Review Summary: I still don't give a fuck!
It's amazing, how more than ten years ago, that Marshall Mathers the Third was just a white rap artist trying to make it big in the genre. And yet, just like that, he's the fastest selling solo artist of all time and has won over thirteen Grammys. Slim Shady LP was where it all started, unlike where some say it started when The Marshall Mathers LP gave Eminem his breakthrough. Even if MM LP and Eminem Show never came out, Eminem still would of made it huge.
The SS LP was different from mainstream rap. The lyrical style was totally unique: unlike trying to impersonate the popular Tupac, Nas, and AZ, Eminem completely flipped the tables around and created a brand new, hilariously schizophrenic sound: spitting rhymes about drug abuse, childhood troubles, acts of hardcore violence, and explicit sexual acts. This was at the end of 90's, when rap was at its peek. But Eminem, the first white rapper to make it big since The Beastie Boys, completely emerged from his first two attempts and struck a spot in the pack, one that would rise to the top.
Now that The Marshall Mathers LP, a far more redefined, far more extraordinary attempt, and Eminem Show, a more somber, serious attempt, have been released: Slim Shady LP tends to be looked over as just a stuck-in-the-middle experiment. But Eminem is god damn good in SS LP, believe it or not. The melodies and beats in this song are undoubtedly original: from the haunting acoustic line in "Still Don't Give a ***", the more toned-down glockenspiel bar / drum beat in "Bad Meets Evil", the cricket chirp and water splash sound effects and eerie piano line in "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", the production is great on Slim Shady LP, most in part to Dr. Dre's brilliant work on the album, not to mention being a major reason for the worldwide popularity this album coined in its early years.
Slim Shady LP's humor is distorted and indefinitely psychotic. With a barely-beyond-adolescent pitch the Slim Shady persona nabbed, and an interesting writing style, there the persona evolved. "My Name Is" is the song that most of us have heard, with a DJ chicka-chicka over a repetitive chorus "Hi, My Name Is / What?", over Eminem's random acts against humanity, it seems like a winner. "As The World Turns" contains an absolutely comedic story telling Eminem's brawl against a prostitute, with a wailing chorus "I don't know why, why this world keeps turning..", and "Brain Damage"'s hauntingly explicit childhood flashbacks (which may or may not of happened), including a beating from his old childhood bully, Deangelo Bailey, and abuse from his mother, not to mention neglect from teachers, makes it one of the scariest tracks on the album due to the superb storytelling details here and there.
Though the funny songs do tend to wear off and lose focus. "I'm Shady" and "My Name Is" are guilty of this due to the repetitive beats, annoying choruses, and over-extended length. By the third verse, My Name Is becomes extremely ridiculous ("I spit when I talk, I'll *** anything that walks"), and tends to be entertaining for maybe a couple of listens (though one line in the former always kills me: "so come and kill me while my name's hot / And shoot me twenty-five times in the same spot") "Guilty Conscience" is a little better, depicting an awesome Dr. Dre appearance over a disturbingly weird bass line and piano taps, and Eminem over various conscience debates, with Dre as the angel, and Slim Shady as the angel.
But the more serious songs on this album are the better ones. "Still Don't Give a ***" is almost a curio, in many ways, because this track is highly likable amongst fans and new listeners. Over a sober, hallow guitar line (which is strangely similar to the Im-IVm-V7 line over the title track in the MM LP, with rainy sound effects, Eminem dishes out lyrical fire that is both amusing and sober. "If I Had" is probably the strongest track on here, opening with the now-famous line "Life... by Marshall Mathers. What is Life?", and he then begins to wail about being exhausted with life's challenges over a female in the background jowling "If I Had $1000000", and "Rock Bottom" is another song worth noting, with a more ironic approach to Eminem not wanting to be poor (the irony is that it only took him three albums to become the biggest solo artist in history). Guest stars are another high note, with Royce da 5'9 and Dr. Dre respectively doing good verses.
I'm not exactly sure what to give this album. It's not as good as The Marshall Mathers LP (and, let's be honest, none of Em's albums will ever be), and it's less mature than Eminem Show. Not only is it not perfect, it tends to be quite irritating and repetitive (you can cut off My Fault and Cum on Everybody). However, it's a much more improved, far more impressive attempt than the debut Infinite, and it's definitely an album to listen to. It's a very special album, and arguably Em's most important, because it put him on the charts and got him on the road to bigger things.
Recommended Tracks
Still Don't Give a ***
If I Had
Rock Bottom
Also Listen To
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (Duh)
Tupac - 2Pacalypse Now
