History Music / TheMarshallMathersLP

** Both "Drug Ballad" and "The Kids" mention a popular misconception At the time that ecstasy drains your spinal fluid.

* UrbanLegends: Discussed in "Stan" when the title character talks about the misinterpretation of the lyrics of Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight".

* SpoofAesop: "The Kids" explains how drugs can make you a serial killer, put you in a coma, or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking have your parents come after Eminem and force him into hiding]] respectively.

Naturally, this album took all of the insanity of its predecessor and cranked it UpToEleven, while mishmashing it with a personal and introspective account of Em coping with his newfound fame. Darker fantasies, more disturbing parts of his childhood, and more venomous responses to critics were all implemented on the album.

** "Kim" expresses Eminem's hate for his then-wife. In the song he imagines killing her and dumping her body in a car from a bridge.

* CelebrityIsOverrated: "The Way I Am"
-->But at least have the decency in you\\

** "Kim": [[spoiler:Marshall takes Kim out to a remote area in the woods against her will, where he slits her throat in the woods. Afterwards, the same sound effects from the beginning of "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" - namely, him dragging her corpse to a car and tossing it in the trunk.]]
** "Stan": [[spoiler:The obsessed fan of the song's title commits murder-suicide, killing himself, his pregnant girlfriend, and their unborn child, all because Shady didn't answer his letters in time.]]

"Chicka-chicka Slim Shady, I'm sick of him,\\

"Yeah, but he's so cute though!"''

In 2013, Em would release a direct sequel to this album, called ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' -- though Eminem stated it wasn't a sequel, but "a revisitation", titled as it was to express "the nostalgia of the thing". Some critics suggest 2018's ''Kamikaze'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''The Marshall Mathers LP'', with similar themes of fury, Eminem wrestling with his imfamy, and [[DissTrack insulting the popular music]] and [[TakeThatCritics critics]] of the day.

In 2013, Em would release a direct sequel to this album, simply called ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''.

** In "The Way I Am" Eminem references "Guilty Conscience" and "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", also from his previous album:
--->''I'm gonna name her Bonnie''\\\

* CarefulWithThatAxe: Em doesn't as much rap "Kim" as he does ''scream'' it, and it reaches an ultimate peak by the very end, where he lets out one last primal "BLEEEEED!"

# "Stan" (feat. Music/{{Dido}}) (6:44)

** Eminem and Music/{{Dido}} on "Stan".

** "Stan" contains a sample of Music/{{Dido}}'s "Thank You".

* SpecialGuest: Music/{{Dido}} plays Stan's girlfriend in the music video of "Stan", a song that also samples her number "Thank You". During "Bitch Please II" Music/SnoopDogg, Music/DrDre, Music/{{Xzibit}} and Music/NateDogg are featured on guest vocals. "Remember Me?" has guest appearances from [=RBX=] and Sticky Fingaz, "Amityville" by Bizarre and "Under the Influence" by D12. Music/MarilynManson appears in video for "The Way I Am."

** "Bitch Please" on this album is a sequel to "Bitch Please", a 1999 song by Music/SnoopDogg.
** The 2013 album ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Lampooned at one point in "The Real Slim Shady":

* {{Bowdlerise}}:
** "Stan" received an ''infamous'' serving of this. Not only that, but there are TWO versions of the music videos for the song, with the most recent Fuse "version" of the song more censored than the last two. While MTV's short version of "Stan" is heavily censored (also removing scenes of a [[DrivenToSuicide murder/suicide]]), the long version, however, isn't much better. Though Dido (singer of "Thank You" who played Stan's pregnant girlfriend in the music video) admitted in the interview that [[PregnantHostage she was the one who was]] BoundAndGagged and [[PunkInTheTrunk struggling in the trunk of the car to get the gag out and to scream while trying to breathe]] in the third verse, only fewer versions of the video's long version showing some scenes with her tied up and struggling, as well as a scene with Stan (played by actor Creator/DevonSawa) drinking while driving, are shown. [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks The rest of the versions show only one brief clip of her at the trunk while removing a scene of Stan drinking and censoring the words]] [[FrothyMugsOfWater "drank", "vodka",]] [[DrugsAreBad "downers",]] [[BigShutUp "Shut up,]] [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch",]] [[PunkInTheTrunk "screaming in the trunk",]] "slit", [[BoundAndGagged "tied her up",]] "suffocates" and [[NeverSayDie "die"]]. In the last verse, [[HideYourPregnancy the censors remove all mentions of the girlfriend in the trunk]], as well as the lyric, [[HideYourLesbians "And what's this shit about us meant to be together?"]]
** One of the best examples was by Eminem himself, in his UsefulNotes/GrammyAward performance of "Stan" with Music/EltonJohn, when he changed "You're like his fucking idol" to "You're like his ''favorite'' idol."
** One rather infamous example is the censoring of a certain line from "I'm Back", where Eminem raps, "I take seven kids from UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} stand 'em all in line, add an AK-47 a revolver, a nine, a Mac-11 and that oughta solve this problem of mine, and that's a whole school of bullies shot up all at one time". An uncensored version is completely unavailable; "kids" and "Columbine" are edited out even in the explicit version. However, 13 years later he repeats the line on "Rap God", and gets away with it.
** A similar thing happened with "Marshall Mathers", off the same album. One line in particular was censored because, in the event you are being sued by your mother, insulting their lawyer is [[TooDumbToLive not a particularly clever idea.]]

** Eminem even references radio censorship in "The Way I Am"
--->''Radio won't even play my jam''
** In general, while ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'' already had it rough, the clean version of this album is notorious for being completely intolerable, with practically every other lyric being muted. "Kim" didn't even make it onto the album, being replaced by the "The Kids", a song which is only on the clean and deluxe versions of the album.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Lampooned in "The Real Slim Shady" %%invoked

(Chicka chicka chicka Slim Shady)\\
"I'm sick of him, look it him, walkin around, grabbin his you know what, flippin' to you know who"\\
"Yeah, but he's so cute though"''
* DramaticIrony: The final verse of "Stan" creates some for the listener, since Em tries to write back to the title character (a LoonyFan of his) saying that he hopes the letter reaches him in time. [[spoiler:Just prior to Em's verse, Stan had driven his car off a bridge and killed himself, his wife, and their unborn kid. Em only [[EurekaMoment realizes this]] while finishing the letter.]]
* DreamTeam: Eminem and Music/{{Dido}} on "Stan".

* AnAesop: "Stan" has themessage that your idols don't hate you; mainstream-level creators like Eminem have fandoms in the millions and would not be able to keep up with fan interactions while still balancing their careers and personal lives. [[LoonyFan Being obsessed with a creator]] can lead to tragic consequences, especially consequences involving your loved ones, if you don't stop and realize that there's more to your life than just that creator.

* AloneWithThePsycho: "Stan" and "Kim" both have somebody [[spoiler: kidnap a spouse and murder her.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: "Kim" is Eminem's darkest song he has ever made, as it details the horrific murder of his wife, Kim.

--> ''I wanted to start the album with that song because everybody in the press was like, "what’s he gonna rap about? He’s not miserable anymore. [...] The whole idea of this song was to say some of the most fucked-up shit. Just to let people know that I’m back. That I didn’t lose it. That I wasn’t compromising nothing and I didn’t change. If anything...I got worse.''

--> ''And it seems like the media immediately\\

--> ''When a dude's getting bullied and shoots up his school''
--> ''And they blame it on Marilyn and the heroin''
--> ''Where were the parents at and look where it's at''
--> ''Middle America, now it's a tragedy''
--> ''Now it's so sad to see, an upper-class city''
--> ''Havin' this happening''

Well, I do. So fuck him and fuck you too.\\

* BeamMeUpScotty: In-universe; see {{Mondegreen}} below.

* {{Mondegreen}}: At the climax of "Stan", the title character incorrectly refers to Music/PhilCollins' "In the Air Tonight" as "In the Air of the Night". However, he was drunk and high, not to mention insane, so there is reasoning.

and put one of those fingers on each hand up?'']]

* ImYourBiggestFan: Stan. Oh, Stan.
** To such an extent that the name "Stan" is actually used in some communities to refer to a megasuperobsessive fan.

* ManlyTears: Eminem cries in "Kim" because she was supposed to love him, then he strangles her.

In 2003, it was ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='=]s 302nd [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime greatest album of all time]]; in 2012, it was moved up to no. 244, and in the [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 the 2020 revision]], it was ranked much higher at 145. It was also included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's 2006 list of [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 timeless and essential albums.]]

* DrugsAreBad: The [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped moral]] of "The Kids", taught by Em to a class of kids straight out of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.

* DramaticIrony: The final verse of "Stan" creates some for the listener, since Em tries to write back to the title character (a LoonyFan of his) saying that he hopes the letter reaches him in time. [[spoiler:Just prior to Em's verse, Stan had driven his car off a bridge and killed himself, his wife, and their unborn kid.]]

[[caption-width-right:320:''Now will the real Shady please stand up / and put one of those fingers on each hand up'']]

->''[[EstablishingCharacterMoment "They said I can't rap about being broke no more.\\
They ain't say I can't rap about coke no more!"]]''

By the time ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' was released just before summer 2000, Music/{{Eminem}} was already on top of the world. His previous release, ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'', made him an overnight sensation and got as much attention from the media as he did from MoralGuardians who were practically having heart attacks at the idea of this guy possibly controlling the innocent youth through his rhymes.

If ''Slim Shady LP'' was Em's inner psyche on drugs, then ''Marshall Mathers LP'' is his inner psyche on the hardest alcohol you can imagine. This album took all of the demented insanity of its predecessor and cranked it UpToEleven, while mishmashing it with a personal and introspective account of Em's reaction and coping with his sudden, newfound fame. Darker fantasies, more disturbing parts of his childhood, and more venomous responses to critics were all implemented on the album.

The album was released to even more critical and commercial success than ''SSLP'', with critics hailing it to this day as one of the greatest and most important albums of all time, let alone in the hip-hop genre. It gave Em his second consecutive UsefulNotes/GrammyAward win for Best Rap Album as well as a nomination for Album of the Year. It also sold more than 1.76 million copies in America in ''the opening week'', solidifying it as the fastest-selling studio album by any American solo artist in history. The album later went on to be certified Diamond in 2011 for selling 10 million copies in America, and it went on to sell a grand total of 32 million copies around the world (by 2012). In 2003, it was ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='=]s 302nd [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime greatest album of all time]]; in 2012, it was moved up to no. 244, and in the [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 the 2020 revision]], it was ranked much higher at 145. It was also included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's 2006 list of [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 timeless and essential albums.]]

Keeping with tradition, the album garnered even more controversy than its predecessor with its DarkerAndEdgier approach to Em's life. Many people, including Dick Cheney's wife, of all people, were up in arms about Em's lyrics. This caused a significant amount of protesting and debating, which only seemed to [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity propel the album's]] [[StreisandEffect fame further.]]

Em would in 2013 release a sequel album, ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2''.

The album was released to even more critical and commercial success than ''SSLP'', with critics hailing it to this day as one of the greatest and most important albums of all time, let alone in the hip-hop genre. It gave Em his second consecutive UsefulNotes/GrammyAward win for Best Rap Album as well as a nomination for Album of the Year. It also sold more than 1.76 million copies in America in ''the opening week'', solidifying it as the fastest-selling studio album by any American solo artist in history. The album later went on to be certified Diamond in 2011 for selling 10 million copies in America, and it went on to sell a grand total of 32 million copies around the world (by 2012). In 2003, it was ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='=]s 302nd [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime greatest album of all time]]; it was later moved up to No. 244, and in the [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 the 2020 revision]], it was moved to 145. It was also included in Magazine/TimeMagazine's 2006 list of [[TimeAllTime100Albums 100 timeless and essential albums.]]