"The Real Slim Shady" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third studio album The Marshall Mathers LP. It was released as the album's lead single on April 18, 2000; a month ahead of the album's release.
Background[]
"The Real Slim Shady" was not included on the original copy of The Marshall Mathers LP before its release. Interscope Records' Jimmy Iovine wanted Eminem to release a song to introduce the album, similar to how "My Name Is" was the lead single on The Slim Shady LP. Em wrote "The Real Slim Shady" just hours before the final copy of the album was due, the first single originally intended to be "Who Knew". The song is a critique of manufactured pop songs that were being churned out at the time.
Music video[]
Philip G. Atwell and Dr. Dre directed the music video, which was filmed from April 7-10, 2000. It features Eminem performing the song in a psychiatric ward, a local Detroit neighborhood nearside a park, a fast-food joint, the Grammy Awards, and even in a factory where multiple clones of the rapper are produced.
The video also features cameo appearances by Dr. Dre, D12, a lookalike of Kid Rock, Fred Durst, a lookalike of Carson Daly, Kathy Griffin, lookalikes of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, and even a stuffed Bill the Cat doll can also be seen being held in possession by one of the mental patients in the hospital scenes.
Actress and comedian Kathy Griffin, who is also known for insulting celebrities in her act, appears in the video as an attending nurse in a psychiatric ward. Griffin said during a July 21, 2005, interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that Eminem selected her for the video because fellow rapper Snoop Dogg told him she was "really funny."
The video also features Eminem dressed in the same superhero costume used by Tom Green in the "Lonely Swedish" video chasing a boy band, taking one of its members down to the ground and sits on his face. The costume can be seen later in the "Without Me" music video following the release of The Eminem Show.
| Video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2000 | |
| Director | Dr. Dre • Philip G. Atwell | |
| Producer | Chris Palladino | |
| Prod. Company | Geronimo Film Productions | |
| Cinematographer | Peter Selesnick | |
| Editor | Dan Lebental | |
| Colorist | Dave Hussey | |
| Length | 4:29 | |
Personnel[]
- Andre "Dr. Dre" Young – production, mixing
- Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
- Dan Lebental – editing
- Jim McCrone – engineering assistance
- Marshall "Eminem" Mathers – vocals, writing
- Melvin "Mel-Man" Bradford – writing, production
- Michelle Forbes – engineering assistance
- Mike Elizondo – writing, bass guitar
- Richard "Segal" Huredia – mixing, recording
- Tommy Coster, Jr. – writing, keyboards
Accolades[]
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Billboard Music Awards | Maximum Vision Video | Won |
| Best Rap/Hip-Hop Clip of the Year | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Music: Video | Nominated | |
| Choice Music: Summer Song | Nominated | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | Won | |
| Best Male Video | Won | ||
| Best Rap Video | Nominated | ||
| Best Direction | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Nominated | ||
| Viewer's Choice Award | Nominated | ||
| 2001 | Detroit Music Awards | Outstanding National Single | Won |
| Grammy Awards | Best Rap Solo Performance | Won |
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
May I have your attention, please?
May I have your attention, please?
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
I repeat
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
We're gonna have a problem here
[Verse 1]
Y'all act like you never seen a white person before
Jaws all on the floor like Pam; like Tommy just burst in the door
And started whoopin' her ass worse than before
They first were divorced, throwin' her over furniture (Agh)
It's the return of the "Oh, wait, no way, you're kidding
He didn't just say what I think he did, did he?"
And Dr. Dre said
Nothing, you idiots, Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement (Ha-ha)
Feminist women love Eminem
"Chicka-chicka-chicka, Slim Shady, I'm sick of him
Look at him, walkin' around, grabbin' his you-know-what
Flippin' the you-know-who", "Yeah, but he's so cute though"
Yeah, I probably got a couple of screws up in my head loose
But no worse than what's goin' on in your parents' bedrooms
Sometimes I wanna get on TV and just let loose
But can't, but it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose
"My bum is on your lips, my bum is on your lips"
And if I'm lucky, you might just give it a little kiss
And that's the message that we deliver to little kids
And expect them not to know what a woman's clitoris is
Of course, they're gonna know what intercourse is
By the time they hit fourth grade they've got the Discovery Channel, don't they?
We ain't nothin' but mammals
Well, some of us cannibals who cut other people open like cantaloupes
But if we can hump dead animals and antelopes
Then there's no reason that a man and another man can't elope
But if you feel like I feel, I got the antidote
Women, wave your pantyhose, sing the chorus, and it goes
[Chorus]
I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
[Verse 2]
Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records (Nope)
Well, I do, so fuck him, and fuck you too
You think I give a damn about a Grammy?
Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me
"But Slim, what if you win? Wouldn't it be weird?"
Why? So you guys could just lie to get me here?
So you can sit me here next to Britney Spears?
Yo, shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst
And hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
Little bitch put me on blast on MTV
"Yeah, he's cute, but I think he's married to Kim, hee-hee"
I should download her audio on MP3
And show the whole world how you gave Eminem VD (Agh)
I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups, all you do is annoy me
So I have been sent here to destroy you
And there's a million of us just like me
Who cuss like me, who just don't give a fuck like me
Who dress like me, walk, talk and act like me
And just might be the next best thing, but not quite me
[Chorus]
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
[Verse 3]
I'm like a head trip to listen to
'Cause I'm only givin' you things you joke about with your friends inside your livin' room
The only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all
And I don't gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all
I just get on the mic and spit it
And whether you like to admit it (Err), I just shit it
Better than ninety percent of you rappers out can
Then you wonder, "How can kids eat up these albums like Valiums?"
It's funny, 'cause at the rate I'm goin', when I'm thirty
I'll be the only person in the nursin' home flirting
Pinchin' nurse's asses when I'm jacking off with Jergens
And I'm jerking, but this whole bag of Viagra isn't working
And every single person is a Slim Shady lurkin'
He could be working at Burger King, spittin' on your onion rings (Ch, puh)
Or in the parkin' lot, circling, screaming, "I don't give a fuck!"
With his windows down and his system up
So will the real Shady please stand up
And put one of those fingers on each hand up?
And be proud to be out of your mind and out of control
And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?
[Chorus]
I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes, I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up?
[Outro]
Ha-ha
I guess there's a Slim Shady in all of us
Fuck it, let's all stand up
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
 Australia (ARIA)
|
11 |
 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
|
6 |
 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
|
7 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)
|
2 |
 Canada (RPM)
|
6 |
 Denmark (Tracklisten)
|
3 |
 Eurochart Hot 100 (Billboard)
|
1 |
 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)
|
6 |
 France (SNEP)
|
6 |
 Germany (GfK)
|
7 |
 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)
|
1 |
 Ireland (IRMA)
|
1 |
 Italy (FIMI)
|
4 |
 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|
5 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)
|
5 |
 New Zealand (RIANZ)
|
15 |
 Norway (VG-lista)
|
2 |
 Poland (Music & Media)
|
13 |
 Portugal (AFP)
|
2 |
 Romania (Romanian Top 100)
|
8 |
 Scotland (OCC)
|
1 |
 Spain (AFYVE)
|
6 |
 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)
|
3 |
 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)
|
2 |
 UK Singles (OCC)
|
1 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)
|
1 |
 US Billboard Hot 100
|
4 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)
|
19 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)
|
11 |
| US Pop Airplay (Billboard)
|
13 |
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)
|
7 |
| US Rhythmic (Billboard)
|
1 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
| Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)
|
20 |
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
| Global 200 (Billboard) | 59 |
 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)
|
67 |
 Lithuania (AGATA)
|
86 |
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
| Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)
|
94 |
 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)
|
58 |
Year-end charts[]
| Chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles (ARIA)
|
57 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
|
18 |
| Belgian (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
|
30 |
| Belgian (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)
|
10 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)
|
29 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|
44 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)
|
39 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 (Billboard)
|
10 |
| France (SNEP)
|
16 |
| Germany (GfK)
|
44 |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100)
|
60 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)
|
22 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)
|
5 |
| UK Singles (OCC)
|
14 |
| UK Urban (Music Week)
|
17 |
| US Billboard Hot 100
|
51 |
| Chart (2022) | Position |
| Australia (ARIA)
|
75 |
| Global 200 (Billboard) | 117 |
| Lithuania (AGATA)
|
71 |
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 11× Platinum | 770,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 25,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 50,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3× Platinum | 180,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 160,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 180,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 250,000* | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 3× Gold | 900,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 2× Platinum | 200,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 6× Platinum | 180,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | - | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4× Platinum | 40,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 60,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Platinum | 30,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 25,000** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 4× Platinum | 2,400,000*** | |
| [[File:|20px|link=]] 7× Platinum | 7,000,000*** | |
| Streaming | ||
| [[File:|20px|link=]] Gold | 1,000,000† | |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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