I first met Eminem in the fall of 1997. He came out to Vegas for the Magic Clothing Convention, and I met up with him and his old manager to purchase copies of the now infamous Slim Shady EP. When he entered the room, I was explaining to his manager that I was also involved with college radio in Las Vegas, when at that very same moment, a hungry Eminem came in the door saying, “I’m poppin’ pills like Janis Joplin!” He then looked at me and said, “Hey, can I rap on your radio show, man?”

Little did I know that this corny lookin’ white boy was going to be the biggest artist of 1999. He was planning on leaving that Friday, and explained to him that our show was on Saturday, but if they wanted to hang out for an extra day in Vegas, he was welcome to come up and bless it. Although honestly I was still a bit reluctant, because despite his “Unsigned Hype” status, I still hadn’t heard a thing from this cat. 

So here we are in 1999, and Eminem brings forth The Slim Shady LP. I had a hard time classifying this album, because it falls under so many catergories. If you were to look at the single, “My Name Is…”, along with it’s video, in all of it’s catchiness, you might think of Em as a commercial artist. Yet listening to the devil and angel on opposite sides of your ears on “Guilty Conscience” (with Dr. Dre), you might be quick to call this gangster rap. Others may listen to “Role Model” and argue that Slim Shady is a battle emcee, a la Canibus, with lyrics, style and delivery tailor-made for the ears of the underground. But then it’s songs like “Still Don’t Give A F*ck” which present hard edged, white boy angst, that speaks to the rock crowd.

So how do we classify Slim Shady? Simply the biggest artist of 1999, because he reaches all of the audiences, without ever changing his style. “My Name Is” is so perfect because it automatically grabs the attention of the MTV generation with his twisted sense of humor and, dare I say, “Beastie Boys” image, and at the same time speaks to the “extreme” audience, immediately grabbing their attention by asking them if they like Primus and Nine Inch Nails at the beginning of the song. When the cameo from Dr. Dre comes in, it’s all over. Longtime followers of gangster rap instantly listen up. But what about the underground? He’s got us too, because with “My Name Is…”, nothing has changed since he was paying dues on records with Shabaam Sahdeeq, Old World Disorder, and other indy acts, not to mention stealing the show every time.

Now the ultimate test comes, how does the album hold up? Like the single, it pulls no punches, or kicks, for that matter. In fact, it’s not afraid to bash your face in with a parking meter either, yet somehow does it with a smile on it’s face. It’s clear that Eminem has some psychological issues going on inside, but the tone of his voice also suggests a hint of sarcasm, as well as of genius. As the song says, he just doesn’t give a fuck, and raps freely about until now taboo subjects in american and hip-hop culture, such as the following:

Hardcore drug use: “Thank god I was smokin’ crack all day, and doped up on coke and smack!”

Drinking and driving: “I Just drink a fifth of Vodka, dare me to drive?”

Women abuse / rape: “I’ll I wanted to do was rape the bitch and snatch her purse, now I want to kill her but, yo, I gotta catch her first.”

Unprotected sex / STD’s: “I been with ten women who got HIV, don’t you wanna grow up to be just like me? I got genital warts and and it burns when I pee, don’t you wanna grow up to be just like me?”

The list goes on. Lyrics like these are just dying for an interview on Leeza, where she asks him in a distressed tone, “Why do you do this? Why do you say these things?” But the point that everyone will miss is that behind all of the evil surrounding Slim Shady, is the mastermind, Marshall Mathers, pulling the strings.

While every mother’s group and religious coalition will have a field day with this album, only heads like myself will see the comic genius behind all of the depression. Eminem knows exactly what he is doing. He knows that these subjects are risky, and intricate listening will reveal that there is an ill mind behind this, trying to think of the most off the wall sh*t to say in his rhymes. Thankfully, it’s more than just shock value emceeing, as Eminem is a phenominal lyricist, blending a dark, cartoonish sense of humor with overboard, two and three syallable rhyme schemes that go on for days. His overly creative rhymes leave the hip-hop lyrical analyst in tears, as they are so goddamn funny, yet at the same time disturbing, which is exactly what gives Eminem his appeal. Quotes:

“I’m just a mean person, you’ve never seen worse than, so when Slim get this M-16 burstin’, you gettin’ spun backwards, like every word of obscene cursin’, on the B-side of my first single, with the clean version” – Eminem on OldWorlDisrder’s “365″

“My nerves hurt, and lately I’ve been on edge, I grabbed Vanilla Ice and ripped out his blond dreads, every girl I ever went out with has gone lez, follow me and do exactly what the song says: Smoke weed, take pills, drop out of school, kill people, and drink, then jump behind the wheel like it was still legal!” – “Role Model”

“This is what happens when bad meets evil, we hit the trees ’till we look like Vietnamese people. He’s evil, and I’m bad like Steve Segal, above the law cause we don’t agree with police either. (Shit, me niether,) We ain’t eagar to be legal, so please leave me with keys to your jeep eagle. I’ll breathe ether in three lethal amounts, than stab myself in the knee with a diseased needle!” – “Bad Meets Evil” w/ Royce Da 5-9

Examples like these are once again to send the meak into shock, but those who realize Em’s cynicism will see this as the poetic fire it truly is. Eminem also brings back the art of storytelling, which seems to be absent these days. Like a Slick Rick or Casual, Eminem animates brilliant tales of humor and life experiences. Songs like “Brain Damage”, “As The World Turns”, and the incredible “My Fault” (aka “Mushrooms”), are told with such precise descriptiveness, that each of these stories instantly conjure up cinematic or cartoon images inside your head.

While the praising can go on for days, the album isn’t without it’s faults. Naturally, with Eminem on AfterMath, we all would have liked to see more tracks produced by Dr. Dre, as “My Name Is,” “Guilty Conscience” and “Role Model” easily present some of the LP’s best moments. For the most part, the tracks from the Web Entertainment team are still good, some even great, yet the minor addition of forced ass-shaking anthems like “Cum on Everybody”, quickly prove that this isn’t the nitch that Eminem should be trying to fill. Other tracks like “Bonnie & Clyde ’99″ and “If I Had…” present dope lyricism, yet quickly become skipable with boring, unmoving production. But thankfully, the faults are very few. Overall, the album is consistant, and quite surprising, and in reality, will please each of the audiences that Eminem has locked down.

The biggest question after hearing this album is, what does the future hold for Eminem? Expect to have your mind blown when you hear Dr. Dre and Eminem trade verses on The Chronic 2000, yet don’t get mad at him when you hear a hard rock version of Slim Shady on future tracks, as collabos with Limp Bizkit and Marylin Manson have been talked about. Fear has alrady struck my heart, hoping that he doesn’t follow in the footsteps of Everlast and Kid Rock, by turning from emcee to rock star. Yet Eminem is such a prodigy, I honestly don’t think the heads have to worry about this. Because right now he got alternative rockers, MTV groupies, wanna-be gangstas, and heads like me, all in the palm of his hand, and he’s done it with straight up hip-hop.