The Real Slim Shady

The Real Slim Shady” is debatably one of infamous American rapper “Eminem” (real name Marshall Mathers) most well-known tracks, released on his third studio album in 2000: “The Marshall Mathers LP”.

“The Real Slim Shady” was Eminem’s first number one single in the UK, and was also not originally meant for “The Marshal Mathers LP”. Jimmy Iovine from Interscope Records wanted Eminem to create another track to introduce the album as a whole, similar to his famous “My Name Is” track on his “The Slim Shady LP”. And a few hours before “The Marshal Mathers LP” was due, Eminem, rapper Dr. Dre, Tommy Coster and Mike Elizondo wrote the track. The song is primarily meant to be a critique on the pop culture and pop music at the time. In Eminem’s usual non-apologetic rapping style, the musician openly insults celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and iconic boy band NSYNC with lines like: “Jaws all on the floor, like Pam, like Tommy just burst in the door”, “So you can sit me here, next to Britney Spears?” (a reference to him getting a Grammy).

The music video was aired in April 2000, but uploaded to YouTube in September 2010. It has over 2.2 million likes and almost 390 hundred million views on YouTube as of May 2019. It features a plethora of well known actors and celebrities at the time, from comedian Kathy Griffin, Pamela Anderson and Dr. Dre. It shows Eminem in a psychiatrist ward and coincides with lyrics from the song, such as Eminem being surrounded by his clones while singing the chorus: “will the real Slim Shady please stand up”, as well as dressing as the celebrities he insulted such as Britney Spears.

Release Date: 18th April 2000

Songwriter/s: Marshall Mathers, Andre Young, Tommy Coster & Mike Elizondo

Producer/s: Dr. Dre, Mel-Man

Label/s: Aftermath, Shady, Interscope

Music Video Release Date: April 2000

Music Video Director: Philip G. Atwell, Dr. Dre

Chart Rankings, Certifications, Accolades & Awards: When released, “The Real Slim Shady” went to #1 in four areas: Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and the UK Singles chart. It also grew in popularity in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil and Australia. The track is certificated Gold in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland, as well as Platinum in Sweden, the UK and Belgium. That’s not all the certifications “The Real Slim Shady” received, as it also went double Platinum in Canada, but 4 x Platinum in the US. In 2011, NME magazine placed the track at #80 on their “150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years”, as well as being placed on their “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list at #396. “The Real Slim Shady” has won various awards in both 2000 and 2001. In 2000, it won four awards: “Maximum Vision Video” and “Best Rap/Hip-Hop Clip of the Year” at the Billboard Music Awards. Still in 2000, it also won “Video of the Year” and “Best Male Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2001, the track won “Outstanding National Single” at the Detroit Music Awards and “Best Rap Solo Performance” at the Grammy awards.