The Slim Shady EP

Infobox Album |
Name = The Slim Shady EP
Type = EP
Artist = Eminem


Released = December 10, 1997
Recorded = 1997
Genre = Underground Hip Hop
Length = 41:14
Label = Web
Producer = Eminem
Bass Brothers
Mr. Porter
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fifpxqualdfe link]
Last album = "Infinite"
(1996)
This album = "The Slim Shady EP"
(1997)
Next album = "The Slim Shady LP"
(1999)

"The Slim Shady EP" is a 1997 EP release by rapper Eminem on the Detroit-based record label Web Entertainment. "The Slim Shady EP" was released on cassette and CD. Eminem sold roughly 5,000 copies of this EP independently.

Eminem first introduced his "Slim Shady" persona on this EP, and his lyrics are a marked departure from those found on "Infinite", featuring constant references to drug use, sexual acts, mental instability, and over-the-top violence. Another departure was his exploration of more serious themes of dealing with poverty, his direct and self-deprecating response to criticism, and of marital and family difficulties. His flow is also noticeably different than on "Infinite"; whereas critics claimed he sounded too much like Nas and AZ on that album. Eminem also began utilizing a more complex rhyme structure and clever story telling on this EP. The production value of the music on the tracks — from previous collaborators DJ Head, The Bass Brothers, and Mr. Porter — was also noticeably higher than on prior album efforts.

Unlike "Infinite", "The Slim Shady EP" gained Eminem significant underground attention and eventually garnered the interest of famous West Coast hip-hop producer Dr. Dre, who subsequently signed Eminem to his fledgling Aftermath label, and executive-produced his breakthrough major-label debut "The Slim Shady LP".

The album cover depicts the opening skit as well as the first track, in which Slim Shady (a character which Eminem apparently "killed" in the past) awakens Eminem and orders him to look in the mirror to see that he is "nothing without him". Eminem resists and screams in the background while Slim Shady yells back and laughs at Eminem's horror. By the second track, Eminem and Slim Shady become the same person. Em is also ordered by "Slim Shady" to look into a mirror, and the sound of glass breaking is heard, alluding once again to the cover. In the When I'm Gone video, Eminem breaks a mirror which him in it, probably to "kill" Slim Shady (Interestingly, he says "Die Shady" in the lyrcs before the mirror breaks).

Promotional releases

Web Entertainment released a promotional version of The Slim Shady EP in the Fall of 1997. It was a four-track cassette. The four songs on the cassette were, "Just Don't Give A Fuck", "Murder, Murder", "Just The Two Of Us", "Low Down, Dirty". These cassettes were handed out for free by Eminem at local Detroit Hip Hop shows, as well as at the infamous Rap Olympics in 1997 in Los Angeles. Also, in late 1997, there was a 12" vinyl pressing of a "Just Don't Give A Fuck" single. It featured four versions of "Just Don't Give A Fuck" (Dirty, Radio, Instrumental, Accapella), as well as "Just The Two Of Us" and "Low Down, Dirty".

Unsigned Hype

Eminem was featured in the March 1998 edition of The Source magazine's, "Unsigned Hype" column. The author of the column highlighted two tracks from Eminem's "The Slim Shady EP;" "Just The Two Of Us," and "Murder, Murder." The column was written about a month or two prior to Eminem's record deal with Aftermath Entertainment but wasn't published until March 1998. Being featured as an "unsigned hype" in "The Source" gave Eminem's career a great boost.Fact|date=June 2008

Track listing

amples/Interpolations

Low Down, Dirty
*"Soopaman Luva 3" by Redman
*"One More Chance (Remix)" by Notorious B.I.G.

"'Just The Two Of Us
*"Just The Two of Us" by Grover Washington, Jr.

No One's Iller
*"Wildflower" by Hank Crawford

Murder, Murder
*"50 Ways To Leave Your Love" by Paul Simon
*"Outlaw" by 2Pac
*"No One's Iller" by Eminem

References