Eminem
Slim Shady LP

THE REVIEW

The world of hip-hop (NB: meaning old school and not the electronic junk they play today) is certainly fascinating, but it is also an intricate maze where you must be very careful not to get lost. However, if you muster up the courage and venture into the discovery of an entire rap album, good luck. Not everyone manages to find their way back.

This time the maze is called "The Slim Shady LP" and the Minotaur to face is Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem. Released in 1999, the album presents itself as a revolutionary novelty: one of the inventors of gangsta-rap, who has collaborated with the best of the West Coast (we're naturally talking about Dr. Dre), decides to produce a young white rapper with cottoned hair, who has nothing to do with the Beastie Boys, the only example of significant white rap in the USA in the '90s, but who raps like the blacks of the West Coast. Possible? Apparently, yes, and the guy does quite well, with a flow second only to the sacred monsters of rap (2Pac, B.I.G.).

The protagonist of the album is Slim Shady, a young man who emerged from the Detroit ghetto to bring his Gospel made of drugs, self-celebration, stories of failed romances (I dare say tragically) and determined to impose himself at the top of the USA hip-hop scene. It’s not yet the Eminem we know from his more recent albums; his style is a bit immature, but overall Shady presents a good business card in the international market.

"My Name Is," the first track of the album, is a real forceful entry of Eminem into the music world, accompanied by the following song: "Guilty Conscience," a duet with producer Dre in which the two challenge each other to steer the actions of various people. The album features other noteworthy songs: from "Brain Damage" to "Role Model," from "Bad Meets Evil" to "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" (if you like gritty songs, this will be right up your alley).

Ultimately, if you manage not to get lost in albums with 20 songs (and endless skits!), certainly Eminem's debut album. And if you happen not to like it, given the overwhelming success he has had in recent years with mediocre hits like "Love the Way You Lie" or "I'm Not Afraid," I'm sure he would respond with the title of the best song from this debut album of his: "I Just Don't Give A Fuck".