Line #35 Music/TheEminemShow


1	[[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1ca49d503b3ec7f4ef1fcca70d3a7cd6.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:318:''Guess who's back -- back again?\
3	[[HesBack Shady's back]]; tell a friend.'']]
4
5	->''What I did was stupid, no doubt it was dumb\
6	But the smartest shit I did was take the bullets outta that gun\
7	Cause I'da killed him; shit I woulda shot Kim and him both\
8	It's my life, I'd like to welcome y'all to [[AlbumTitleDrop The Eminem Show]]...''
9	-->-- "Cleanin' Out My Closet"
10
11	''The Eminem Show'' is the fourth album by Music/{{Eminem}}, released just before summer 2002.
12
13	With this album, Em had extremely big shoes to fill, considering his last two releases (''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'' and ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'') became some of the greatest critical and commercial successes hip-hop had ever seen, and everyone was wondering if Em could pull off the threepeat.
14
15	This new album saw an introspective tour of Em's world of fame, and many of the tracks served as showcases of his maturity, with sadder and more sincere lyrics concerning personal topics like his daughter and his parents. He even gave the album its name since he felt like his life was amounting to nothing but a show for the public to constantly ogle at.
16
17	''The Eminem Show'' gave him his third consecutive UsefulNotes/GrammyAward win for Best Rap Album as well as his second consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. It was also his second album in a row to be certified Diamond by the RIAA for selling over 10 million copies, and it has gone on to sell three times that around the world.
18
19	2004's ''Music/{{Encore}}'' is a direct sequel to the album, continuing the "show" concept and theming. In 2022, Eminem released ''The Eminem Show: Expanded Edition'', a re-release of the album adding two bonus studio recordings -- "Stimulate" and "Jimmy, Brian and Mike" (originally intended for ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'') -- as well as various live performances and freestyles.
20
21	----
22	!!Tracklist:
23	# "Curtains Up" (skit) (0:30)
24	# "White America" (5:24)
25	# "Business" (4:11)
26	# "Cleanin' Out My Closet" (4:57)
27	# "Square Dance" (5:24)
28	# "The Kiss" (skit) (1:16)
29	# "Soldier" (3:46)
30	# "Say Goodbye Hollywood" (4:33)
31	# "Drips" (feat. Music/ObieTrice) (4:45)
32	# "Without Me" (4:50)
33	# "Paul Rosenberg" (skit) (0:23)
34	# "Sing for the Moment" (5:40)
35	# "Superman" (feat. Dina Rae) (5:50)
36	# "Hailie's Song" (5:21)
37	# "Steve Berman" (skit) (0:33)
38	# "When the Music Stops" (feat. D12) (4:29)
39	# "Say What You Say" (feat. Music/DrDre) (5:09)
40	# "'Till I Collapse" (feat. Nate Dogg) (4:57)
41	# "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (feat. Hailie Jade) (4:28)
42	# "Curtains Close" (skit) (1:01)
43
44	!! ''Tropin' Out My Closet''
45	* ActorRoleConfusion: One line in "Sing For The Moment" where Em gives one argument that kills one huge criticism of him.
46	-->''If it's all political\
47	and my music is literal\
48	and I'm a criminal\
49	How the [[PrecisionFStrike FUCK]] can I raise a little girl?''
50	* AlbumFiller: "Hailie's Song" was not intended for public release-- Music/DrDre talked him into it after playing it for his friends. It turned out to be one of the most celebrated songs on the record.
51	* AlbumTitleDrop: The page quote, which is from "Cleanin' Out My Closet".
52	* AlliterativeTitle: "'''C'''leanin' Out My '''C'''loset", "'''C'''urtains '''C'''lose".
53	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In "Without Me" he raps about being censored on MTV by saying "So the FCC won't let me be/or let me be me..." The FCC has no authority over cable channels, they are self-regulating.
54	* AsideGlance: In the video for "Without Me", Music/DrDre raises his sunglasses and gives the camera a very confused look in response to Eminem's over-the-top dance moves as Rap Boy (a parody of [[Series/Batman1966 the 60s Batman's]] Robin) while the two are riding along in Dre's car.
55	* BookEnds:
56	** The first track is called "Curtains Up" and the final one "Curtains Close".
57	** The music video for "Cleanin' Out My Closet" begins with a door opening and ends with the same door closing.
58	* {{Bowdlerise}}: Due to the song’s explicit subject matter, "Drips", which is about how Obie Trice and Eminem had sex with a girl that gave them both [=STDs=], was removed from the album’s clean version.
59	* CallingTheOldWomanOut: "Cleanin' Out My Closet" is, from the first until the final line, a song that addresses Eminem's troubled relationship with his mother.
60	* ChildrenAreInnocent [=/=] HarmfulToMinors: In the music video of "Without Me", Em and Dre are sent into action after a kid purchases ''The Eminem Show'' without his mom being aware. At the end of the video, just as the kid is about to insert the album CD, Em manages to rip it from his hands, shaking his head, doing a FingerWag, and reminding the kid of the "parental advisory" label on the album.
61	** Played with on "My Dad's Gone Crazy" [[note]]A song featuring his daughter's singing[[/note]], when Eminem goes on a verse long rant that's at least 30% cuss words, and then gets told off by his then 7 year old daughter.
62	* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Near the end of "Without Me" UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden is chased away by a bunch of rappers. Eventually he waves a white flag and can convince everybody to dance along with him, which everyone seems to think is a whole lotta fun!
63	* DisappearedDad: Discussed in "Cleaning Out My Closet":
64	-->''I was a baby, maybe I was just a couple of months\
65	My faggot father must'a had his panties up in a bunch\
66	Coz he split; wonder if he even kissed me goodbye''\
67	No, I don't; on second thought I just fuckin' wish he would die!''
68	* EvilMatriarch: "Cleanin' Out My Closet" is ''all'' about this.
69	-->''See, what hurts me the most is, you won't admit you was wrong,\
70	Bitch, do your song, keep tellin' yourself that you was a mom!\
71	But how dare you try to take what you didn't help me to get?\
72	[[ClusterFBomb You selfish bitch, I hope you fuckin' burn in hell for this shit!]]''
73	* FadingIntoTheNextSong:
74	** "Curtains Up" ends with Eminem walking up to a microphone to make a speech which leads to "White America".
75	** One could make a case for "Drips" to "Without Me", as the former ends off abruptly and the latter begins with a static noise.
76	** "Sing for the Moment" segues into "Superman".
77	* GroinAttack: In the music video of "Without Me" Moby is kicked in the groin by a huge rabbit, making the Buddhist exclaim: [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} "Nirvana]] at last...!"
78	* HesBack: "Guess who's [[Music/TheSlimShadyLP back]], [[Music/TheMarshallMathersLP back again?]]"
79	* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: In the video for "Cleanin' Out My Closet", Em's parents never show their faces to the camera.
80	* HypocrisyNod: "Cleanin' Out My Closet":
81	-->''Now I would never diss my own mama just to get recognition\
82	Take a second to listen for who you think this record is dissing''
83	** Not only that, but even before that song he had several tracks dissing his mom, such as "My Name Is" and "Kill You".
84	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Averted. Em's third album was originally going to be called "The Eminem LP", but he decided he was sick of the "LP" and replaced it with "Show"
85	* InnocentBlueEyes: Lampshaded excellently in "White America".
86	-->''Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby, just like yourself. If they were brown, Shady'd lose, Shady sits on the shelf.''
87	* LadiesAndGerms: "Business" begins with Eminem saying to listeners, "Bitches and gentlemen..."
88	* ListSong: "'Till I Collapse" references several rappers Eminem sees as the best: Music/{{Redman}}, Music/JayZ, Music/TupacShakur, Music/TheNotoriousBIG, [[Music/OutKast Andre 3000]], Music/{{Jadakiss}}, Music/{{Kurupt}}, Music/{{Nas}} and himself.
89	* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: "White America" is a vicious attack on white suburban America, though in the end, as a CallBack to "Kill You" from ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'' he just laughs: "I'm just playing, America, you know I love you."
90	* NewSoundAlbum: Production style switched to a more cinematic high end sound beginning with ''The Eminem Show''. Eminem said he wanted to achieve a sound that bridged the gap between rock and hiphop.
91	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Subverted by "Without Me", where then US Vice President Dick Cheney is electrocuted and Music/{{Moby}} kicked in the groin.
92	* OneManSong: "Paul Rosenberg" and "Steve Berman".
93	* OneWomanSong: "Hailie's Song".
94	* OneWordTitle: "Business", "Drips", "Soldier".
95	* ThePowerOfRock: "Sing For The Moment" is how hiphop and music in general gives young people hope and escapism in sour times.
96	* ProfessionalWrestling: "Without Me" includes the line "The best thing since wrestling."
97	* ProtestSong: "White America", aimed at white suburban America.
98	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: As usual many songs are about Eminem's pet peeves again: people criticizing him and his family troubles.
99	* RecordNeedleScratch: At the start of "Without Me".
100	* RecordProducer: Music/DrDre.
101	* {{Sampling}}:
102	** "Without Me" , and samples "Rap Name" by Obie Trice (uncredited) and contains resung elements from "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm [=McLaren=].
103	--->''Obie Trice, real name, no gimmicks\
104	Two trailer park girls go round the outside''
105	** "Sing for the Moment" contains elements from "Dream On" by Music/{{Aerosmith}}. It features a guitar solo during the end of the song by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry.
106	* SelfDeprecation: Eminem's portrayal of Robin in the music video of "Without Me". He comes across as a total buffoon, making even Music/DrDre look in the camera with an exasperated look.
107	* SelfTitledAlbum: "The Eminem Show". He named it this way because he realized at that point of his life that his entire life had become some kind of show. He lampshades this on the album too, where he is heard walking to the microphone at the start of the record.
108	* ShoutOut:
109	** He is a [[JustForFun/OneOfUs comic book nerd]]. In the "Without Me" music video and others, Eminem dresses up in a {{Comicbook/Robin}}-esque costume and becomes "Rap-Boy" to save the day, preventing underage kids from listening to his controversial songs alone without heeding parental advisory warnings! There's a lot of shots [[Film/BatmanAndRobin on Eminem's crotch]], by the way. his "Backwards E" logo is used as the Robin symbol, and he uses the recurring depiction to show himself as the sidekick to Music/DrDre's Batman-esque hero. A similar shoutout pops up in the track "Business", where Dr. Dre and Eminem play an Creator/AdamWest-[[Series/Batman1966 style]] intro ("To the Rapmobile!").
110	** The intro to "Without Me" interpolates the chorus of [[Music/DuckRock "Buffalo Gals"]] by Malcolm [=McLaren=].
111	** In "Without Me" Eminem references Music/{{Prince}} turning himself into a symbol and calls himself "the worst thing since Music/ElvisPresley to do black music so selfishly". He also dresses up as Elvis in the video. The rabbit in the video is a shout-out to the song "You're A Superstar" by Love Inc. Near the end, in the most talked about segment, Eminem imitates UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden, who is then chased away by a group of rappers, until he surrenders and everybody starts dancing along with him.
112	* {{Sidekick}}: Eminem plays a Robin-esque sidekick to Music/DrDre in the music video of "Without Me".
113	* SillinessSwitch: "Without Me". Especially the video, where he's dressed in [[Series/Batman1966 Adam West-era Robin-esque]] outfit. (made even funnier as Music/DrDre is only in black and shades, because he refused to get dressed as Batman...)
114	* TheSomethingSong: "Hailie's Song".
115	* SpecialGuest:
116	** D12 sings on "When the Music Stops" and Nate Dogg on "Till I Collapse".
117	** In the music video of "Superman" porn star Gina Lynn has a cameo.
118	** Porn star Jenna Jameson and fitness model Kiana Tom are the two girls who appear in Eminem's bed in the music video of "Without Me". D-12 and Music/{{Xzibit}} both appear in the talkshow scene.
119	* SpeechBalloon: The music video of "Without Me" is done in the style of a super hero comic strip, so text balloons pop up to address what people are saying or thinking.
120	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Hailie, Eminem's daughter, is heard during "My Dad's Gone Crazy".
121	* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Hailie's Song" is an ode to Eminem's daughter and really shows his softer side. It stands out among all the other usual Eminem BlackComedy and PrecisionFStrike songs, also because it was actually not supposed to end up on this album. Music/DrDre told Eminem to add it.
122	* TakeThat:
123	** The music video of "Without Me" is one long TakeThat aimed at people who criticized his work in public, including Lynn Cheney (though it's her husband Dick Cheney whose heart problems are addressed), the FCC, Kriss Kirkpatrick, Music/LimpBizkit and Music/{{Moby}}. UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden is also targeted. And of course his mother, Debbie.
124	** "Cleanin' Out My Closet" is a tirade against Eminem's mother. The second verse targets his father, calling his manhood into question and noting that Eminem couldn’t even imagine abandoning his daughter like his father abandoned him.
125	* TitleDrop: In "Cleanin' Out My Closet":
126	-->"It's my life, I'd like to welcome y'all to ''The Eminem Show''!"
127	* ThatManIsDead: "Soldier"
128	-->''Through this pen, motherfuckers know I'll never be Marshall again!''
129	* WhamLine: From the Steve Berman skit on ''Eminem Show''; for context, this is after Berman has trashed not only the ''Marshall Mathers LP'' but [=D12=]'s ''Devil's Night'' album to Em's face.
130	-->'''Steve:''' I got [''The Eminem Show'']...\
131	'''Em:''' And?\
132	'''Steve:''' ...And this is by far the most ('''[[DisproportionateRetribution BANG]]''')...[[spoiler:incredible thing...I've ever heard]].
133	* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: His mom told him this after his beloved uncle Ronnie died, as we can hear in "Cleaning Out My Closet":
134	-->''Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me?\
135	Well, guess what? I am dead, dead to you as can be!''

Context Music / TheEminemShow