The Slim Shady LP

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Rap for only the most mature older teens.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Eminem is an excellent rapper and a horrible role model. He's extremely vulgar and offensive, broaching every explicit topic from drugs to venereal disease to rape, torture, murder, and suicide.

  • Psychopathology 101.
  • Murder, torture, and suicide.
  • As explicit as it gets, including references to rape and other sexual abuse.
  • A gallon of Clorox couldn't clean this mouth.
  • He's too busy offending people to worry about cars or diamonds.
  • The professional junkie's grocery list -- every drug out there plus drunk driving.

What's the story?

THE SLIM SHADY LP, Eminem's debut album, came out in 1999 and instantly vaulted him to superstar status. Most of the album constitutes the most offensive and sarcastic material out there, but there are a few traces of conscience and somber reality. Underneath the offensive surface, Eminem is intelligent, introspective, and self-aware, weaving sarcasm and angst into creative and skillful word play. Songs like "My Name Is" and "Role Model" show Eminem's sick sense of humor at its best, while "Rock Bottom" and "If I Had" are dark and introspective. Forget a grain of salt, take the whole shaker and appreciate this album for its strengths.


Is it any good?

 

Eminem has extraordinary lyrical dexterity and undeniable talent. Dr. Dre and the Bass Brothers add superior production value, creating catchy, danceable songs that fit well together. Eminem's popularity is inescapable and he knows how to appeal to kids, so it might be wise to prepare to work with Eminem rather than against him. And if teens can accurately judge how morally reprehensible most of this material is, it may even help them to cement their own values.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about how shock value is used to get attention and sell products. If they can handle this material maturely, they can handle anything. Note: The edited version is very difficult to get a hold of these days, and Eminem's swearing is the tamest part of his content anyway.


This review was written by David Brown
Teen, 15 years old
May 30, 2009
 
I LOVE THE REAL SLIM SHADY!!
im 12 and i lovee this song!!! and i have it on my ipod and my parents ipod!! its not that bad i mean yah its bad but they lik already know all the cuss words that r in it!! so why does it matter!!

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
October 28, 2009
 
Unlike Em's later albums, this one is entirely humor. References to violence are constant, ranging from the rapper killing his spouse to beating up bullies to shooting up schools. Beating up the bully is talked about in detail, but the actual murder references are mostly implied and always humorous. A lot of sex acts are referenced in somewhat explicit terms, but the only really strong one was a rape scene in one song (it's funny and ridiculously unrealistic, but it's still rape). Many songs have drug references, and one song has Shady rattle off nearly every drug you can possibly think of, but he later denies using most of them. Filthy language is used in nearly every song (the one exception being the anthem where he slits his wife's throat and then dumps her body off of a pier). There's not really anything positive besides some good beats and hilarious lyrics. To me, this seems more like an obscene, pitch-black comedy album than an actual rap album meant to be taken seriously (which is very different than most of the newer Eminem albums).

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
July 5, 2009
 
the second eminem albm is one of the best
that's right second eminem album not debut, beacuase in fact this is his secind album. hiss ifrst one is a rare underground album that came out in 1996, called eminem infinite. aside the slim shady lp is a dark twisted party album. there is nothing excepptionally dark on this album. the album is so funny especially my name is which makes me laugh.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
February 21, 2009
 
Very dirty, violent, and explicit... But awesome.
Eminem is one excellent rapper, but this cd is not something I would recommend to children under 17. Some songs contain long lists of profanity like "Just Don't give a F***." There are also graphically violent lines including "F*** slitting her throat, cut this b***h's head off." There are also drug material as well as explicit sexuality. Not recommended for those who don't like explicit rated things. This is all around bad behavior and R-rated material.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
April 5, 2011
 
i listened to a CLEAN version of "my name is" and they had the words ***hole, t*t, and d**n along with several drug references: "i figured out my mom was doing more dope than i did" "i said i'd make a album about drugs and name it after her" he also mentions a strip club. The song is so wierd that it's obvious that m&m is on soimething, and alot of it. I'd hate to hear the un-cleaned version. Not for under 18

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
August 19, 2009
 
This album is amazing\

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
August 7, 2009
 
Kids don't copy albums
Slim Shady is one of the best rappers and not a good role model, but kids don't copy things they hear in albums, this albums is very messed up, it talks about every terrible up topic but just because it talks about killing doesn't mean your kids will become murderers. And children under the age 12 don't listen to lyrics and kids above that age should know what hes talking about but doesn't copy him. This albums is funny, messed up, dark, new, and great.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
July 20, 2010
 
Great album, Em's best.
Such a good album, one of my all time favorites. My favorites would have to be My Name Is, Guilty Conscience, Brain amage, '97 Bonnie & Clyde, Role Model, and Just Don't Give a F**k. I found it interesting that '97 Bonnie & Clyde doesn't have one swear word in it, yet I consider it the most evil song on the album. I would reccommend it for anyone my age and older, as long as they don't take it the wrong way. It's just music people.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 18 years old
June 18, 2009
 
One of the Tamest Eminem CDs
Everyone says its really innapproprite, but its not as bad as his 2nd album. Unlike those he doesnt't use the f-word in every song. But there is a lot of drug themes

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 13 years old
January 9, 2011
 

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by David Brown
Artist:Eminem
Release date:February 23, 1999
Label:Interscope Records
Genre:Rap
Parental advisory:Yes
Edited version available:Yes

This review was written by David Brown
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you add The Slim Shady LP to your playlist?


Already listened to it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it