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The Real Slim Shady

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"The Real Slim Shady"
Single by Eminem
from the album The Marshall Mathers LP
ReleasedApril 18, 2000[1]
Genre
Length4:44
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Eminem singles chronology
"Forgot About Dre"
(2000) 		"The Real Slim Shady"
(2000) 		"The Way I Am"
(2000)
Music videos
Audio sample
"The Real Slim Shady"

"The Real Slim Shady" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). It was released as the lead single a month before the album's release.

The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, giving him his biggest hit up to that point.[2] It was also Eminem's first song to reach number one in the UK and Ireland[3] and the song was the 14th best selling of 2000 in the UK. It won multiple awards, including MTV Video Music Awards for Best Video and Best Male Video, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 80 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[4] It was listed at number 396 on NME's 500 greatest songs of all time.

Production

[edit]

"The Real Slim Shady" was not originally intended to be part of The Marshall Mathers LP. Interscope Records's Jimmy Iovine wanted Eminem to get a song to introduce the album, similar to the way "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."[5]

The song's first verse interpolated the 1999 novelty single "Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)" by Tom Green,[6] 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.[7][8]

Critical reception

[edit]

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] humungous [sic] T-shirt".[9] AllMusic highlighted the single.[10]

Rolling Stone praised the sound of the single as "slick, bright, melodic funk that's so R&B-ish, you can dance to it".[11] Entertainment Weekly's Will Hermes was also positive, writing, "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."[12] The defamation case was settled in 2001 for $25,000 as Debbie Mathers' former attorney was awarded $23,354—netting Ms. Mathers just over $1600 for her efforts.[13][14]

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",[15] 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."[16]

The song has been included as part of many films, notably 21 Jump Street (2012) and Freddy Got Fingered (2001).[citation needed]

Music video

[edit]

Philip G. Atwell and Dr. Dre directed the music video filmed in 7–10 April 2000.[citation needed] 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,[17] 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."[18]

The music video has 1 billion views on YouTube as of October 2024, making it Eminem's seventh video to cross the one billion mark.

Credits

[edit]

Information from the interior booklet of The Marshall Mathers LP

Awards

[edit]
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Eminem

"The Real Slim Shady" was very successful at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, winning awards 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.

Awards and nominations received by or for "The Real Slim Shady"
Year Organization Award Result
2000 Billboard Music Awards Maximum Vision Video Won
Best Rap/Hip-Hop Clip of the Year Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice Music: Video Nominated
Choice Music: Summer Song Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year Won
Best Male Video Won
Best Rap Video Nominated
Best Direction Nominated
Best Editing Nominated
Viewer's Choice Award Nominated
2001 Detroit Music Awards Outstanding National Single Won
Grammy Awards Best Rap Solo Performance Won

Track listing

[edit]
UK CD single[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Real Slim Shady"
4:44
2."The Real Slim Shady" (instrumental)
4:44
3."Guilty Conscience" (radio version with new hook; featuring Dr. Dre)
  • Mathers
  • Young
3:19
4."The Real Slim Shady" (video)  4:44
UK cassette
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Real Slim Shady"
4:44
2."My Fault" (pizza mix)
3:53
Total length:8:37
German CD single[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Real Slim Shady"
4:44
2."Bad Influence"
Bass Brothers3:40
Total length:8:24
German Maxi CD single[21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Real Slim Shady"
4:44
2."Bad Influence"
Bass Brothers3:40
3."The Real Slim Shady" (instrumental)
4:44
4."My Fault" (pizza mix)
3:53
5."Just Don't Give a F**k" (music video)  4:39
Total length:21:40

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications and sales for "The Real Slim Shady"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[77] 11× Platinum 770,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[78] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[79] Platinum 50,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[80] 3× Platinum 180,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[81] 2× Platinum 160,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[82] 2× Platinum 180,000‡
France (SNEP)[83] Gold 250,000*
Germany (BVMI)[84] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[85]
sales since 2009 		2× Platinum 200,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[86] 5× Platinum 150,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[87] Gold  
Portugal (AFP)[88] 3× Platinum 30,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[89] Platinum 60,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[90] Platinum 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[91] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[92] 4× Platinum 2,400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[93] 7× Platinum 7,000,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[94] Gold 1,000,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
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  7. ^ Moon, T. (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. 1,000... Before You Die Book. Workman Publishing Company. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-7611-5385-6. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
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