Peak
36
Weeks
10
Score
976
Chart Year
1999
This introduced the character "Slim Shady." Eminem claims to have three characters he uses: Marshal Mathers (his real name), Eminem, and Slim Shady. "In the video, Em taps on the inside of the TV, literally interrupting American culture with a nasal, grating, 'HI!' Then he lays out a manifesto of who he is, where he's from, what he thinks about everything, and by the end of the song, you've either bought in, or not," says Music, Lyrics, and Life author Mike Errico. "But he made sure no one was left sitting on the fence. It's an ultimate Mission Song." The warbley rhythm that forms the backing track is built around a sample of a 1975 song called "I Got The..." by Labi Siffre. Siffre is a gay activist, so before he let Eminem use his song, he insisted that he change the line: "My English teacher wanted to have sex in junior high. The only problem was, my English teacher was a guy." to: "My English teacher wanted to flunk me in junior high. Thanks a lot, next semester I'll be 35." Eminem's producer Dr. Dre claimed they finished this song in only an hour or two. It was the first time they worked together in the studio, and the pair had an instant connection. Dre told Esquire in 2013: "I put the track on, we had a little bit of idle chitchat, I put on the beat, and maybe five seconds in - I swear to God - he goes, 'Hi, my name is.' That was it. And it's still clicking." Dre and Em recorded three other songs that day that were also included on the album. Eminem got so tired of the song that after a while, he only played snippets of it in his concerts, often stopping the song to declare he was sick of it. The video parodies many popular figures like Bill Clinton and Marilyn Manson. Eminem repeated this technique on many more of his videos. Report this ad Before the Slim Shady LP was released, an uncensored version was available on the Internet. The original lyrics on the dirty version of the song were: "Raping lesbians while they're screaming, 'Let's just be friends." The version on the CD was changed to "Running over pedestrians while they're screaming, 'Let's just be friends.'" >> The song this samples, "I Got The...," was also used on Jay-Z's 1997 track "Streetz Iz Watching," although Jay used a different part of the song. Chas Hodges played the guitar on the original, and Dave Peacock played the bass. They later formed Chas & Dave, which had a number of hits in the UK across a four-decade career. At the time, they were session musicians. The group Insane Clown Posse, who has a long-running feud with Eminem, did a parody of this called "Slim Anus" that they played on The Howard Stern Show. As you can imagine, the lyrics were not kind to Eminem. This contains the line, "My mom smokes more dope than I do." Eminem's mother, Debbie Mathers-Briggs, sued him shortly after the song became a hit, claiming that her son had slandered her on the record. They settled out of court for $25,000. Eminem recalled his mother sending someone to serve a lawsuit in an annotated comment on Rap Genius. "Right after the first single came out, I did a signing at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square," the Detroit MC recalled. "While I was there, I got served by a court processor. They knew where I'd be, and they had to physically serve me. The guy got tackled. He was stupid. You don't need to physically serve someone anymore, like in the movies. But the guy was being a cowboy. It was some lawsuit from my mother, I think." Soon after the song was released, the NFL used it in a commercial featuring a guy named Joe who answered the question, "My Name Is..." with "Joe." Looking back at this breakout song during a 2013 interview with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, Eminem said: "I understood that 'My Name Is' was funny and that it was a little kitschy. The whole record was tongue-in-cheek. I still do a lot of records like that. That record was almost my anti-pop song. It was my 'hello' and 'f--k you' to the world at the same time. I never understood how that became a pop song."
Hi, my name is (what?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (what?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (what?) (Excuse me) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Can I have the attention of the class for one second?) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (what?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, kids, do you like violence? (Yeah, yeah, yeah) Wanna see me stick nine-inch nails, through each one of my eyelids? (Uh-huh) Wanna copy me and do exactly like I did? (Yeah, yeah) Try 'cid and get fucked up worse that my life is? (Huh?) My brain's dead weight, I'm tryna get my head straight But I can't figure out which Spice Girl I want to impregnate (oh) And Dr. Dre said, "Slim Shady you a base-head" (uh-uh) "So why's your face red? Man, you wasted" Well, since age twelve, I've felt like I'm someone else 'Cause I hung my original self from the top bunk with a belt Got pissed off and ripped Pamela Lee's tits off And smacked her so hard I knocked her clothes backwards like Kris Kross I smoke a fat pound of grass and fall on my ass Faster than a fat bitch who sat down too fast Come here, slut, "Shady, wait a minute, that's my girl, dawg" I don't give a fuck, God sent me to piss the world off Hi, my name is (what?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (what?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (what?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (what?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) My English teacher wanted to flunk me in junior high (shh) Thanks a lot, next semester I'll be thirty five I smacked him in his face with an eraser Chased him with a stapler Stapled his nuts to a stack of papers (ow) Walked in the strip club, had my jacket zipped up Flashed the bartender, then stuck my dick in the tip cup Extraterrestrial, running over pedestrians in a spaceship While they screamin' at me, "Let's just be friends" Ninety-nine percent of my life I was lied to I just found out my mom does more dope than I do (damn) I told her I'd grow up to be a famous rapper Make a record about doin' drugs and name it after her (oh, thank you) You know you blew up when the women rush your stands Try to touch your hands like some screamin' Usher fans (ah) This guy at White Castle asked for my autograph (dude, can I get your autograph?) So I signed it, "Dear Dave, thanks for the support, asshole" Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (what?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (what?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Stop the tape, this kid needs to be locked away (get him) Dr. Dre, don't just stand there, operate I'm not ready to leave, it's too scary to die (fuck that) I'll have to be carried inside the cemetery and buried alive (ha, yup) Am I comin' or goin'? I can barely decide I just drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive? (Go ahead) All my life I was very deprived I ain't had a woman in years, and my palms are too hairy to hide (whoops) Clothes ripped like the Incredible Hulk I spit when I talk, I'll fuck anything that walks (come here) When I was little I used to get so hungry I would throw fits How you gonna breast feed me, mom? You ain't got not tits I lay awake and strap myself in the bed With a bulletproof vest on and shoot myself in the head (bang) 'Cause I'm steamin' mad (grr) And by the way, when you see my dad (yeah?) Tell him that I slit his throat in this dream I had Hi, my name is (what?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (what?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (who?) My name is (huh?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady) Hi, my name is (huh?) My name is (who?) My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 27, 1999 | 79 | 47 |
| 2 | Mar 6, 1999 | 63 | 63 |
| 3 | Mar 13, 1999 | 40 | 86 |
| 4 | Mar 20, 1999 | 37 | 89 |
| 5 | Mar 27, 1999 | 36 | 90 |
| 6 | Apr 3, 1999 | 36 | 90 |
| 7 | Apr 10, 1999 | 43 | 83 |
| 8 | Apr 17, 1999 | 62 | 64 |
| 9 | Apr 24, 1999 | 93 | 33 |
| 10 | May 1, 1999 | 100 | 26 |