On February 23, 21 years ago, the world entered the dark, morbid, cartoon-ish world of Slim Shady with the release of The Slim Shady LP. Eminem linked up with legendary producer Dr. Dre and Detroit-based Bass Brothers to produce the "made-up tales of trailer-park stuff" album. Singles like My Name Is, Role Model, and Guilty Conscience helped to propel the album to where it is now. The Slim Shady LP debuted the second on the Billboard 200 chart and remained on the table for over 100 weeks.
Eminem was never a gangsta rapper in the first place. When almost every rapper in the industry had to sound gangsta to sell records, Eminem, instead, boasted on self-loathe, weirdness, and jaw-droppingly perverse rhymes. He didn't hold back to poke fun of pop stars, politicians, and even his very own mentor, Dr. Dre.
Eminem, then, spent the next couple of years of untouchable back-to-back classic albums run with The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2020). Let's celebrate the sick mind of Slim Shady by bumping to the record and reading these 15 facts about The Slim Shady LP.
15 How Dr. Dre Discovered Eminem
Eminem lost the final round of the 1997 Rap Olympics to an underground rapper, Otherwize. Dean Geistlinger, a then-intern kid at Interscope Records at that time, was impressed by the sharp skill of the Detroit emcee, so he asked Em for a copy of his 1997's Slim Shady EP. Jimmy Iovine, the CEO of Interscope, was mesmerized by the record and passed it to Dr. Dre.
"I don't give a f**k if you're purple. If you can kick it, I'm working with you," Dre recalled the moment. The rest is history.
14 Slim Shady Alter-Ego Was Born From Eminem's Frustration In The Early Phase Of His Career
So, how did Eminem come up with Slim Shady alter ego?
It was a disappointing sales of his 1996 debut album, Infinite, that led frustrated Eminem the most. He was also largely ignored by Detroit radio stations at that time, and he used Slim Shady alter ego as a scapegoat.
"Boom, the name hit me, and right away I thought of all these words to rhyme with it," Eminem told Rolling Stone.
13 Eminem Was Starstruck And Nervous To Work With Dr. Dre At First
It doesn't matter if you're Eminem or not, but working with your childhood idol always gives you a starstruck.
"I didn't want to be starstruck or kiss his ass too much," Eminem described what it feels like to work with his childhood idol, like Dr. Dre. "I'm just a little white boy from Detroit. I had never seen stars, let alone Dr. Dre."
After more sessions, Eminem became a lot more comfortable with Dre. Now, the two remained one of the most potent rapper-producer duos in hip-hop.
12 My Name Is Was The First Song Eminem Recorded With Dre
"I invited him over (to my home studio)," Dre said on his 2017 docu, The Defiant Ones. "I hit the drum machine, and maybe two or three seconds went by, and he just went, "Hi, My name is, my name is" ... That's what happened on the first day on the first few minutes of him being in the studio."
11 Eminem Lied To His Then-Girlfriend, Kim, That He Was Going To Take Hailie To Chuck E. Cheese. Instead, They Went To The Studio & Recorded '97 Bonnie & Clyde
How did that happen?
"I lied to Kim and told her I was taking Hailie to Chuck E. Cheese that day," Em recalled, on the April 29, 1999 issue of Rolling Stone."But I took her to the studio. When she found out I used our daughter to write a song about killing her, she f*****g blew. We had just got back together for a couple of weeks. Then I played her the song, and she bugged the f**k out."
10 Dre Fell Off From His Chair Laughing After Hearing Eminem's 3rd Verse On Guilty Conscience
The Slim Shady LP is Eminem at his humor peak. The third verse of Guilty Conscience is the best thing that happened on the whole project. It depicts humorous references to Dre's assault case against Pump It Up! presenter Dee Barnes with lines, "Be smart, don't be a retard/You wanna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes?"
Eminem was anxious about the line because he barely knew Dre at that time, but Dre, reportedly, 'fell off his chair from laughing.'
9 D'Angelo Bailey, Eminem's High School Bully As Portrayed On Brain Damage, Sued The Rapper For Slander & Invasion Privacy
Eminem tackles his childhood trauma from bullying, with a witty sense of humor, on Brain Damage. In 2003, four years after its release, 32-year-old janitor DeAngelo Bailey filed a 1 million dollar lawsuit against the rapper for 'slander.' Judge Deborah Servitto dismissed the suit with raps, "The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact / They're an exaggeration of a childish act."
8 Eminem's Mother, Deborah Nelson, Filed A $10 Million Lawsuit For Slander
Eminem's mother, Deborah Nelson, threw her son in hot water following the line from My Name Is, "I just found out my mom does more dope than I do." She filed a 10 million dollar lawsuit for 'slander,' only to be awarded of 1.600 dollars after legal fees.
Then, their relationship started deteriorating. Eminem called her out even more in 2002 with the song Cleanin' Out My Closet from The Eminem Show. In 2013, Eminem publicly apologized on The Marshall Mathers LP 2 heartwarming track, Headlights, and in 2017's Revival track, Arose.
7 Eminem Took Zoe Winkler To Dinner Before Putting Her Phone Call On The Album As A Skit
The Bitch skit was an actual voicemail, sent by the daughter of actor Henry Winkler, Zoe, who went off about how misogynistic Eminem's lyrics were. Eminem first offered 300 dollars to Zoe, but she turned down the money and wanted him to take her on dinner instead.
The whole way down (to the restaurant), I was thinking, 'Yo, I'm gonna have to smack this girl,'" Eminem said in 1998. "And then when I got there, she was like, 'Oh, hi, Eminem, it's so nice to meet you!'… The whole thing just flipped on me."
6 Henry Winkler On His Daughter's Appearance: She Became A Fan Of Eminem
20 years after the album's release, her father, actor Henry Winkler, opened up to Sway Calloway about the experience.
"Our daughter was sent an early CD of Eminem's (Slim Shady EP)," said the Happy Days actor.
When Sway asked him whether she became a fan of Eminem after that encounter, he said, "Yes, not of mine tough!"
5 The Album Also Gave Birth To Another Comic Alter-Ego, Ken Kaniff
Another comic alter-ego that made his debut on The Slim Shady LP was Ken Kaniff, an openly gay male from Connecticut. It was played by local Detroit rapper Aristotle, but their partnership didn't last very long. They had a fall-out following Eminem's rise to superstardom, so Em had to play the character by himself. Aristotle released a diss-power mixtape, The Ken Kaniff Show, in 2002.
4 Eminem Won His First Grammy With The Slim Shady LP
Who would've thought a scrawny, vanilla rapper from Detroit would go head-to-head against Nas and Busta Rhymes on the stage of Grammy Awards? Well, in 2000, Eminem took home a Grammy for Best Rap Album, beating Nas, Busta Rhyme, Missy Elliot, and The Roots. It was his first-ever Grammy, and as in 2020, he holds the record for the most wins in this category, with six Grammy awards under his belt.
3 Dr. Dre Only Produced Three Songs From The Album
Despite Dre's heavy co-sign, the legendary producer actually only produced three songs from the album: My Name Is, Guilty Conscience, and Role Model. The rest of the album's production was handled by local, Detroit-based producer, the Bass Brothers, who crafted Eminem's underground, debut album, Infinite (1996).
The brothers were later involved in the production of Eminem's music even more. Every album Eminem put out from 1997 to 2009 (Relapse) has some Bass Brothers touch on it.
2 Marilyn Manson Was Supposed To Appear On The Album
Surprisingly, metal singer Marilyn Manson, who's famous for his controversial lyrics, turned down Eminem's offer to sing the hooks for '97 Bonnie & Clyde because it was 'too misogynistic.'
"It was on a record I could listen to, but it was too over-the-top for me to associate with. It didn't represent where I was at," Marilyn told SPIN in 2007.
1 Eminem Was Still Living In A Trailer Following The Album's Release
Following the release of The Slim Shady LP and his catapulting rise to superstardom, Eminem still lived in a trailer park, at least for a couple of months.
“After I got my record deal, my mother moved back to Kansas City,” he told Rolling Stone. “I took over the payments on her trailer, but I’m never here.”