The Slim Shady LP

Rhymes within rhymes within rhymes. All the shlocky, edgelord premises are there so Em can play with sounds. “I smacked him in his FACE with an ERASer, CHASed him with a STAPler and told him to CHANGE the GRADE on the PAPer.” It’s not overstating it (it is?) to say that Mr Mathers has a Shakespearian ability to quibble on the sounds of words, taking endless delight in embedding sounds and concepts that come back and slide away and return to tie it all together. Here, he is hiding his light (incredible ability to quibble endlessly on sounds) under a bushel (his obnoxious, hostile personas).

’97 Bonnie & Clyde isn’t the weakest song here, but it does represent the main drawback: that Eminem hasn’t yet found his register for stories that exorcise his (and 50% of the world’s) violent misogyny. That came once he was a global cause celebre and had the genius to make the Public Eye the prism at the centre of his nakedly honest, frighteningly violent real-or-fantasy bizzare-o-world. But I digress. If ’97 Bonnie and Clyde leaves room for growth and If I Had and Rock Bottom are the residue of previous attempts at gritty East Coast rap, that leaves My Name Is, Role Model, My Fault, Cum On Everybody, Just/Still Don’t Give a Fuck, As the World Turns, I’m Shady and Bad Meets Evil (plus a handful more) as the most outrageously cartoonish, wickedly funny and violently deranged version of Eminem we’d ever get. While it was still possible for him to be this detached, going to the far reaches of his imagination is as refreshing for me as it was cathartic for him. And the images that stand out are the same ones that burnt into my brain when I was a teenager lying on my bed playing Pokémon Blue and spinning this on repeat. Eminem slapping Garth Brooks out of his limestone shirt, standing next to the Loch Ness monster at Kid Rock’s next concert, as an extra-terrestrial running over pedestrians while they’re screaming at him “Let’s just be friends”, wearing a bulletproof vest and shooting himself in the head, having full blown aids and a sore throat, activating his gadget dick, supporting abortion, putting his guinea pig in the microwave, dressing like Les Nessman, putting air in a bag and charging people to breathe, murdering the alphabet. I could just say it’s all in good fun and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but double guessing his sincerity is half the fun. More importantly, it’d mean ignoring that he announces himself with a PSA followed by the immortal “Hi kids”. For all his not giving a fuck, he always wanted his music to be a dialectic. Take it seriously.

Absolute game changer. There had never been anything quite like it. You couldn’t not take note. Brash, funny, outlandish, such funny lyrics, so much energy. Dre’s mastermind production elevates this to an all time Hiphop classic.

This is funnier than I remember but also horrible

Has not aged well at all. Too many references about rape for me. Have never been a huge fan of his, even less so now. Seems like shock and awe for controversy's sake. Much prefer Kanye or 50 Cent. Now I realise why parents were worried about their children listening to this. Rightly so

Yeah...so...I know Eminem has some great music but this wasn't it. The beats were good, and he obviously has amazing rhyming capabilities, but the lyrics are just so so SO cringy. The violence and the misogyny reveal an immaturity that is off-putting. My feelings for this album is the embodiment of Schmidt saying: "Youths!"

Classic innit, love this album

A horrific masterpiece. His rhymes are simpler but maybe less offensive than MM LP. When taken as a cartoon or a work of fiction it good fun.

It’s dark AF but I find myself regularly chuckling/sniggering/snickering to his rhymes. An individual style, totally blew my brains when it first came out and scared the bajingo out of me. I think I’m still a bit scared actually. God, I’m scared of Eminem. I’m scared of what he’ll do to me when he reads this. He’ll tear it apart and then he’ll mime blowing my brains out and I’ll start crying and quivering at his feet and he won’t care one jot.

Bon album mais aucune envie de m'étaler dessus, on tourne la page on passe à autre chose.

Okay SO! Did I enjoy the sound of this album? Yes definitely! Did I enjoy some of the lyrics? Yes! Did I enjoy all of the lyrics? Fuck no! (but that's kind of the point right?) Eminem's storytelling is so good and the songs are so catchy it does hold my attention, even if the misogyny does get a bit tiring. Last couple of songs lost me a bit but otherwise I enjoyed this more than I expected

What an album. This isn't THE Eminem yet. Proto-Eminem, really. You can hear some of the pieces that he's putting in place for Marshall Mathers LP. This is...goofier than later stuff and it's clear that he's not entirely sure who he wants to be.

Dude is definitely a lyric genius, but DAMN on the content. Just not for me.

This hasn't aged well. Some of the lyrics are almost embarrassing.

This album has not aged well

0 - I fully acknowledge that ppl love Eminem and that this album is technically good. I even used to be a fan. But as a grown ass gay person, I fucking hate Eminem and the shit he spews out of his mouth about the LGBT community and women in his art.

Was excited to listen to this again, it's been years. Production is unreal and Eminems skills are undeniable. However, 97 Bonnie and Clyde is a fucking nightmare of a song. Found it funny and crazy when I was 9, it's beyond wrong now. Ruined my enjoyment of this whole album. Gave up after that.

Another amazing album. Brilliantly produced, fantastic baselines and incredible lyrics. Another favourite album of mine with only one tune on it that I don't absolutely love. Even the skits are good.

It's still shocking, it's still nasty, it's still dark, it's still funny. It's all a joke, Slim Shady is just a character, we all get that but it still really doesn't sit well in the woke 21st century, and probably rightly so. An album so fucked up that Marilyn Manson thought it was too over the top for him to appear on. That said, it's still an astonishing album, a true hip-hop classic. There aren't many out there with the rap dexterity, the writerly precision and the comedy timing of peak-era Marshall Mathers.

Yeah, this was explosive when it came out. I was in college, and everyone was obsessed with Eminem and this album. Being from Michigan, it was even more of an impact. There's no denying the impact and influence Eminem has had since this debut. The speed of his verses and rhymes are crazy, and he also put humor up front in his persona. The Eminem moniker allows him to skewer society in horrendous and crazy ways, but the satire is clear (regardless of all the critics).

You know you’re in for something intense just by the cover alone. Slim battle raps his way through some of the best punchlines hip hop had seen. Incredible word play. It’s comical, outrageous, pushing buttons, pushing limits, politically incorrect and something that the world obviously wasn’t ready for. Dre and Em are a sick match together and they created some real fire that still burns hot now. Some of it hasn’t aged well but the vast majority is timeless. Top 5 1 my name is 2 role model 3 if I had 4 just don’t give a fuck 5 bad meets evil

Some very comedic parts coupled with very dark sections. A great listen - lots of great production and obviously talented rapping

‘The Slim Shady LP’ is generally as funny as it is horrifying, but its true genius lies is in trying to figure out whether Eminem was being sincere or just taking the piss. Turns out it was a bit of both. Where the album falls down a bit is in its somewhat hit and miss production and overly long length. At its best however, Eminem’s imagination and storytelling ability is both amazing and outrageous, with an angry and urgent, but often humorous hallucinogenic quality and a sense of danger you don’t often get anymore from an artist, especially on their debut.

I was expecting to like this a lot more than I actually did. At the time, this was groundbreaking, but seemed almost cliche today. Unfair? Maybe. But I’m giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ anyway.

Honestly, this didn't age as well as I thought it would. I know that, when it came out, it was somewhat groundbreaking and I appreciate the injection of comedic and lighthearted storytelling elements into a genre that, at the time, was preoccupied with being "hard" above all. But it's just not that great 20+ years later. There are still good moments and solid hooks in here and "My Name Is" is still a fun joint. But it's not enough to pull it above a middling 3-star score.

Man this is both raunchy AND dark. Good beats, but dang this is not good lyrics. Yeah kinda what I said already. I just don't like his lyrics. Which is unfortunate cuz the sound is good.

oof. did not age well, I know it was edgy back then too but I felt dirty even listening to it. still had a few good bars so 2 stars instead of 1 but good lord the pearl clutchers were right to hate this dude

This one seemed to be going big for shock value. Some clever rhymes but pretty much nonsense for the most part. Had a time and place, best left there.

Can't be doing with his "ironic", "humorous" misogynistic violence. Even if he is claiming it's all done in character. The music is potentially good, but lyrically it's just unpleasant.

I can understand using art to express states of mind like extreme frustration or anger. But, to make a huge understatement, I think fantasizing about disposing of your wife's dead body is not entertainment and is a misapplication of creativity and talent. He committed that not only to this record but to the record of his character for all time. And frankly I can't see past it. I acknowledge the importance of this record but I have no appetite for it at all.

I thought I didn't really like Eminem. Now I know I don't really like Eminem.

This has not aged well. The two singles are fine and I won't skip them if they came up in a mix. The rest of the album is weird reminder of what was Edgy in 1999.

This did not age well.

That was pretty awful. Not for me, anyway.

puerile ramblings haven't aged well

Eminem tells us all about what a fucking horrible person he is and then throws himself a little pity party. Sucks to be you skittles but I don't need to hear about your rape and murder fantasies. Some of the beats were ok but definitely not good enough to make up for the shitty rapping. This album should have stayed in the 90's.

I didn't think I disliked Eminem as much as I apparently do (or at least dislike this album.) I've heard some of his singles, I saw 8 Mile and liked it, and remember when he and Elton John played the Grammys, which I thought was fairly powerful. So I was expecting a hip-hop/rap album that, while I admit isn't my favorite genre, would be a fun listen and at least tolerable. But wow, I couldn't have been more wrong. The album starts off strong, with My Name Is, a crossover hit that you couldn't escape and still can't. But then, from there, it devolves into an album that's A. Way to long B. Way to repetitive C. Way to violent for no reason I'm not sure who finds listening to this enjoyable. At least in, say, a horror movie, you aren't rooting for the killer. Maybe it was a product of the late 90s, but the violence, hatred, and misogyny is just too much to get over for me. It was honeslty hard to listen to the whole thing. Not a fan.

Had to suffer through this again.. Yeah not for me and it's gotten worse with age. I think 20 years ago I might have given it 3 stars but now I have to give it a 1.

One of the best rap albums of the early 2000s

Classic!

It was good

T to B excellent

maybe nostalgia, but it's always a 5 from me

classic

I could score this 5 solely on music and probably another 5 solely on legacy/influence. Awesome album. Plus it has Chase & Dave on it. 10/10

I remember first hearing this in Luke’s attic and being blown away by it. I was hooked by the humour and narratives in the lyrics and the production. Wasn’t really a hip hop fan before it, and it opened up a world of new music to me. An absolute classic and an album I still listen to and love today.

finally an album worth listening to!?

Obv 5/5. One of my first albums. Not as good as his next album though, Marshall Mathers LP. But this paved the way

Classic. Must have heard it a 100 times.

classic

Huge Eminem fan, I used to listen and know most of the lyrics to Relapse, Recovery & MMLP2. I cant believe I deprived myself of the earlier work, Ive always been hesitant to listen to the earlier stuff because I thought it would be closer to D12 and gang nonsense. The album is closer to perfect than most albums I know. If I had might be one of my favourite Eminem tracks, it was such a far cry from the usual tracks. Rock Bottom was another standout ( excluding the ones I knew, (My Name Is, guilty Conscience) . IJDGAF also very good,. The best album Ive heard on here so far.

one of my favorite albums ever. everything about this project is so unique and fascinating. marshall mathers is truly a genius

32. Quando em 1975, o músico londrino Claudius Afolabi Siffre compôs o tema "I Got The...", estaria longe de imaginar que a contagiosa melodia seria, umas boas décadas mais tarde, o hook mais icónico do rapper mais branco da História. MotA: "My Name Is" "This is a public service announcement brought to you, in part, by Slim Shady."

Consistently innovative within the hip hop genre!

Didn't listened Eminem earlier, except some songs, so I'm new to him, and it was surprisingly great! Now I understand why he is so popular

Again an album that I have not played for many years but still sounds fresh to me.

I like dirty jokes and horror movies. Perfect. Best Tracks: My Name Is; If I Had; Just Don't Give a Fuck

Classic

oh wow

One from when I was in HS

Classic album from one of my favorite artists. Was awesome to go back to.

One of the best visceral experiences.

This, and Americana by The Offspring, were the first two albums I owned. I was 16 when this album came out and my brother burnt me a cassette tape of it. I have vivid memories riding the bus to college listening to this album on repeat. It was huge to me and totally suckered me in. I loved the follow up album but by like 2003 I was starting to move towards metal and punk rock. I still listen to this album from time to , and rate it highly.

Disturbing, shocking, entertaining, all things Slim Shady. Genre defining album from horror hip hop, comic books meet horror films. Eminem’s most open album where his upbringing and struggles are truly felt through honest emotions amongst the brutality of Shady. It’s legendary, whether loved or hated.

Didn't age so gracefully, but this gets 5 stars for the pure nostalgia factor. Loved it as much as I did back in middle school when it was my first album with parental advisory.

Den gamle eminem, offensivt, grineren, skævt, skarpt, legendarisk

i already know this a banger

Classic

Classic, I loved it when I was 17, and I love it still. Funny, dark, conscious, and silly (at different points!)

Fav songs: - My Name Is - Guilty Conscience - Bitch - Skit - Role Model - Still Don't Give A Fuck

Awesome hip hop album. I love his conversation clips he puts at the start of his songs

palms are sweaty

Hard to beat the real slim shady as an opening track

Owning the game ever since this album

His name is slim shady

slayed

Violent, brutal and glaringly honest. These are the words we can use to describe Ems first effort. Anthemic bangers are galore. Excellence.

I remember exactly where I was when I heard this album from the first time. The album had just dropped a few months before maybe and I was transporting a foster child for the Agency I worked for. He asked if he could play a cassette inn the car and it was this. So we checked it out over the long drive and he was WAY into it. Eminem was a complete departure from anything that had come before. And these songs are ballads for the lost and forgotten and the hurt. To see it through the eyes of that foster child as my initial taste of Eminem earned me as an early fan, and I still think he's terrific. A master.

Fucking nothing will ever be harder than Just don't give a fuck.

One of my favorites of my youth. Didn’t listen. Walch diagnosed with cancer.

Немного бесячий, но чёрт возьми, это первый альбом Эминема.

Raw aggression

I feel like Eminem represents/maybe started a piece of culture that has been popular in the 21st century: sensationalism. Writing abrasive and outrageous lyrics simply to get people talking. He knew that the graphic violence he raps about would cause controversy, and that’s why he did it! He knew that the people talking about how awful his lyrics were meant they were still talking about him, and talk spread his image and skyrocketed him to fame. Shock value was the currency with which he bought his infamy. This album fucking slaps. My favorites: My Name Is, Role Model,

Not a rap fan, but 10/10.

Nice Eminem album, was like a story, has been a while since I listened to an album like that one :)

The alter ego of Eminem, someone sarcastic who speaks about being poor, drugs and all of the problems about this. A lot of rhymes very well developed to tell a story. This album could cause a lot of polemic to people, but not for the topics that it speaks but by the way it touches that topics, however remembering that is an alter ego and a sarcastic album, it's one of the greatest of Eminem

I wish I could go back and give Bob Dylan a more gracious rating now that I can see the commonality between them.

Classic Dr. Dre production. Fun and grotesque bars from Em.

Eminem was really funny back in the day

PSA: My Name Is Paul and If I Had had a Role Model like '97 Bonnie & Clyde my Guilty Conscience would have prevented some of the Brain Damage that made me Just Don't Give A F... Instead I'm Shady, hit Rock Bottom and it's My Fault... 5/5

Reminds me of middle school

Superb album! Always a great listen

Gr8 production, brutal and creative lyrics and stories, not repetitive in a boring way, very meaningful and impact filled lp. Great listen

Damn boi, what a banger. One of my favs all time. So visual, moody and extreme. Love so many tunes sonically and so fun to listen. Some skits run a little tired after a while but some are entertaining and very much suit the vibe of the album. My favourite Eminem album. 9.2/10

Aina pitänyt tästä levystä varsin paljon ja helposti pyöräyttää pari kertaa peräkkäin ympäri. Tämän levyn myötä kävi pikku-Timollekin selväksi, että valkoinen mies voi räbäyttää uskottavasti. Silti tuntuu vähän oudolle nostaa tätä ultimaattiseen kuninkuusluokkaan mutta näin pienellä pistehaitarilla se on ainoa vaihtoehto. Paska sivusto, hyvä levy!

Still his best.

This is like an angrier Millennial version of Licensed to Ill but it’s still just as fresh and joyously breakneck as that disc. TIL that Eminem recorded My Name Is within an hour of meeting and starting to work with Dr Dre. That’s focus. I’d give it a 4.5 if possible to highlight the step up The Marshall Mathers EP was, but its impact on its day cannot be overstated.

Excellent album. Still stands tall.

Fuck. I love Eminem

Sweet