Author Topic: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?  (Read 1256 times)

Shawn Nutt

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"The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« on: June 18, 2007, 09:21:42 PM »
I was looking back at old Eminem stuff, and I listened to The Real Slim Shady for the first-time in over 5 years. If you think about it, it's actually not a pop song at all. He uses the same offensive style he used on every other song (including My Name Is & Just Don't Give A Fuck, both singles) around that time, and chose boundry-pushing topics.

Also, the chorus is a play on the game-show To Tell the Truth. The show's signature phrase is "Will the real _____ please stand up?"

Quote from: wikipedia.org
The song is a parody of manufactured pop songs that were being churned out at the time. It parodies these songs by including features of a typical pop song, a repetitive chrous etc. Most hardcore rap, and general music fans missed the irony, and classed this as a novelty pop song itself rather than a parody of one.

And with lyrics like this, I'm not surprised that it went #1.

I'm like a headtrip to listen to, 'cause I'm only givin' you,
Things you joke about with your friends inside your living room.
The only difference is I got the balls to say it,
Infront of y'all, and I don't gotta be false or sugar-coated at all.
I just get on the mic' and spit it,
And whether you like to admit it, I just shit it,
Better than 90% of you rappers out can. Then you wonder,
"How can kids eat up these albums like valiums?" It's funny.



What you think?
 

A-Zee

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2007, 09:58:10 PM »
No doubt man... Em is a fuckin genius... He spit raw shit, in the public limelight... He says it himself, he dont gotta suga-coat shit...

That song, an instant classic... When it came out, i was like whaa... Aint noone been played that much on T.V. sayin the shit he said...

His music is smart as...
 

T-Dogg

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2007, 11:15:50 PM »
I never knew about that game show shit ('cause I've never seen that here). The poppiness always came from the upbeat instrumental, not the lyrics.
 

weedhead

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2007, 12:23:51 AM »
HE was nice.now he jus ice. 8)
 

Elevz

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2007, 03:21:24 AM »
That's funny - just two days ago I was at the gym running on one of these treadmills with an in-built tv, and I was watching some flashback show on MTV. The Real Slim Shady came on, and I didn't have any earphones to listen to it but reading his lips I could closely follow everything he said... I thought - wow, that's actually a really decent song. It's indeed the upbeat pop instrumental that's messing it up somewhat, but the song itself is extremely decent, as is the video. Good old days...
 

Meho

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2007, 03:22:13 AM »
Classic joint. Even in these days, when he has that wierd flow and stuff like that, to me hes still better than the majority of rappers out today. Even when he makes those goofy songs, theyre more lyrical and creative than most of the raps out right now.
 

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2007, 03:30:08 AM »
Yes, he truly is a genius.  He couldn't have came out with a more perfect single than that one.  Because he stayed true to himself and his style, yet at the same time it was a huge pop hit and his album sold 1.7 million in the first week.  The song was so timely, it really expressed the movement and connection he had made with his fans.  Absolutely incredible, that whole album was sensational.  That was when he officially became the new standard bearer in hip-hop. 

His first album was also incredible, but it was out of place.  It kind of came to us out of nowhere.  His third album, was kind of just a great emcee making a great album, just what we had came to expect.  But that second album, was not only phenomenal but the TIMING of the album, it came out right after the "Forgot About Dre" video had blown up, and this dude was on fire... He had his hand on the pulse of America at that time, and his hand on the pulse of hip-hop and he represented underground hip-hop, his disenfranchised fans, and at the same time it was a big huge pop hit.  Dude sold 1.7 million the first week, and that was when NAPSTER WAS HUGE.  Not only that, the first week he had that situation where he had gotten arrested for pistol-whipping that dude who was with "Kim" and the UP In Smoke Tour was taking off... it was just a crazy time.
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Elevz

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2007, 04:31:23 AM »
Yes, he truly is a genius.  He couldn't have came out with a more perfect single than that one.  Because he stayed true to himself and his style, yet at the same time it was a huge pop hit and his album sold 1.7 million in the first week.  The song was so timely, it really expressed the movement and connection he had made with his fans.  Absolutely incredible, that whole album was sensational.  That was when he officially became the new standard bearer in hip-hop. 

His first album was also incredible, but it was out of place.  It kind of came to us out of nowhere.  His third album, was kind of just a great emcee making a great album, just what we had came to expect.  But that second album, was not only phenomenal but the TIMING of the album, it came out right after the "Forgot About Dre" video had blown up, and this dude was on fire... He had his hand on the pulse of America at that time, and his hand on the pulse of hip-hop and he represented underground hip-hop, his disenfranchised fans, and at the same time it was a big huge pop hit.  Dude sold 1.7 million the first week, and that was when NAPSTER WAS HUGE.  Not only that, the first week he had that situation where he had gotten arrested for pistol-whipping that dude who was with "Kim" and the UP In Smoke Tour was taking off... it was just a crazy time.

And not long after that, he dropped Stan.
 

wcsoldier

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2007, 04:32:47 AM »
When you listen to the 99-2000 Em then the 04-07 version, it's kinda hard to believe it's the same artist  :'(
 

wcsoldier

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2007, 04:36:46 AM »
Not only that, the first week he had that situation where he had gotten arrested for pistol-whipping that dude who was with "Kim" and the UP In Smoke Tour was taking off... it was just a crazy time.
Yeah that 99-01 era was crazy.. Em, Dre, Snoop, , Xzbit all of them droppin very good songs/albums ... I'm still waiting for another era like that one... but there are very little chances to happen again
 

Rebel

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2007, 05:34:03 AM »
Out of his 4 solo albums, that was his best lead/commercial single.
 

3331

Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2007, 07:59:23 AM »
when dre first signed him i was like why'd he sign this wack white boy. only a couple years ago when rakim said he was the greatest i checked him again and saw what was great about him. lyrically he's amazing, he's pretty different, and behind the humour he says a lot of real shit. i think the young kids from the burbs only look at him at surface level.
 

Shawn Nutt

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #12 on: June 19, 2007, 08:50:10 AM »
^ exactly... i used to be the same way, up until a few years ago... i realized that he wasnt just popular, he was good...

The Marshall Mathers LP had no "radio-friendly" songs on it, so at the last minute Dre made an up-beat song, and Em rapped over it the same way he normally does. I guess the radio executives thought it was a pop-song as well. So did I until I actually listened to it again.
 

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #13 on: June 19, 2007, 09:52:45 AM »
That's funny, a few weeks ago the video came on TV and I was listening to it and I was like DAMN, this is miles ahead of everything else out right now lyrically... On one of his most commercial pop songs, Em's lyrics were still :o
 

Oklin

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Re: "The Real Slim Shady" a genius?
« Reply #14 on: June 19, 2007, 09:57:52 AM »
It was a hit because the only thing the mainstream audience is listening to are the hook and the beat.