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The Slim Shady LP

Eminem - The Slim Shady LP Audio CD

A fair review of the Eminem "The Slim Shady LP" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Eminem reviews here, or go back to the Eminem tabs.

Band: Eminem
Title: The Slim Shady LP
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-02-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Public Service Announcement - Jeff Bass 2: My Name Is 3: Guilty Conscience 4: Brain Damage 5: Paul - DJ Paul Bunyon, 6: If I Had 7: '97 Bonnie & Clyde 8: Bitch - Winkler, Zoe 9: Role Model 10: Lounge - Jeff Bass, Marky Bass, Eminem 11: My Fault 12: Ken Kaniff - Aristotle, Marky Bass, Eminem, 13: Cum On Everybody 14: Rock Bottom 15: Just Don't Give A Fuck 16: Soap - Jeff Bass, , Royce da 5'9" 17: As the World Turns 18: I'm Shady 19: Bad Meets Evil - Eminem, , Royce da 5'9" 20: Still Don't Give a Fuck

1999 When America's Biggest Problem was Eminem
Eminem, a cute blond white boy with a sadistic but sharp sense of humor and unmatched writing skills became the object of many peoples fantasies and worst nightmares

This being his first studio album, nobody outside of the Hip hop music world really knew who the F*** he was! Needless to say, from Gay Rights Activists to Christian Family Values Advocates, his first impression managed to incite anger on every side of the fence! It's hard not to see somebody as a threat if it is also clear that they are incredibly intelligent, articulate and could likely outsmart you. When this album broke the charts and entered the ears of America's Teenagers it did more than shake things up, it completely shattered the delicate balance of 1990s Clinton era Neo-Liberalism. Eminem, could also Rap his ass off and carved his own path both in his writing style and musical style. A white Rapper being very much white in every way and not trying to be "Thug" or pretending to be "Old School" in any way was completely foreign to people. He instead, drew inspiration from his own life, emotions and attitude toward society. Beyond his "Skillz" as a Rap Artist, (there are a ton of great Rap Artistst out there), what made the Hip Hop Music World take notice was his authenticity. Authenticity is what Hip Hop is all about and Eminem had it in spades!

This album, more than shaking up stuffy white people, shook up Hip Hop music. That said Dr. Dre had allot to do with the sound of this Rap Masterpiece. West Coast Gangsta Rap was finally Frickin dead! East Coast Rap had turned into either overly preachy and political or completely nostalgic. . . Rap had clearly become an overly reproduced format by the end of the 1990s. It took these two mavericks to save it from the grave.

That said, it is a bloody concept album! It's progressive and innovative, it's psychopathic, it's funny and it is so well done that you can't help but like it. For many of the suspected Eminem Haters of the time, including Hipsters and Smart Assed Music Aficionados, The Slim Shady LP was a guilty pleasure. I know this because I saw it everywhere I went. From NYC's Electro scene, to Indirockers, to House loving Chelsea Boys, to Punks, to Pop Fiends, to Hip Hop snobs, hell, I even talked to a Classical Violinist and a Jazz Singer about this album.
For many people, this little disk of HATE had something to love!

Lets not forget to mention that this album for it's time, was the voice of America's Youth. In that way, it is similar Nirvana's Nevermind or even The Beatles. It was the right soundtrack for the mood of our youth. Angry, Irreverent, Politically Incorrect, Violent and Sadistically funny.

It is unfortunate however that Eminem has since become too calculated for his own good. But hey, he aint a kid anymore and has found his place as an adult, still doing what he does best. . . making great music!

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Its always a big hit when white people do marginally well in a traditionally black corner of the arts
Exhibit A) Elvis
Exhibit B) Eric Clapton
Exhibit C) Eminem

And in the jury, every black R&B, Blues, and Hip Hop artist that smokes every one of the above.

Good Start
If you told me this back in the day when i was just getting into rap after hearing SSLP 2 months before MMLP I'd say "No way, he's funny, clever, but nah his flow isn't nearly that good and his voice, why is it so annoying?" So let's begin with the first song. Em is now, currently in 2009, considered one of the best rappers to ever rap.

Well we get the famous song that made him "My Name Is" Which isn't a terrible rap. It has some very clever lines such as
"My English teacher wanted to flunk me in junior high
Thanks a lot, next semester I'll be thirty-five
I smacked him in his face with an eraser, chased him with a stapler
and stapled his N*ts to a stack of papers"
were not only funny but began the cd off in a clever way.

Guilty conscious isn't a bad song by any means and it's pretty funny with Dre and Em going back and forth. But em's voice really comes off annoying in this one, more so cause of him trying to be the devil so I said "Alright I'm ok with it" Brain damages following and the voice is still annoying but his lyrics show here and it's a story presented infront of you ALL rhyming. It was like a book.

If i had and Bonnie and Clyde probably ever some of the best lyrics on the cd but there more for shock value then to repeat. You hear em a few times then skip it.

Role model is loved by many but i found it weak and nothing I'd put on replay. His annoying voice is especially shining here.

We then get My fault which he isn't "AS" annoying with his voice, has this cleverly written rap with probably the best story told on the album. Funny, repeatable, it's one of the best tracks on the cd.

Rock bottom is good, deep track, but he doesn't show emotion on this cd so i couldn't really feel this song. It's meaning is good but his voice isn't showing it's true nature yet.

Just don't give **** is a good track with good lyrics but his voice sounds even more nerdy here, more so then the rest of the cd. I skip this song for the better one at the end.

As the world turn is good, shady is even better, bad meets evil is great, and then we get the best song on the cd, where he's showing emotion, powerful lyrics, and defiantly leads on to his much better second cd. Still don't give a **** is a classic song.

So yes for me this wasn't eminem's best cd but it wasn't his worst. A good start for the rapper that only goes up from here. . . for awhile.
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Expert potty mouth rapper releases hit debut
But Eminem wasn't any white rapper--he had a vengeance against his parents and the entire world. Eminem was not the first white rapper to hit the charts, but he was the foulest white gangster rapper.

"The Slim Shady LP" was the one of the most explosive rap albums, a rage-filled CD guaranteed to insult anyone.

Most of the songs are very familiar, partly because he was the infamous obnoxious Slim Shady. However, Shady was one of the best rappers with a very grim sense of humor, especially in the song "Guilty Conscience. " Eminem acts as the devil's advocate for numerous men, to make sure they rob liquor stores, date rape and kill wives who cheat against them. There's something distinctly creepy about Eminem rapping, "f*** slitting her throat, cut this *****'s head off!"

Eminem's violent stories of bullies beating him up in "Brain Damage" serve as his excuse for laying down revenge lyrics against the world. In particular, the teacher beats his head with a remote control, knocking the brain out of his skull.

But even if he has brain damage, he sure has fun rapping, with humorous screams and oddball sound effects. And as sadistic as Eminem is with his rap about locking his dead wife a car trunk and dumping it in the river in the song "'97 Bonnie and Clyde," at least his kid Hailie seemed to enjoy it.

He has very black humor, but Eminem is a tough Detroit native who can yell and shout battle raps as well as any other rapper. And Dr. Dre has especially smooth beats for Eminem, especially in the stylish song "Role Model," with simple bass notes and harpsichords. And that cool bass drum beat in "My Fault" is really snazzy.

Perhaps some of Eminem's lyrics were a little too violent, especially for teenagers in the 90s. However, there's no doubt that Eminem was one of the best rappers, with the great Dr. Dre backing him up with awesome hip-hop tracks.

classic
One of the better rap albums of all time, I got this cd when it came out over 10 years ago and it still hasnt gotten old.

You can see a complete list of all Eminem discography, or go back to the Eminem tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.