It's really great to see a guy like this that makes no apologies for what he thinks and believes. Doesn't care who he might offend. Believe it or not, that is an incredible character trait. He is simply incredible...
A brief story on his second album, The Marshall Mathers LP, this was the lead single but it was also the last song he recorded for it. Initially when he turned in the album the label told him he needed a big first single like "My Name Is," his first smash hit, for the pop charts and radio stations. At the time the closest thing on the record would have been "Stan." Out of anger and frustration he went back in the studio and recorded "The Way I Am" and later this song, which both turned out to be his biggest records to date. "The Way I Am" is not only one of his best songs, it's one of his most honest, and it's a must listen!
The part with the two guys kissing wasn't Eminem saying "eww", the noise he made was Ken Kaniff's voice, which is Eminem's gay character. He usually features the Ken character on skits. Despite what people thought back in the day because of certain shock value lyrics, Eminem is actually very pro LGBTQ+. He's even best friends with Elton John and his husband.
People just got hung up over his use of the word "faggot" in his lyrics and judge him by the values of what's acceptable within their own little circle.
@@kimzwolinski9919 Yeah that was one of the most iconic performances ever. Em was on top of the world at that time. I do respect Christina honestly. She handled all that shit like nothing and her career was actually real, with legit talent. Everyone else folded like a lawn chair when Em went at them.
Not gonna lie I was nervous at first but I’m beyond jazzed that you’re enjoying the light, funny songs now too. Also fun fact: after the Will Smith line he asked somebody who was close to Will if he was mad about it, since that wasn’t the intention of the line. Will had also said, and I think he said it before this song came out but don’t quote me, that Em will “either be the biggest flop in hip hop, or the biggest thing ever seen in hip hop.”
You really need to think about when this was released for so much of the context. Em was the first "real" white rapper, which was super controversial, and so much of this song had to be censored. Not to mention MTV had no clue how to classify him, cause he's white, and white rappers weren't a thing (Mark Wahlberg and Vanilla Ice do NOT count), and they had rap on for like 1 hour a day (Yo MTV Raps), but rappers were all black, and white singers could be on anytime, so they were baffled how to handle Em.
The progression from the early reactions to these is amazing. Larry catches more bars than most guys on RU-vid and hasn’t even scratched the surface of rap yet. Great work as always
Thanks so much, Fergus! One of the main reasons that I might be catching extra stuff is the community is totally giving me some great back stories that helps put these pieces together. Thanks so much for your kind words!
@@larryshair absolutely, the community on this channel is so wholesome and supportive it’s so nice to see. Whatever the next video is, I’m here for it!
Lol I knew you'd get a kick out of this one. It's hilarious that he plays all the characters in these videos. He was hilarious as Brittany Spears. The only one you should do next is "MY Name Is" the very first song he and Dre made together
Just a bit of context: this was the late 90s, and a lot of what Em's talking about is the most popular MTV music (boy bands, pop singers, and yes Will Smith's PG-rated rap albums haha) was kind of generic, and almost pre-packaged for mass consumption. But at the same time MTV would show Tom Green doing raunchy stuff, and there was definite marketing of sexuality from these supposed family-oriented groups (stuff like Britney Spears marketing herself as a virgin but also dressing up in provocative outfits in her videos, etc). So a big part of this was pointing out the hypocrisy of it all, and Em sort of taking pride in not being some formulaic marketing gimmick for the music industry. Love your channel, keep up the great work!
Watch the real slim shady live at the MTV music awards 2000. He did one of the most memorable hip hop performances in history. He literally had 100s of people dressed like him and when he said will the real slim shady please stand up. All of them stood up in the crowd n came to him on stage
I have been listening to Em since I was 13, I am now 30 and still catching new bars! Im not sure if you’ll see this comment but I am so so glad you found your appreciation for him, no matter if you were biased before. You’re one of us now and can enjoy Em. Im so glad especially seeing the genuine joy in your face!
You should react to : “without me” as follow up to this song. “Love the way you lie” as a follow up to “97 Bonnie and Clyde”. So many amazing songs yet to discover. His Catalog is amazingly rich.
Pam and Tommy of course, this album was a couple years after the... ahem... video release. I remember it clearly... took me at least 3 hours to download on a 56k modem!
I think you misheard the Grammy reference. He doesn't care for Grammies because those organisations can't stomach Eminem to his fullest. He didn't say grannies :-p love your reactions :-)
My Brother died of suicide a few days ago and we'd listen to your stuff together when it came to Eminem. We were both massive Em fans and he was my older brother who got me into him. I don't really know what I'm trying to say here. Just we both enjoyed your reactions a lot. I still do. Love them even if I'm a bit negative sometimes
This brings back such great nostalgia for me, and I loved to see you laughing and enjoying the song! Slim Shady was such a troll, but pretty much everyone was fair game. 🤣 Yes, “My Name Is” and “Without Me” are Slim Shady essentials, but another one I think is a must is “Brain Damage.” It’s essentially a dark comic book take on a real life traumatic event. I’ll be here for all the Em reactions, in whichever order they appear. (I’m actually here for most of your reactions, I’m just the most passionate about the Em ones. ☺️) As you said, he is an Embrandt. He is a brilliant artist with a crazy diverse catalogue. But speaking of how he can “paint” a picture…just wait until you dig more into the Relapse: Refill album. Lots of vivid picture painting going on there. Most of those pictures are horrifying, 🫣😅, but masterful.
You've officially been inducted into the Stan family with all these Em reaction videos Larry 😂. Not because of the videos, but the fact that you understand the art of the lyrics, the poetry behind it. You appreciate the truth that he's been telling his whole carreer. What he stands for as a rapper and person. And maybe the most important; the fact that he has been proven right uncountable times about situations, celebrities and the sh*t people talked about him. 😎😎💪
I love that you're doing some of his earlier music! The Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP are both just iconic. So many amazing songs. Then the newer music is equally amazing with bars on bars on bars. He's definitely an Rembrandt!
@@larryshair Better now. Just heard from son number two! Been sooo long. I'm about to cry but had to tell someone. It was a lovely nessage from him btw.
I enjoyed how much of a kick you got out of this one. I'd recommend doing a reaction to the other members of the Slim Shady trilogy, My Name Is and Without Me.
I’m so excited that not only was he nominated for hall of fame , but he is being inducted!!! I’ve been a fan from the beginning. To me is a poet. He is funny, and disrespectful, but wise and insightful. I just adore him. Watching him evolve over the years has been a gift.
OMG! You have reached the eye of the hurricane.....And as always it is a pleasure to listen to you...you see his material without prejudice and you understand what a true artist is....you may like it or not but you cannot deny that he is an artist
When you read about horror and shock rap, how it started and evolved you can really see how he blended and master them. Also mixing humor, real life events and fiction together. Rap is an verbal art form and he's one of the best
Beautiful reaction! So glad you could see all the humor and satire. To me its definitely what makes him stand out and who does it better than him?!?!?! Hes the goat with that for sure. To me he's the 🐐 period but in this lane.... class of his own.
Classic, probably my favorite Em video... Also Kim is a masterpiece of storytelling, it's not something you bump all of the time but it's a must listen, he poured out his black soul on that one
Slim did an excellent job at making all the contradictions known by way of various comparisons. He did it with skill and great humor. He’s not anti-anything except anti-distortions. I really enjoyed this brother. Thank you. I first heard this the week it came out. I was about 20. It’s even more valuable today than ever. I think I wrote f you can do Eminem’s song Baby. It’s a powerful track
You often compare Eminem to the greatest painters, and you are right. In Rhyme or Reason (you should definitely check it out) he has references to Michelangelo and Picasso. „I'm loco/It's like handing a psycho a loaded handgun/Michelangelo with a paint gun in a tantrum...I'm also vain and Probably find a way to complain about a Picasso painting“. P.S. Love yours reaction
Its been awhile since I heard this cause it was sooo played out when I was kid. But Damn, I didn’t realize how crazy the rhymes and flows were in this silly song. After he blew up with sslp, he totally showed the world how talented he is on mmlp with his technical skills. Mmlp and Eminem show the greatest back to back albums.!
Did you notice the Eminem "cameos" in this? As the news reporter, and as Britney Spears? 😂 (There is a short clip on RU-vid where Em gets into his Britney makeup.) And the superhero chasing those young guys was Em going after Boygroups. They were really popular at the time, and Em has expressed in Interviews his dislike of them bc they were so inauthentic in his eyes.
This song is quite nostalgic for so many of us. We grew up listening to Em's music and our parents hated it. A lot of people saw the genius in his lyrics and videos. I remember listening to his first album on a cassette tape in my older sister's bedroom. Something in my head went off as I never heard something quite like this. ❤️
The line about 'dead Dre' was referring to the first hit of Em 'My name is' where Dre said: "Slim Shady you are basehead". And here Em says like Dre says nothing:)
Love the Eminem reactions so much get so excited when I see a new one posted :) would love to see you react to going through changes from the recovery album. Chills all around 👌
Yes!! A little background.. this song helped skyrocket his career to crazy levels.. and this song was playing on every pop or rap radio station like 24/7 when it came out. It was much different than anything anyone had heard because the beat was so different and the way he just openly talked about other celebrities was so different at the time. Next you need to do “my name is” it’s very very similar to this song
Man I remember this track dropping like it was yesterday!! I was still in school, last few months of school then free into the big wide world. How was that 22 years ago!? Amazing video as ALWAYS! Keep em coming!
Great reaction to one of the earlier tunes. I have seen other react channels and find your the best to watch as you actually have something to say. I'm digging the positive vibes. Looking forward to what's next.
Good to see you have fun with a track again. As you've seen in this one he does make references to pop culture, so thankfully you have lived through his career and you should be able to make the connections.
This is about to get EPIC! The Real Slim Shady was the first Eminem song I ever heard (knowingly and knowing that it was Em, at least) and 22 years later I can still remember vibing to this on the school bus with a friend, one headphone in each of our ears as we rapped along with him. Quietly of course, so as not to embarrass ourselves or disturb others, but still. It is one of my best childhood/teen memories. Looking forward to this SO FREAKING MUCH! Let's go!!! Almost done and it is just as epic as I thought it would be. I haven't smiled this big or laughed this much in god knows how long. One small thing: the line in verse 3 is "It's funny, 'cause at the rate I'm going, when I'm thirty I'll be the only person in the nursing home flirting..." I point this out because he was only 28 when The Marshall Mathers LP dropped, which this is the first song on. Put into context, he was implying that with all the drugs and alcohol and everything else he was doing, he was going to end up in the nursing home within 2 years. As we know, it wasn't a nursing home but a rehab center, and it was in 2005, rather than 2002, when he turned 30, that he took his 4-year hiatus (and which of course includes the 2007 OD, which nearly killed him). So those lines are actually somewhat prophetic and truly have a larger significance than you might first think.
And Embrandt? Seriously? He’s changing the way you think! As a father you’ve already have been blessed the gift of puns, but there’s clear evidence of Em’s influence on your thought process, wordplay, doubles etc... It’s pretty special.
You have come a long way. Now you know a bit of hip hop history. No other pastor is doing this. I love your message after also because you are real. Love all the em tracks.
Please react to this song when he did it at the "MTV Awards" that was insane, and also when he performed with Elton John with gay rights protestors outside and then curtain drops and Elton John is on stage with Eminem, goes down to this day at best duo ever at the awards. Also NF is a industry plant who only raps one song pretty much saying same shit all the time, where Eminem has all of the flows all of it, NF is a one dimensional artist and that's the thing, NF had a couple of hits but he won't last long bc rap changes and Eminem understands that and his albums have a bit of everything, but with rappers like NF it's one demension, ghost writing all that it's not "hip hop"
Really cool to see you start digging into his earlier music now. You've got a unique perspective having reacted to his career more or less backwards. But as this and Kim shows, you have a better understanding of the critiques he was making about society at the time, and where he was at with his relationships, instead of just being shocked at the lyrics and dismissing him.
The mtv awards video in 2002 of this song at radio city music hall is pretty epic, imo. Em did The Way I Am, at this live awards show too. I was so fortunate to see it live. Amazing. Great reaction as usual Chris. Thx, blessings and stay safe to u and ALL.
Larry, great reaction to another Eminem song. Can’t get enough. Keep up the good work. My next request, “the way I am” from Eminem. Don’t stop reacting to Eminem!
I love that you laughed and had fun with this. I was a teenager when Eminem was in his prime. So these are all my jams! And fyi Em is actually really funny in his music and real life. If you look up his interviews there are some hilarious ones.
