady Cxvpher” video. In seven minutes of madness, the rapper mixes introspection ("I became a millionaire, then I went downhill"), mind-blowing rhymes, tasteless barbs at media figures, and brutal honesty ("I think of all the times I compromised my bottom line. financial / And I thought of Rhymes that sodomized your daughter's mind / So I'm like: Dollar sign").

"It's about longevity. For me, the verse says, 'After all these years of doing classical stuff, I'm still one of the worst rappers to ever do that shit,'" says Kxng Crooked.RolandoStone. "Being a wordmaker in rap music is a dying art. Linking syllables, metaphors, jokes and similes is a dying art. For those of us who still loveRapto show howgebOne canRap, Eminem is our only conventional voice.

'Pedrina' (2018)

Eminem's 2018 album Kamikazeit was, as the title suggests, a 46-minute bile storm of ego-driven implosive MC pyrotechnics in which the artist attacked a rap game that seemed to have left him behind. But the standout track "Stepping Stone" took on a more generous tone when Eminem sent a heartfelt apology to his former D12 team. "I can't tell my teammates how sorry I am / It's not how I planned our story to end," he sang over a driving beat. For a man who let his bones reflect and sometimes blamed the world for his own problems, regret and introspection were surprisingly welcome.

The High & Mighty feat. Eminem, The Last Hit (1999)

like your fameInflated by the turn of the millennium, Eminem was still returning to the underground (mostly on the East Coast) that had inspired and driven him even before his 1996 debut album.plenty. So this fierce boom-bap scratchfest from Philadelphia duo High & Mighty's Rawkus debut. With samples of EPMD's "Never Seen Before" and Hambone Salsoul's disco-funk track "Hey Music Man" lending the tone of an old buddy-cop movie, Eminem switches bars with Mr. But this is the window from Slim Shady and he's freaking out. LSD and bugging: "he Sneaked out of Bellevue, bagged the nurse / Scatter like he added too many words to a verse."

"My fault" (1999)

O Slim ShadyLPThe 46-second "Lounge (Skit)" really spurred Eminem to write "My Fault," the intricate story of the song that follows on the track listing. The goofy parody tune, sung by Bass Brothers producer Jeff Bass (“I never meant to give you shrooms, girl”), has Em thinking about the time one of her friends had a bad drug trip. "He talked about how worthless he was and how horrible his life was," Eminem said in David Stubbs' 2006 book.Eminem: The Stories Behind Every ChildGRAMS. "My Fault" reverses the gender of Susan's boyfriend, one of four characters Em portrays alternately comical and grotesque in the song's narrative of a riotous rave party.

"Infinity" (1996)

the opening trackEminem's 1996 independent label debut proves his credibility as a skilled and complex rhymer who specializes in visceral lyrics and imagery. "I travel through your mind and your spine like sirens / I clean roach grills with disinfectant spray / And I wring rappers' necks / Until their spines part," he fires back in the first verse. Produced by D12's Denaun "Kon Artis" Porter, Eminem's vocals have a more nasal timbre balanced on a lush sample of Les Baxter's "Hot Wind" from the 1969 film Bikesploitation.Hell'it is wonderful. "If you've ever listened to Michael Jackson before he was Michael Jackson or Prince, they sounded younger, but you can tell there's something there," says Jeff Bass, one-half of the album's executive producers, The Bass Brothers.rolling Stone."If I listen to Eminem from 20 years ago, I can hear Eminem today. I can hear the nuances in his tone and his rhythm was crazy and this is him starting out as a kid. We realized there was something special there."

"Stimulate" (2002)

An underrated gem"Stimulate" appeared as a bonus track8 milesSoundtrack overshadowed by the explicitly inspiring maxims of "Lose Yourself". Methodically reflecting the approach and attitude that underpins Eminem's complex and unique human experience, Stimulate delivers that sobering message with the vibrancy of his comedic rants. It's a sound of regret and hope, exhaustion and determination, insecurity and strength, swirling in a shaky cocktail. Rather than heighten any mood, the song remains dysphoric and ambiguous. The groggy, shimmering guitar tone and overall production suggest a quiet edginess when Eminem's voice shows signs of flop. The aural discomfort contradicts Em's lyrics: "I'm just partying," Slick Rick's "I'm just a man on the mic" reference, as if acknowledging that the expressive way he once loved has also become his own cage.

D12, "My Band" (2004)

the tallestThe hit single Detroit horrorcore troupe D12, which Eminem joined in 1996 and used to develop his alias Slim Shady, addresses the rock band's affliction dubbed "singer's syndrome." "'My Band' is a parody, but like any good joke, there is some truth to it," Touré wrote.a 2004 Rolling Stone profile of D12. "For example, an unscientific survey of people in the VIP room during the show revealed that most did not know the names of any of the D12 members. Some recognized Bizarre, who is noted for his twisted imagination, and Proof, who he's known to be Eminem's best friend. But two people asked me if he was a member of D12." The group expressed optimism about the overall situation. "We grew up together, we lived together, we grilled burgers together," Kuniva said of his relationship with Em "We used to sit on the porch and drink and think about hip-hop, think about doing it. There's a bond that no one can break. ... He knows [that] without D12 there would be no Slim Shady.

MissyElliott con Eminem, „Busa Rhyme“ (1999)

Miss Elliott Honora major black artist who co-signed with Eminem early on. "He hadn't even released 'My Name Is,'" he said in abillboardInterview. "I heard about him and immediately said to [producer] Tim [baland], 'I need this guy on my album... He's special.'" Although the rappers hail from different galaxies, Missy is perhaps the most hospitable and awkward Planet Pop host; and here she introduces herself, sings the chorus, leads itenjoy lifeon the bridge, shouting support to his rude young guest. First, in Slim Shady mode, Eminem swoons over Timbaland's upbeat synth bass. But after Missy steps in to lighten the mood, the crafty, brash Timbaland switches to a dramatically charged car chase mid-song: "I'm a homicidal suicidal friendless man," Shady spits with keen mania. "Holding a gun with no grip, just a barrel at each end... Mad dog foaming at the mouth / Damn mouth, my whole house is foaming on the couch."

OldWorldDisorderfeat.Eminem, „3hree6ix5ive“ (1998)

BeforeO Slim Shady-LPEminem used underground rap as a test audience for his new alter ego. One example is Skam, the Miami-based rapper and visual artist better known by the group name OldWorldDisorder in "Stan." Here Slim Shady takes over a line from Andre 3000 - "I'm just releasing rage!" - with yoursoperation mode.Another particularly upbeat example comes at the end of the song: "I'll be back before we know each other's names / Run to the ultrasound and out of your mother's body / I'll go further back, back to love alley / Until tonight. ” That was thought and blocked your father's game.In an interview with MySpace, producer DJ SpinnarememberBeing "to the point and calm." Meanwhile, his quills became more and more violent and outrageous.

„Spottdrossel“ (2005)

Some critics rejectedthis song from Em's fifth transitional albumBisthan a simple exploration of Hokey by his daughter, Hailie Jade. but what eminemDise Rolling Stoneit was "their most emotional song of all time", it was vulnerable, tight and finely constructed. Here he approaches the runway like a stage actor exploring the nuances of a role—ultimately key to our belief that being a true father is just as important to him as a privileged pop star—and he shoots punches. low with bitterness worried mother of his son. In other words, he keeps his bullshit in check and comes across as your average Marshall Mathers, a 32-year-old single father still struggling with a marriage in the dumps, but also a mature adult skillfully raising three children: Hailie, his niece Alaina (who is also mentioned in the song) and half-brother Nate. Plus, for this song at least, he makes this normcore guy just as appealing as the crazy lunatic he usually plays at work.

"Headlights" feat. Nate Ruess (2013)

unlike yoursWith a well-earned reputation as a fearless cultural provocateur, Eminem has long written soulful songs that provide context and nuance to his emotional outbursts. "headlights"Muere Marshall Mathers LP2perhaps the most necessary addition to this less celebrated aspect of his canon, as he finally attempts to reconcile with his mother, whom he mercilessly mocked in 1999's "My Name Is" and then Cleanin''s "Out of My Closet" ( 2002). harshly criticized. Debbie Mathers' use of Em as a musical antagonist strained her relationship and led to a legal battle, but in "Headlights" she apologizes for her part in estrangement from her. "I went crazy / I never thought who was hurt by what I said / And what a verse / My mother probably got the worst of it," she sings. He doesn't downplay her brutal conflicts, like when she kicked him out on Christmas Eve when he was a teenager and how they've barely spoken since the beginning of his career. But he refuses to give in to the blind rage he's unleashed in the past. "I hope the message reaches you that I will always love you from afar," he concludes. When he was asked about "lighthouses" during aSiriusXM Town Hall MeetingEminem responded: "What I said on the record is what I have to say about it. ... I don't need to go into detail about that.

"Game of Love" feat. Kendrick Lamar (2013)

this crazy darknessA comedy about how dangerous love can be is not what most fans expected from two of hip-hop's most seasoned lyricists. You can thank Rick Rubin for sending Eminem the fun oldie but goodie loop (based on Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders' 1965 hit "A Groovy Kind of Love") because he couldn't hear anyone else about it. ("I don't know if I want to hear Jay-Z on this record," he saidComplex.) But it was Em's idea to introduce Kendrick Lamar, whom she had recently met, much to Rubin's surprise. Even Em got more than he bargained for from the collaboration. When the two MCs met in the studio, Eminem kicked out Lamar's team as if to see if his guest actually wrote his own lyrics. Em didn't just get a hookmian outrageous verse from Lamar's Slim Shady, but it also had a song that forced listeners to reckon with the conceptual genius of both rappers.

"Until Then" (2013)

Em 2013, Jay-Zand Eminem became prime examples of what happens when the world's most famous rappers are in their 40s. While the former embraced the coming of age of him collecting modern art and basketball arenas, Eminem glowed like a confused recluse over Joe Walsh's breathy riffs of "So Far." Here he sings about a fan who notices his crow's feet, his inability to understand downloads and Facebook, and still feels bad when cute girls catch him picking their nose. EITHER,as he tells Zane Lowe, "I complain about shit, I have nothing to complain about."

"I love the way you lie" feat. Rihanna (2010)

The successful cooperationBetween Eminem and Rihanna grew out of a loop British producer Alex Da Kid brought to songwriter Skylar Grey, inspiring her to write about the mistreatment she received in the music industry. When Eminem got the song, she wanted it for himself.recreationalbum, but felt that only Rihanna could evoke the necessary emotion. The central metaphor of the song changed with the participation of Rihanna, becoming more explicit in relation to the violence that can arise between two romantic partners: Eminem drew on his experiences with his ex-wife and the lyrical Kim, while Rihanna's memories about the violence at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown incorporated his unforgettable laments into the song's chorus. "We're both experiencing that on different sides of the table," Rihanna says.countedAcceso a Hollywoodsoy 2010. "[Eminem] pretty much ended the cycle of domestic violence, and it's something people don't know much about."

NickiMinaj with Eminem, "Roman's Revenge" (2010)

About "Roman's Revenge",the feud between two of the most tech-savvy MCs of the 21st century, Eminem and the then-rising Nicki Minaj, trades barbs (and prefaces with references to iPods and Giants quarterback Eli Manning, as well as a salute to the Busta Rhymes verse in A Tribe Called Quests "Scenario") through a broken Nintendo beat created by Swizz Beatz. “Absolutely the funniest song ever.pink fridayHe GAVE ME LIFESchatz' said Minaj in her role as Roman Zolanski, meanwhilea 2010 interview with MTV. After Minaj clarified that she was working with "Slim Shady" and not Eminem, she was asked who offered the "craziest" character. She laughed and exclaimed, "It must be Slim!"

Evil Meets Evil, Scary Movies (1999)

For some RoycesThe 5'9" was still Detroit's top MC in August 1998 when he and Eminem visited the studio of Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia's influential New York underground radio show. Em and Royce played mercilessly for 12 minutes of style free, astonished by what the spectators found.Noah Callahan-Bever called"Pharmaceutical Medicines". Just over a year after this dazzling display and the transformative impact ofO Slim Shady-LP(which featured Royce on the song "Bad Meets Evil"), the duo released an Indie 12-inch. The B-side, "Scary Movies," was brutal, an indie hit from 1999, with a thumping beat from RZA and some of Em's wildest rhymes: "Any man planning a fight gets ripped out of his clothes so fast he It's going to look like an invisible man standing there." But playing Em's partner didn't sit well with Royce, and their paths eventually parted until an eventual rapprochement (and reunion album) after the death of his mutual friend, D12's Proof, in 2006.

"Without Me" (2002)

the factThe follow-up to Eminem's 1998 hit "My Name Is" and 2000's "The Real Slim Shady" is a manic whirlwind of quicksilver on Eminem's shit list, launching caustic attacks and pointing the middle fingers at enemies real and imagined. , including then- Vice President Dick Cheney (whose wife Lynne criticized Em during a 2001 argument with Madonna); DJ/producer Moby (who "talked too much" at the Grammys, according to the rapper ona Rolling Stone interview in 2002); the Federal Communications Commission (which accused and laterfinished, a fine to a Colorado radio station for playing a clean version of "The Real Slim Shady"); and his mother (who sued him for his "My Name Is" lecture). "It's like I need drama in my life to really inspire me instead of just trying to achieve something," Eminem said.countedFacesoy 2002.

"If I Had" (1999)

eminem is knownfor his mania, scorched-earth interpretation and putting syllables in thick lines, but he's charming on "If I Had." This is due to empty space in the production for the Bass Brothers, who directed most of it.O Slim Shady-LP. Their sparse backdrops underscore Eminem's heroism. The rapper articulates a clear class consciousness, though it's found more in country music: "I'm tired of being white trash, broke and forever poor/Tired of carrying soda bottles to the party store/Tired of not having a phone/Tired from not having a house to having one if I did. But don't think it leads to a pompous closing statement: "If I could have one wish," Eminem concludes, "I wish for a butt big enough for the whole world to kiss." .

Good Rap (2013)

Rap God" isA stunning, seething testament to Eminem's own legacy, the rapper performs lyrical acrobatic stunt after lyrical acrobatic stunt to demonstrate, narrate, and critique his hip-hop line. However, he seems to dismiss it when he talks about recording the song in one take. He says that he barely remembers that session; For him, it was just another day working on various internal rhyme schemes. In the third verse of this six-minute exhibitionist performance, he references J.J. Fad's "supersonic" rap with an impressive Twista level of speed and agility. "Everyone, every time they do a song, it's like, I'm still here. Don't forget me," Em agreed.mtv news. Though his pop culture credentials occasionally fizzled out in the latter part of his career, "Rap God" pays tribute to the past with exciting freshness.

"Dano Cerebral" (1999)

In "Brain Damage",Eminem tells the story of DeAngelo Bailey, a bully who used to bully him in high school. And in April 1999, a few weeks afterO Slim Shady-LPIt hit the charts, the real DeAngelo Bailey stood up and did an interview forRolling Stoneto confirm that the horrific, over-the-top song, in which a young Marshall's brain falls out, was based, at least in part, on true events. "There were a few of us who messed with him. You know, tyrannical stuff... We turned him on his head at halftime," Bailey said.remembered. But in 2001, after Eminem's star rose and his mother, Debbie Mathers, got a small settlement for his lyrics, Bailey changed her mind and unsuccessfully sued the rapper for $1 million.

"WakeUp-Show Freestyle" (1997)

1997 oneThe then unknown Eminem flew from Detroit to Los Angeles to compete in the Rap Olympiad battle rap competition. As the event was poorly attended, DJs Sway and King Tech hosted the influentialWake up to appear,agreed to put the rapper and other contestants on air to increase their exposure. Eminem's two verses mixed Big L-inspired polysyllabic command ("But I'd rather drop an a cappella / To cut a guy in mozzarella badder than ahubschrauberblade") with explosive humor (The duo's favorite line: "Doctor Kevorkian has arrived / To lead They autopsy you while you yell, "that i'm still alive!”)

"His verse stood out because it was tough, funny and sophisticated at the same time," say Sway and King Tech.Rolling StoneBy email. “Humor at that level was really new. People were most impressed by the lyrical-metaphorical masters of the time. He had that and added some weird humor to it, so it definitely stood out. Feedback has been consistently positive for weeks. ... We just remember driving home and saying, 'That kid had crazy skills, man. He was unusual but great.

"Criminal" (2000)

"'Criminal' was minenovo 'I still don't give a shit' forDie Marshall Mathers-LPEminem wrote in the 2000 bookangry blonde. "That's why it's the last song on the record. That sums up the whole album." Perhaps on purpose, "Criminal" comments on the controversy sparked by Em's debut while also ensuring that the next album generates even more headlines. outraged. The first verse is: "Do I hate fagots? The answer is yes" has been treated as irrefutable proof in comments about Em's homophobia, but that line, like "Relax man, I like gay men" a few bars later, seems more like a shocking joke than a genuine opinion. Politically, "Criminal" is irresponsibly scattered, but as a thesis statement of Eminem's denial of responsibility in the name of artistic freedom, it's terrifyingly on point.

"Every Man" (1999)

"So I'll walkin D&D [studios] and Eminem is sitting in the living room, he doesn't look like a rapper, a normal guy,” recalled Da Beatminerz (Black Moon, Black Star) producer Mr. Walt in an interview withHiphopdx. "I play beats for [Eminem], and he picks the beat for 'Any Man.' to my sound engineer like, 'Oh my God, what's wrong? Did he get in the way?'” Eminem continues to unleash a series of grossly lewd and crude verses, as if hoping to break as many taboos as possible in less than four minutes of classic New York boom-bap. "I hope God forgives my sins," he sings. "It probably all depends on whether I keep killing my girlfriends." The session stunned Mr. Walt: "I looked at my engineer," he said, "I was like, 'Hey, what just happened?'"

"'97 Bonnie y Clyde" (1999)

when eminem isThe flawed hero of his own music, Kim, his ex-wife and mother of his daughter Hailie, is often his Achilles heel. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde," one of the earliest and clearly terrifying downfalls of his femme fatale, he plays freely with Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us" and fantasizes about dumping Kim's dead body in the ocean... daughter im towing. Hailie even appears on the runway. "I lied to Kim and told her I was taking Hailie to Chuck E. Cheese that day," Emrolling Stonefor a 1999 cover story. "But I took her to the studio. When he found out I used our daughter to write a song about killing her, he blew up. Eminem knew what consequences that track could have for his daughter. I will explain. I'll let him know that mom and dad didn't get along at the time. Years later, the rapper was more reflective. "Shit, in hindsight it's 20/20," he said.Dise RS2013. “That's how I handled it then. I didn't really think about it... what was right or wrong or whatever.

Jay-Zfeat. Eminem, "Renegado" (2001)

although it has appearedon Jay-Z's biggest hit - 2001the project– the lyrically striking “Renegade” has always been Eminem's go-to song. He produced and recorded them.Original version with Royce Da 5'9″as the Bad Meets Evil duo. When Nas Jay attacked in 2001epic disk "ether",The accusation that "Eminem murdered you alone" was a distortion in more ways than one. In fact, Jay's verse describes clear and intriguing metaphors that serve both introspection and inspiration. And unlike every other great MC who has performed on a track with Eminem, he doesn't bother to fight in Em's deliciously spiteful territory. He follows his own artistic path. Good decision, as Em's condensed internal rhymes resonate and he flows almost casually, but no less emphatically: that familiar rage that only raises his voice towards the end of his last verse to make him feel more deserved. In 2009's A Star Is Born, Jay-Z gave his official blessing of him: "His flow of him on 'Renegade' is great, give him a round of applause."

"Model" (1999)

more than anythingEminem, another great artist, has always joked and questioned the public's desire to make famous artists role models of virtue and wisdom. Here he hurls absurd insults, harms himself, and imagines scenarios in which he impersonates Norman Bates ("Mom, are you there? I love you") or spanks Foghorn Leghorn "with an acorn," which is hilarious satirizing the idea of that the young fans of the people would never imitate him. "It's just a rap record to me. The message behind it was just complete sarcasm," Eminem wrote.angry blonde. "I wanted to make it clear: don't look at me like I'm a role model."

"White America" ​​(2002)

em 2002The Eminem Show, the rapper went up against two back-to-back VPs (Tipper Gore and Lynne Cheney) in his crusade to censor rap. He returns to the album's opening track, where he questions how he became one of America's most sought after. In print, his questioning of his position as a rich and famous white rapper almost seems like a given. ("It's obvious to me that I've sold twice as many records because I'm white," he said.Rolling Stone.) But on "White America," which is backed by Em's stadium-sized production (thundering percussion and the sound of fighter jets), the same sentiments feel as if he's declaring a state of emergency. "You see, the problem is," he sings urgently, introducing himself as a generational figure, "I'm talking to suburban kids/who would otherwise never know those words exist/whose mothers would probably never pee two squirts/until I did that." has a lot of fucking confusion.

"Mariscal Mathers" (2000)

the song is loadingEminem's birth name reveals the man behind each person as he battles the paranoia and disgust of all who now oversee his every post-fame move. He doggedly attacks bubblegum pop, boy bands and other Detroit gossip, the Insane Clown Posse. "I felt like what I needed to talk about in verse was just me and my opinions," Eminem wrote.angry blonde. "So I've played with everything from the latest hip hop trends (which I really don't like), to ICP, to my mom, to my family members who don't know me and always want to come over. I just wanted to breathe fire into every verse. and make the chorus innocent and soft.” He did it, midterm Eminem style, stunning millions with his passion and skill while likely alienating others with his casual insults.

„'TillI Collapse“ feat. Nate Hund (2002)

Recorded in "Loseyourself”, this highlight ofThe Eminem Showwas built around the beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and is, in many ways, a lyrical piece to accompany8 miles'S Test History and Test. "You've got to look inside yourself/and you've got to find that inner strength/and get that shit out of you," Em intones at the beginning of the song. But it's Eminem's ranking of the greatest rappers of all time, right in the middle of the song, that grabbed all the headlines. "I have a list... / Go Reggie [a.k.a. Redman], Jay-Z, 2Pac and Outkast's Biggie/Andre, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me." A conversation between insiders ensued, but Eminem has been transparent about his respect by the genre's greats."As a student of hip-hop, you usually absorb technical aspects from [different] places," he said.counted Rolling Stonein 2013. “You can take a rhyme pattern or flow from Big Daddy Kane or Kool G Rap. But then you go to Tupac and he did it.Leader. The damn songs of his sounded like something: “Shit! I want to slap someone across the face when I put this CD on,” Biggie said.stories. She wanted to do all that shit. My goal... is to be technically able to please all the underground or big rappers and also try to fit them into a song. And make the music feel like something.”

Feat of "GuiltyConscience". Dr. A.S. Dre (1999)

"Memorypet housewhen the girl faints and the guy wanted to rape her. She had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other saying don't do that," Eminem said.defend this songLos Angeles timeSin 2010. "So we did the same thing, just [with] a little more graphic detail." On one of the most attractive tracks inO Slim Shady-LPEminem casts three different characters in three increasingly toxic scenarios with Emimen and Dr. Dre playing the good and bad conscience of the battling characters. The album version sounds like three creepy skits strung together via voiceover, but the single version stacks up three distinct eras of youthful desire: The chorus is inspired by the teen's chaste yet spiritual "I Will Follow Him." Little Peggy March from the 1960s; Dres Beat gleefully interpolates Ronald Stein's "Pigs Go Home" from the Vietnam-era teen filmbecome straight; while Dre and Em's lyrical interplay appeals to the increasingly jaded and cynical MTV generation. References to Son Doobie from the much-derided Funkdoobiest foray into pornography, the 1995 filmKinderand Dre's own history of aggression completes a clever satire of violent male impulses.

Kim (1999)

However8 miles"Lose Yourself" became Eminem's Oscar-winning song, his most cinematic performance to date in this 6+ minute dramatization of his own terribly dysfunctional marriage to supposed true love Kim Scott Mathers. Meticulously detailed, his jealous anger waxes and wanes in abusive call and response without wavering in intensity as the Bass Brothers' rock-focused track rolls on. The climax comes at the end of the second verse, where he yells, "Get away from me! Don't touch me! / I hate you! I hate you! I swear to God I hate you!" He then walks away crying, "My God I love you!" The character "Kim" (also played by Em) apologizes, but is turned off by her husband's screams. It's like the work of John CassavetesA woman under the influencehe reshot himself with Peter Falk's husband in the spotlight instead of Gena Rowlands' wife, and reprized his climactic line "I'll kill you and I'll kill these motherfuckers" over a blood-spattered Tarantino third act. Although overshadowed by the graphic depiction of violence against a woman, Eminem's performance is powerful and intense. The real Kim settled after suing her husband for $10 million.

"Clean My Closet" (2002)

an innate will to fightMC, Eminem invented his alter ego Slim Shady so he could lash out at the world with impunity: moral cops, music critics, other white rappers. But the true northern antagonists of him have always been his wife Kim and his mother Debbie. And of all the songs about his mother, both absurd and apologetic, "Cleanin' Out My Closet" is the most poignant and even became a top ten pop hit. DJ Head's almost delicate, syncopated drum loop swirls around dark and sparse instruments (bass, guitar, keyboards played by co-producer Jeff Bass) as Eminem unearths a lifetime of crippling fatherly emotions. The song's tone shifts nimbly, especially with the haunting chorus "I'm sorry, mom." Finally, there is the climax of the betrayal: when, according to Em, his mother tells him that she wishes he had died instead of his uncle/best friend Ronnie (who committed suicide in 1991). Eminem barks his chilling response into space: "Well, you know what? IAnddead, dead to you as can be! In 2014, Angel Haze, also from Detroit, was inspired to revive and revise "Cleaning Out My Closet" to tell her own story, one of which was that she was sexually abused as a child. "I was so crazy"she saidThe Telegraph"It was cathartic listening to [Eminem]."

"Going Crazy" (1999)

crazy about itappearance inthis or that, the Interscope-backed mixtape from influential Bay Area radio hosts Sway and King Tech, Eminem pulls off a decent studio recording with a few bars full of references originally spit at him.wake up show. Like the hip-hop version of her eventual downfall as a pop star, Em mocks the latest rap drama, rails against the current crop of platinum MCs, ignites some of her earliest industry feuds, and throws tastelessness. she jokes and trashes the recording industry ("Don't act like a fan, you want to get signed / Get the whitest A&R you can find, put 'em aside and rap as crazy as you can"). "We only approached people that we knew were great and enduring," says producer King Tech.said HipHopDXon his 1999 compilation, which also featured early performances by Tech N9ne and Crooked I. let him do what he does I remember him calling me: 'Tech, do you think I need to change the chorus? Maybe he was too crazy."

„BitchPlease II“ hazaña. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Xzibit (2000)

plus someDr.'s Greatest Contributions "Bitch Please II" complements Dre perfectly, capturing the unabashed billboard confidence that makes Em's uncompromising attitude so refreshing. This take-me-or-leave-me armor works in large part because it constantly punctuates his cynicism with his humor: his opening lines from Snoop Dogg and the twisted Nate Dogg, balancing Dre's deadpan serious production with Em's playful delight. . In essence, Eminem wants you to see that he's just joking, "Somewhere deep down, there's a decent human being in me," without sacrificing the unabashedly rebellious spark and impact of his music.

"As I Am" (2000)

"If you thinkI'm a jerk so I'll show you a jerk," he said.counted FOLDhis motivation behind the harrowing 2000 single, which adapted lines from Eric B. & Rakim's "As the Rhyme Goes On." "If you call me a misogynist, I'm a misogynist. If you say I hate gays, then I hate gays."O Slim Shady-LPEminem became one of the most polarizing figures in hip-hop: Parent Teacher Association meetings were devoted to his violent lyrics; Conservative organizations condemned it as a poison for the young. That hardly came as a shock to the rapper. "Look, I know what people are saying and thinking about the language that I use, the topics that I rap about and the things that I perform," he said.counted Rolling Stone2013. And so on, "The Way I Am", the second self-flagellation single fromDie Marshall Mathers-LP, Eminem outdoes his critics. He takes on the role of the villain and likes to play it aggressively.

"I Just Don't Care" (1997)

In summerIt was still a battle-rap buzz in 1998, when Aftermath/Interscope released 12-inch promos for "Just Don't Give a Fuck" as the lead single from Eminem's major-label debut. This rowdy, rebellious swagger was the world's first clash with the brainy white MC, who instantly changes our perception by referring to himself as "Slim Shady," his sociopathic alter ego, in the front line. Soon after, there's a sillier introduction: "My name is Marshall Mathers, I'm an alcoholic," which adds a third-person mix-up on top of his legal name. This is the basic journey: WhoEsthis person? Are all these narrators unreliable? While not the pop hit of the My Name Is sequel, Just Don't Give a Fuck was its own defining take: more polished, shimmery, and funnier than the 1997 version.Slim Shady-EP(Credit to executive producer Dr. Dre.) He wildly scatters the sky as the three-headed rapper "washes two Glocks yelling 'Fuck the world' like 2Pac."

The Great Notorious Trick. Eminem, "Dead Wrong" (1999)

even inAt the peak of his powers, it was a bold move for Eminem to earn a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. vers. The anti-social jolt of Biggie's lines on the thunderous "Dead Wrong," produced by hit-man bad boys Chucky Thompson and Mario Winans with Diddy hovering nearby, was one of the most damning. However, Eminem fits the bill quite nicely, putting together an anti-hero twist that flouts norms and good taste. Instead of using Big's legendary, declarative line, Em slips simply and abstractly into his verse, as if writing a Wikipedia page on theistic Satanism: "There are different levels of devil worship..." But there's a false one. sense of banality as the verse weaves itself into a maze of malevolence and brutality.

"Der Matar" (2000)

Not at the end of 1999,Eminem called his mentor Dr. dr. He doesn't remember what they were supposed to talk about, but the frenetic, upbeat jazz loop (possibly taken from Jacques Loussier's 1979 composition "Pulsion" asa claimed process) that Dre was playing in the background demanding to use it. Although Em already had a triple platinum and a Grammy Award-winning album and aRolling StoneFront page praising his "Dirty White Boy Rap", he wanted people to know that he was just getting started. (quote from emangry blonde: "If anything... I've gotten worse.") With that said, "Kill You" unleashes a frenzy of comic book revenge, tinged with irony with ferocity to seduce and ridicule its critics. But the track is made all the more compelling and impressive for its absurdly specific and self-aware portrayal of a crazy superstar (although, sadly, most of the anger is at the expense of women and includes a homophobic slur). The vice president's wife, Lynne Cheney, was among those surprised. During a Senate hearing in 2000, she cited "Kill You," specifically the setting of her Em's vicious vendetta against her estranged mother, who sued him for $10 million after he appeared in lyrics about she in theO Slim Shady-LP– as one of the reasons the music industry needed a rating and labeling system to protect children from harmful subject matter.

"My Name Is" (1998)

Eminem's outburst in 1998Unique blast of the first meeting between the then-unknown MC and acclaimed producer Dr. Dre playing to a sample of Labi Siffre's 1975 Soulstrut "I Got The...". "I was like, man, listen, I put together this sampler, let me know if you like it. And I play the drum machine, and maybe two or three seconds go by and he's like, 'Hi! My name is... My name is... .” recalled Dr. Dre in the 2017 documentarythe challengers. "Like 'Hey, stop. Shit is hot. "It happened on our first day, the first few minutes in the studio. Eminem's combination of non-stop pop culture jokes (he quoted Nine Inch Nails, the Spice Girls, Pamela Anderson Lee and Kris Kross in the first verse), intricate rhyme schemes delivered in his Michigan accent, violent cartoon imagery and a music video, TV shopkeepers parodied on He's Cheerful made "My Name Is" a sensation, crossed with the stealth of parenting advice and MTV mainstay (albeit heavily censored). Although it only peaked at number 36 on thebillboardThe Hot 100 won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 2000, establishing Eminem as one of hip-hop and pop's biggest talents.

"I Lost You" (2002)

emine alwaysdrew a line between them8 milesThe film's protagonist, Rabbit, and his own life: The film's main character was loosely based on his own creation, but was not strictly autobiographical. Still, it's easy to hear much of the rapper's own routine on the film's first single. In many ways, it's the realism and overwhelming emotion of "Lose Yourself" that has made it the biggest hit of Eminem's career and the first rap song to win an Oscar for Best Original Song. Eminem and producer Jeff Bass recorded a demo a few years earlier, but revisited it during the Detroit production of8 miles; Eminem wrote the confessional lyrics for the song only after receiving the script for the film. "I had to do the music while I was on the movie," he said.countedFunkmaster Flex. "Because once I got out of this movie, I wouldn't feel like I was [in the role]." He quickly cut the film. "He came in and took all three verses at once"rememberedEngineer Steve King. "Our jaws dropped, we were like, 'Oh my God!' This story was built on him."

dr. dre feat. Eminem, "Forget About Dre" (2000)

Despite its originLike a lingering clue that sets Suge Knight on fire -Secretly written and Dr. Dre from Eminem- "Forgot About Dre" became the pinnacle of the career of the visionary artist/producer/A&R artist who won a Grammy five years after his last Top 40 hit and was ubiquitous in pop culture, and who hadn't made a good record for years.”dr. Dre tells Rolling Stone about the era. "I just can't ignore this shit. …Well, what do you have to say?" Like a well-planned big-screen adaptation of the sprawling Dungeon Family vignettes, the eerie ambience it conjures up outside the window possesses an almost towering looming threat.This song, written for a trailblazer by a rap fan, might as well to be Eminem's latest endorsement. The sophisticated verse structure he creates for himself and his mentor allows them to spit mockery or self-assertion into perfectly calibrated statements or dazzling double-times. Plus, Em delivers the unforgettable chorus in a rat-a battle rap. -tat that effortlessly conveys a dizzying melodic swoosh.

Stan (2000)

Nobel Prize 2003Laureate Seamus Heaney was asked if he thought contemporary musicians had sparked a new interest in poetry. "[Eminem] got his generation excited."replied the Irish poet“He did it not only through his subversive attitude, but also through his verbal energy.” Heaney didn't give specific lyrics, but the song that deserves the most praise is this epic diary of obsession. Eminem plays a tongue-in-cheek sample (from producer DJ Mark the 45 King) of Dido's "Thank You," an ode to simple acts of kindness, and unreliably tells the story of "Stan," fan after fan. more concerned with those who follow religiously and then feel abandoned by Em's deranged alter ego, "Slim Shady". Eminem, like himself, finally seems to respond, but it's too late. The song's brilliance lies in its panopticon of people and viewpoints, ranging from compassion to cruelty to confusion. In the interview, Eminem tended to characterize "Stan" as a conventional cautionary tale, but it wasn't very convincing. "It's like a message to the fans, letting them know that nothing I say is to be taken literally," he said.he told MTV at the time. "Only most of what I say."

"O Real Slim Shady" (2000)

after hearinga first iteration ofDie Marshall Mathers-LP, Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine delivered bad news: the album was missing a lead single. "I thought the album was spectacular, but I didn't think they would go as far as they could," Iovine recalled in aVH1 special. "They needed a song to introduce the album." Doctor Dre agreed: "I knew we had a second or third single," he admitted, "but we needed that big start." The pressure frustrated Eminem. "I can't give you another 'My name is,'" the rapper lamented. "I can't just sit back and let this magic happen."

He did not invent another "My name is"; Instead, he capped it off with "The Real Slim Shady," which became Eminem's biggest hit to date, peaking at number four on the Hot 100. Though Eminem would soon move on to obscure global hits like "Lose Yourself" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet," "Real Slim Shady" is strong, with a carnivalesque synth line and a lyrical nod to an innovative track by Canadian comedian Tom Green. . The rapper shoots them all: pop stars, music critics, Will Smith himself, but behind these off-the-cuff insults lies a unifying goal: "I think there's a Slim Shady in all of us," Eminem concludes. "Fuck it, let's all get up." ."