The ’90s revival is real. Doc Marten’s are back in style. ’90s TV reboots are all the rage. Even compact disc sales recently increased for the first time in two decades.
Yep, the ’90s are back, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in music. Blink-182 recently reunited for a major worldwide tour. Bush and Hootie and the Blowfish are back; even NSYNC is talking reunion. Hell, Creed (who isn’t as bad nor reviled as some like to recall) has a major summer tour on the books.
So, forget looking ahead, or even enjoying the moment; let’s take a look back. Starting today, on a semi-recurring basis, the Press will deep-dive an album that dropped on that particular month in the ’90s. Some were well-received. Others not. Some have held up. Others, far from it. Some marked an artist’s critical or commercial peak. Others simply set the table for more greatness to come. Regardless, they all helped constitute a decade that ranks among the most influential in music history.
This is “The Way it Was.”
The artist: Eminem
The album: The Slim Shady LP
The release date: February 23, 1999
The backstory: Marshall Bruce Mathers III was at his end by 1997. He was broke, unemployed, fighting with his girlfriend (and mother to his infant daughter) and battling addiction and depression so severe that he once attempted suicide. Mathers had recorded a hip-hop debut under the moniker of Eminem (perhaps you’ve heard of him); it was called Infinite, and it flopped. Badly.
This could have ended the way many before it had – tragically.
So, out of options and at the end of his rope, Eminem created a violent alter ego – Slim Shady (perhaps you’ve heard of him too) – and recorded The Slim Shady EP. The EP eventually found its way to Interscope Records head Jimmy Iovine, who passed it along to friend and colleague Dr. Dre. Eminem hooked up with the legendary producer and spent much of the next year recording what would become his major label debut – The Slim Shady LP.
The impact: Significant would be an understatement, and changing the cultural landscape of hip-hop and pop music might be a bit of a reach, though The Slim Shady LP certainly landed closer to the latter than the former. Simply put, this album hit, and thanks in part to the contributions and notoriety of Dr. Dre, it hit instantaneously.
Bolstered by its lead single – the comical but dark “My Name Is” – The Slim Shady LP debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It remained on that chart for an astounding 100 weeks.
Eminem’s gift, and what would become the catalyst for one of the most commercially successful careers in music history, was his unique ability to blend humor, violence and angst. “My Name Is” has a cartoonish beat; it also speaks to addiction, suicide and parental abandonment. “Brain Damage” is hilarious; it also details a tough upbringing chock-full of bullying and familial instability. “Guilty Conscience?” Take a listen.
In other instances, Eminem threw humor to the side, and things got bleak. Fast. He throws his late girlfriend into a lake (the album’s cover indicates how she came to meet her fate) on “97 Bonnie & Clyde.” “Still Don’t Give a F**k” lives up to its name. And “Rock Bottom” almost reads like a suicide note.
Pretty dark subject matter, but in addition to the music-buying public, The Slim Shady LP received near-universal critical acclaim and even won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2000. For good measure, Eminem would claim that title again in 2001 and 2003.
Was The Slim Shady LP shocking? Sure. Disturbing? No doubt. Brilliant? Unquestionably.
The legacy: If The Slim Shady LP had flopped, it’s safe to assume Eminem’s life might have ended up poorly. Hell, even with fame and fortune, it still almost did. But it didn’t flop; quite the opposite. Rather, The Slim Shady LP set the table for one of the greatest runs in pop culture history.
Between 1999-2004, Eminem released four multi-platinum albums, won nine Grammys, starred in a critically acclaimed, pseudo-autobiographical movie (“8 Mile,” which made nearly $250 million worldwide), released a hit soundtrack from that movie and won an Academy Award for its lead single, “Lose Yourself.” Not a bad run.
Biggest track: “My Name Is” accomplished its goal. It was radio- and MTV-friendly and was just accessible enough to pique interest before The Slim Shady LP dropped the following month. It’s also a damn-near perfect pop song, and the colorful, cartoonish music video was tailor-made for the “Total Request Live” crowd, which only helped further juice commercial sales and public intrigue.
Best track: “Rock Bottom,” if only because it was written by a man at his absolute lowest. You can feel the pain in the lyrics, and it’s real. You only get one shot. Eminem made the most of his, and then some.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
