Marshall Bruce Mathers III aka Eminem was born in Missouri. He spent his childhood moving back and forth between Kansas City and the city of Detroit. In December 1995, his girlfriend, Kim, gave birth to their daughter, Hailie Jade, who Mathers dotes on. The following year, Mathers released his debut album titled Infinite under an independent label. In 1997, he recorded his debut EP, The Slim Shady EP. After being evicted from his home, Eminem traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the Rap Olympics, an annual nationwide rap battle competition. He placed second and a staff member at Interscope Records, who attended the Rap Olympics, sent a copy of The Slim Shady EP to company CEO Jimmy Iovine. Iovine played the tape for record producer Dr. Dre, founder of Aftermath Entertainment and the rest is history. Eminem’s first major-label debut, The Slim Shady LP was released in February 1999 and the rap industry hasn’t been the same since and the record went triple platinum by year’s end. Eminem continues to churn out wicked rhymes along with engaging in celebrity feuds and numerous controversies over his song’s lyrics. In honor of his 41st birthday, here is a Top 10 list of Eminem songs.
10. Stan: The third single of his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP, on this track, Eminem rapped about an obsessive fan. Eminem raps from the fan, Stan’s, point of view. As the song goes on we hear that Stan loves Eminem’s music and gradually becomes obsessed with him. It gets so bad that when Eminem doesn’t answer a fan letter Stan sends him, he locks his pregnant girlfriend (played by Dido in the music video) in the trunk of his car and crashes it into a ravine. Eminem’s raw lyrics really conveyed Stan’s progression to obsession with lines like, “Dear Slim, I wrote you but you still ain't calling/I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom/I sent two letters back in autumn, you must not-a got 'em…Dear Slim, you still ain't called or wrote, I hope you have a chance/
I ain't mad - I just think it's F**KED UP you don't answer fans/Dear Mister-I'm-Too-Good-To-Call-Or-Write-My-Fans,/this'll be the last package I ever send you’re a**/It's been six months and still no word.” At the end, of the song when Eminem finally starts to write back and realizes the news report he saw about a guy driving off the road with his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk was Stan, all he could was say, “Damn.” What a way to end a song!
9. Just Lose It: The first single off his 2004 album titled Encore, the song contributed to the album’s success but also was disrespectful to music icon Michael Jackson. Weeks after it was released Jackson called into the Los Angeles-based Steve Harvey radio show to report his displeasure with the music video for the song, which parodied Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. Yet in the lyrics, Eminem states, “and that's not a stab at Michael/That's just a metaphor/I'm just psycho.” Still, the song’s video also parodied Pee Wee Herman and MC Hammer. It’s also got a great beat to dance to.
8. Like Toy Soldiers: Another song from his 2004 album Encore, this song addressed the deadly rap wars that have killed several great rappers in the industry. The song sampled the 1989 Martika smash “Toy Soldiers” and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2005. Eminem raps about how he was trying to calm the tensions within the rap world with lyrics like, “I'd never drag them in battles that I can handle unless I absolutely have to/I'm supposed to set an example/I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em…That Ja shit I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it/There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it/I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it.” At the end of the song’s video, Eminem stood in front of a painted mural showcasing the rappers we lost due to violence like Biggie and Tupac Shakur. A powerful song with an equally potent message to end the violence.
7. Brain Damage: This track from Eminem’s smash 1999 debut The Slim Shady LP, had Eminem rapping about his childhood and being bullied. He vividly rapped about his experiences and his revenge with lines like, “A corny lookin’ white boy, scrawny and always ornery/Cause I was always sick of brawny bullies pickin’ on me/And I might snap, one day just like that/I decided to strike back and flatten every tire on the bike rack/My first day in junior high, this kid said, "It's you and I, three o'clock sharp this afternoon you die”/I looked at my watch it was one twenty/"I already gave you my lunch money what more do you want from me?!?"… made them think they beat me to death/Holdin’ my breath for like five minutes before they finally left/Then I got up and ran to the janitor's storage booth/Kicked the door hinge loose and ripped out the four inch screws/Grabbed some sharp objects, brooms, and foreign tools/"This is for every time you took my orange juice,/or stole my seat in the lunchroom and drank my chocolate milk./Every time you tipped my tray and it dropped and spilt./I'm getting’ you back bully! Now once and for good."/I cocked the broomstick back and swung hard as I could/and beat him over the head with it til’ I broke the wood/Knocked him down, stood on his chest with one foot.” Not that I condone such violence, but I’m sure anyone who has been beaten up has had visions of payback, but not as severe as this.
6. ’97 Bonnie and Clyde: Another track off his 1999 hit debut, The Slim Shady LP, this song came with controversy as Eminem rapped about a trip with his infant daughter, Hailie and disposing of his wife, Kim’s, dead body. The melody of the song parodied Will Smith’s “Just the Two Of Us.” The baby sounds Eminem makes deeply contrast with the dark lyrics including, “Don't you wanna help da-da build a sand castle? (yeah!)/And mama said she wants to show how far she can float/And don't worry about that little boo-boo on her throat.”
5. Lose Yourself: Released as the first single from the original soundtrack to his movie 8 Mile, Eminem raps about the struggles his character endures throughout in the film. The film was autobiographical and chronicled Eminem’s beginnings engaging in rap battles, his relationship with his friends and his mother, played by Kim Basinger. The song earned five Grammy nominations in 2004 and the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2002, making it the first rap song ever to receive the honor. The lyrics can be related to any situation where you’re scared but Eminem urges you to take that one chance before it slips away with lines like, “Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity/To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment/Would you capture it or just let it slip… You better lose yourself in the music, the moment/You own it, you better never let it go/You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow/This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.”
4. Love The Way You Lie w/ Rihanna: Off his 2010 album titled Recovery, Eminem teamed up with Rihanna on this song about domestic violence. Rihanna sang the chorus and Eminem rapped the rest. The song received five Grammy nominations, Eminem's best-selling single and ranked No. 1 on 26 record charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. The unhealthy back and forth of a destructive relationship is replete in the song’s lyrics, which include, “High off a love, drunk from my hate,/It's like I'm huffing paint and I love it the more I suffer, I suffocate/And right before I'm about to drown, she resuscitates me/She fucking hates me and I love it…I laid hands on her, I'll never stoop so low again/I guess I don't know my own strength.” The song’s video ended with Eminem and Rihanna standing in front of a burning house, a fitting metaphor for a song about playing with fire.
3. Cleaning Out My Closet: The second single off of his 2002 album The Eminem Show, it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and had Eminem rapping about emotional childhood issues related to his mother and how his father abandoned him when he was a baby. The song’s lyrics paint a graphic picture of Eminem’s formative years and feelings towards his parents with lines like, “I was a baby, maybe I was just a couple of months/My faggot father must have had his panties up in a bunch/Cause he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye/No I don't. On second thought I just f**king wished he would die… Now I would never diss my own momma just to get recognition/Take a second to listen for who you think this record is dissing/But put yourself in my position; just try to envision/Witnessing your momma popping prescription pills in the kitchen.”
2. Without Me: Another track off of his 2002 album The Eminem Show, Eminem poked fun at what the music industry would do without his frequent song controversies, etc. In addition, he pokes fun at boy bands, ex-Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynn and Limp Bizkit among others. He also addresses how fans and the industry don’t want Marshall Mathers they want his alter ego, Slim Shady with lyrics like, “I've created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more they want Shady I'm chopped liver/Well if you want Shady, this is what I'll give ya/ A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor… Now this looks like a job for me so everybody just follow me/'Cause we need a little controversy,/'Cause it feels so empty without me.” He’s right though, the music industry would be a bit less without his signature rhymes.
1. My Name Is: The song that started it all! Off his 1999 smash debut, The Slim Shady LP, this song introduced the world to Mathers’ alter ego, Slim Shady. On a personal note, I remember the first time I heard it. It was senior year of high school and my photography teacher let us watch television on Fridays, specifically MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL.) The second the song started, every single person, in the class, no matter what they were doing, looked up and were mesmerized by the screen. Even the kids in the darkroom came out to listen/watch the video. The jibs at Pamela Anderson, the Spice Girls, etc. were captivating. By the end of the video, we all knew we’d just seen history made in the rap world and from then on, Eminem was on everyone’s mind and CD players. Now, almost 14 years later, my MP3 has this song and every time I play it, I remember that day in photography class and smile, though I’m sure that wasn’t Eminem’s intention when he wrote the song, LOL!
image: Wikimedia Commons
