20 years ago, Eminem dropped his sophomore major label release ‘The Marshall Mathers LP.'
One year earlier, ‘The Slim Shady LP’ gave the world its first taste of Em along
with his alter-ego.
2000’s ‘Marshall Mathers LP’ showed fans the man behind the outrageous lyrics,
with a peek into his personal life after fame, while sprinkling in controversy and humor
to create one of the most unforgettable albums of the decade.
Eminem is the rapper, Slim Shady will kill you, and Marshall Mathers is the person behind
the whole mask.
The release of ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ came after a whirlwind year of success for
Em, who had made his mainstream debut after being put on by hip-hop legend Dr. Dre.
EM: I’m lookin’ at Dre like, Dude I see you on TV all the time. You one of my biggest
influences ever in life. DRE: I’m like man, listen. I think this
shit is fuckin’ incredible and I would love to work with you.
The album is littered with themes reflecting on Eminem’s personal life, starting with
its introspective cover: a photo of Em on the steps of his childhood home in Detroit,
Michigan. Alternate covers, however, feature Em huddled on the ground surrounded by bottles
which seem to represent the complicated themes in the project.
It opens with "Public Service Announcement 2000," and sends a clear message to those
who don’t like him - a key factor that drew people to his music.
This is another public service announcement. Brought to you, in part, by Slim Shady. Tell
'em I don't give a fuck. Slim Shady does not give a fuck what you think.
I make my music for me. I don’t really think is everyone else gonna like this?
I make it for me so that I'm satisfied with it because
I feel like if I am satisfied with it then everybody else is gonna like it.
Em explores his rapid rise to fame and his own identity on the chorus of the aforementioned
rock influenced self-titled track, “Marshall Mathers.”
The tempo of the track eventually speeds up, and Em spends most of the song doing what
becomes his go-to in rap: calling people out.
In this case, he speaks to a number of specific industry figures and even his own mother,
citing a lawsuit she’d filed against her son for defamation.
Deborah: When you can’t go to the mall for being spit on and being called disgusting
pig, it’s sad. Because people are passing judgment by listening to Marshall’s songs.
Across the album, Eminem keeps with the transparency into his life, most notably on "The Way I
Am."
Its accompanying visual shows Em falling into the complicated world painted in his lyrics.
“The Way I Am” also touched on a critical point that would come through elsewhere
on the album: his insatiable fanbase.
No song gets this point across more than the iconic 3rd track “Stan,” the story of a blindly
devoted fan who emulates Eminem’s rap persona and eventually murders his own girlfriend.
Is it based on real life? Do you get crazy letters like this?
Yeah, I get crazy letters like that that’s why I was saying all this is crazy to me.
Violent imagery aside, “Stan” quite literally changed music. Eminem painted a vivid picture
of breathless worship to the stars, and started a movement within fan communities. Today “stan”
is a common term, used to mean intense fandom, something Genius explored back in 2019.
It's part of human nature
to look to another person and say, I like how they show up in the world. I want to be
like that, too.
But, back in 2000, much of the discussion around Eminem dealt with the fact that he
was a white rapper in an undoubtedly black genre, something he often spoke about during
interviews and in lyrics, like on “Who Knew.”
I never heard anything that was like this kid can rap, it was always something dealing
with the lyrical content or me being white, and I was kinda like what the fuck? This is bullshit to me.
Other criticism Eminem faced in the media
throughout his career stemmed from his frequent use of homophobic language and slurs, littered
across the LP, but especially on “Criminal.”
I’m not the first rapper to use the word gay or use the word f***** in a rap, but for
some reason when I had said that word that word meant more than the average rapper.
So are you homophobic? Nah, I’m whatever.
A year later, Eminem performed “Stan” live at the 2001 GRAMMYs along with openly
gay music icon Elton John, to put the critics to rest.
I was like the only way I’m gonna perform at the GRAMMYs is with Elton John. I was saying
it in kinda jest thinking it would never happen. And then the idea of it just started becoming
more like okay this is a way to really flip it around and really fuck people’s head up.
But criticism of the album and Em’s lyrics
did not stop there. Eminem was often cited as an example of music that had a bad influence
on kids, which he addresses directly on the chorus of “Who Knew.”
Some people don’t understand where I’m coming from they just don’t see it. And
I think that anybody with half a brain is gonna be able to tell when I’m joking and
when I’m not.
Em keeps with the same bad influence subject matter, bringing out his alter ego Slim Shady
on “I’m Back.” On the cut, Em makes an infamous reference to the 1999 Columbine
school shooting, which happened just a year before the album’s release, and ended up
being censored on many official releases of the album.
Eminem taps Slim Shady again on "Kill You," as his lyrics take a more violent tone.
But no track on the project is more vicious than “Kim.” Over the course of the song,
Eminem graphically describes attacking his on-and off-again ex-wife, for whom the song
was named.
I was embarrassed, I was humiliated. I cried...I had to make sure that my kids don’t hear
it...He’s supposed to be the man that loves me and respects me and keeps me from getting
hurt and here he is disrespecting me in the worst way possible in front of millions of people.
17 years later, Em put his apology on wax, with 2017’s ‘Revival’ cut, “Bad Husband.”
However, “Kim” was so problematic that it was pulled from the clean version of the
album, and instead replaced with the mischievous South Park-inspired track, “The Kids.”
I like to have fun with rap, too. There’s like a serious side to Slim Shady and there’s
a semi-corny, happy side to Slim Shady.
Em includes a number of skits throughout the
album, too, which was common for him at the time. We hear from everyone from his manager
Paul Rosenberg to the fictional creep Ken Kaniff.
Em, what’s going on? It’s Paul. Uh…
Dre gave me a copy of the new album And I just…*sigh*…Fuck it!
On "Drug Ballad," Em touches on his own drug use. Later in his career, Em would go sober
and theme much of his output around kicking the habits he raps about on the song.
The project’s most popular song was its lead single, “The Real Slim Shady,” which
has since gone 4x platinum.
It gave the world another taste of Slim Shady, coupled with shots at popular celebrities
and a playful, unforgettable music video.
It's all about keeping it real. Oh my God! I’m A GIRL!
I wanted another song, not like “My Name Is” but another song with that sarcasm to introduce me again.
Each track on the LP has its own uniqueness,
and demonstrates Eminem’s versatility. His ability to change his voice
revealed a range that helped make him popular and secured his longevity in the rap game
I always try to approach each song slightly
different. And even if I can't, like ok I’ve got a song that maybe was kinda like this
ten years ago. Let me put a little twist on it.
And even though it dropped in 2000, the influence this album had on hip-hop as a whole is undeniable.
His abrasive lyrics, breathless storytelling, and adaptable flow inspired generations of
rappers who came after him. ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ eventually went
10x multi-platinum, cementing it as a hip-hop classic both in terms of numbers and for fans.
In 2013, Eminem even came back with a sequel, ‘The Marshall Mathers LP 2,’ that featured
a similar cover but with a much more seasoned Eminem.
20 years later, 'The Marshall Mathers LP' still holds up as a clear portrait of a young
Eminem and pop culture at the time. His many changes since then only adds to the depth
and range that was on display on MMLP and cements him as one of hip-hop and music's
greats. I’m Tia with Genius News, bringing you the
meaning and the knowledge behind the music...At home.