When a well-respected underground emcee crosses over to mainstream, typically two things are most common to occur. On the one hand, the emcee will keep his original, rugged, and hungry style and drop a video and attempt to have it accepted by the masses as a new, ecleptic form of hip-hop. Unfortunately, (and sadly), this world is loaded with idiocy and the closed-minded fans of commercial hip-hop absolutely refuse to accept true hip-hop, complex intelligent lyricism, and rugged sounds which make the underground such an amazing genre of hip-hop. On the other hand, there is an alternative. The emcee can completely change up his style, to appeal to the masses, and become what i like to call "jiggy". Many emcees have basically commited the act of "selling-out", as theyve completely given up all of the talent that the underground, true fans adored over sales and exposure. Unfortunately, that is the relative problem with the music industry when it comes to rap... this always happens... until 1999 when everything changed.

All of this changed when N.W.A. alumni and hugely successful west coast producer and rapper Dr. Dre got his hands on a tape full of Eminem's sh*t. He wasted no time in seeking out the young emcee and getting a record deal immediately. Eminem signed a deal with the doc and immediately went to work on his debut, full length LP. Eminem hit the mainstream in 1999 with the amazing Slim Shady LP. Eminem's success was unbelievable and at last he did what few could do... keep his style and sell records. Some say it was because he was white... but i think that true skill, creativity, and appeal cannot be ignored...

Track List & Rating

If you haven't heard this track yet, i suggest that you are either braindead, deaf, or stupid, as it is the lead-single. Featuring a twist on the classic G-Funkish Dr. Dre sounds, Dre laces a classic beat for Eminem to showcase his unique, witty, and humorous storytelling, introducing his alter-ego Slim Shady to the world. He touches on his troubled past, the fact that he thinks he is going insane, and his inner desires. He drops a couple of names, but overall tones the controversy down a bit to just shock humor, which is reminiscent of one of Eminem's idols Redman.

Eminem has always been an ill emcee and a great storyteller, even when he touches on his very own childhood. On "Brain Damage", Eminem's lyricism is higher in quality than any of the aforementioned tracks and he steps it up with his vocabulary. Featuring some sombre, almost mafiosio guitar flicks, and thumping bass done beautifully by Mel Man, Eminem drops some unbelievable stories about his insanely troubled childhood ranging from being bullied in school, to his mother's negligence, and his early use of drugs. The song is a nice mixture of fact and fiction due to the fact that Em often overexaggerates the tales... but always tells them with charisma and humor, and of course, a multi-syllable flow and ill punches. The song is a beautiful look into the very mind of Marshall Mathers and a classic.

The controversy hits a new high on "97 Bonnie and Clyde".

"Role Model" is the third lead single from this album. The feel of the album kicks up a notch to a more light-hearted tone, featuring some beautiful guitar flicks, drum loop and hard clap, and thumping bass, Eminem returns to his comical, humorous songs. Eminem uses a hilarious form of sarcasm, speaking as to how good of a role model he is, as he loves to kill, do drugs, and poke fun at bad events. To be honest, this track is loaded with thousands upon thousands of memorable lines which will drive heads insane with laughter such as: "You beef wit me, I'ma even the score equally, Take you on Jerry Springer, and beat your a** legally, I get you blunted off of funny home grown, Cause when I smoke out I hit the trees harder than Sonny Bono", "My rap style's warped, I'm runnin out the morgue, witcha dead grandmother's corpse to throw it on your porch", and "I'm bout as normal as Norman Bates, with deformative traits, A premature birth that was four minutes late, Mother.. are you there? I love you, I never meant to hit you over the head with that shovel, Will someone explain to my brain that I just severed a main vein with a chainsaw and I'm in pain?". Unbelievable....

Following the same trend of depressing songs like "If I Had" and "97 Bonnie and Clyde", Eminem continues with an introspective, thought-provoking, and poetic track. This song is completely serious and void of very little humor with the exception of Em's somewhat witty lines about poverty. Lyrically, this is untouchable, with a multi-syllable flow, inventive similes, and unbelievable use of vocabulary. The instrumental is beautiful and shows exactly how good Dre can be when he tries, as we get a haunting, sort of sombre track, providing a more-than perfect atmosphere for Eminem to drop ill rhymes over. You can truly feel Eminem's poverty and frustration with living the poor life and he is frankly sick of it. The emotion is something rarely heard from Marshall, but when he pulls it off its always magic, and this is no exception. This track ranks highly as one of my absolute favorite Eminem songs ever. Still don't believe me? Check this out: "I feel like I'm walkin a tight rope, without a circus net. Poppin perkaset, I'm a nervous wreck, I deserve respect; but I work and sweat for this worthless check, I'm bout to burst this tech at somebody to reverse this debt, Minimum wage got my adrenaline caged, Full of venom and rage, 'specially when I'm engaged, and my daughter's down to her last diaper, it's got my a** hyper, I pray that God answers, maybe I'll ask nicer, Watchin ballers while they flossin in they Pathfinders, These overnight stars becomin autograph signers, We all long to blow up and leave the past behind us, Along with the small fry's and average half pinters, But playa haters turnin b*tch like they have vaginas, Cause we see them dollar signs and let the cash blind us, Money'll brainwash you and leave yo' a** mindless when snakes slither in the grass spineless".

After a short, spoken-word intro we get the final track on the album giving us a beautiful, and perfectly fitting closure. Immediately, from the onset of the song, it is easy to see exactly why Eminem is considered one of the greatest emcees of all time... coming on the track with some furious introductory lyrics: "I'm zonin off of one joint, stoppin a limo, Hopped in the window, shoppin a demo at gunpoint, A lyricist without a clue, what year is this?, F*ck a needle, here's a sword, bodypierce with this... Livin amuk, never givin a f*ck, Gimme the keys I'm drunk, and I've never driven a truck, But I smoke dope in a cab, I'll stab you with the sharpest knife I can grab, Come back the next week and re-open your scab". Just with those lyrics its enough to see exactly how ill he is. Backed by haunting production featuring thumping bass, piano loops, and hard drum claps, the melodic feel is a masterpiece. Eminem sort of pays homage to all of those who never said he would make it, and sort of shoves it in their face. He uses a mixture of his Slim Shady and Eminem personas, as he is still vicious and angry, but stays comical. This is the absolute perfect way to close to Slim Shady LP.