Without Me (Eminem song)

"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album "The Eminem Show" (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 13, 2002 as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album "" (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two in the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries. The song is included in the soundtrack for the 2016 film "Suicide Squad".
Content.
The song was Eminem's return after the successful "The Marshall Mathers LP", intended as a sequel to "The Real Slim Shady" and essentially says that he is back to save the world. It also refers to Eminem's role in the music industry and his effect on culture.
The song mocks a number of Eminem's critics, including then-Vice-President Dick Cheney (including his recurring heart problems) and his wife Lynne, the FCC, Chris Kirkpatrick (of NSYNC), Limp Bizkit and Moby, as well as parodying Prince's decision to change his name to a symbol. It also lampoons comparisons of him to Elvis Presley as a white man succeeding commercially in a predominantly black art form. A line also attacks his mother Debbie Mathers for the lawsuit she filed for the lyrics of his debut single "My Name Is".
The opening lyric "Two trailer park girls go round the outside" is based on the country rap single "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren. The introduction—"Obie Trice, real name, no gimmicks"—is sampled from Obie Trice's own track "Rap Name".
Critical reception.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine marked it as one of the best tracks on "The Eminem Show". David Browne was positive: "'I've created a monster, 'cuz no one wants to hear Marshall no more,' he (Eminem) whines, partly in jest, in the beat-crazy single 'Without Me'." "HipHopDX" noted that the blazing single "Without Me" is one of the only light-hearted songs on the album. "NME" magazine noted that this song is "tackling disco." RapReviews wrote: "His (Eminem's) fearlessness continues on the lead single "Without Me" when he lambasts everyone from Dick Cheney's wife to the leading electronic artists of the day." Kris Ex exclaims: ""Without Me"—like his "The Real Slim Shady," the leadoff single from 2000's "The Marshall Mathers LP"—is a fun-loving, barb-laden romp on which he flits from one topic to the next like a bumblebee with ADD."
Chart performances and awards.
"Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles. The song reached the number one position in the charts in numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand for 7 weeks. In the United States, the song reached a peak of number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100 behind "Hot in Herre" by Nelly, although it reached number one on both the Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic charts.
"Without Me" was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 2003 (losing to Norah Jones's song "Don't Know Why"), being Eminem's first song to receive a Grammy nomination in a major category. It also received a nomination for Best Male Rap Solo Performance but lost that award as well to the song "Hot in Herre" by rapper Nelly.
In 2009, the song was honored by Pitchfork Media as the 251st-greatest song of the 2000s.
The song was the 69th-best-selling single of the 2000s in the United Kingdom.
Music video.
The song's music video features a number of scenarios built around its context, including Eminem and Dr. Dre as parodies of comics in general, specifically Batman, Robin (Rapboy), and Blade trying to save a child who bought a copy of "The Eminem Show" that has a Parental Advisory sticker. Eminem and his band of heroes rush to the rescue before the child puts the CD in his CD player and when they arrive Rap boy (Eminem) snatches it away from him, showing that his CD has explicit lyrics that are not suitable for him to listen to. The kid cries and is upset after Rap Boy (Eminem) and Blade (Dr Dre) take The Eminem Show album away from the kid. The video was shot from April 12–13 at Barwick Studios. The comic panel contains the rabbit from "You're a Superstar". Early on, Eminem appears throughout some of the video where he is on a hospital bed being pushed through a ward (a reference to "ER", which here is called "ƎM" drawing from the rapper's stage name). Porn star Jenna Jameson and fitness model Kiana Tom appear in bed with Eminem at the beginning of the video. Eminem also dressed up in various costumes as Osama bin Laden as he is chased by D12 on channel ƎNN, a spoof of the news channel CNN, a TV-ad salesman shocking a look-alike of then-Vice-President Dick Cheney, his mother Debbie Mathers being flipped off, Elvis Presley dancing in his bathroom, eating a sandwich out of the toilet and defecating in it, a "Survivor" contestant competing in a challenge against Jenna Lewis (of ' and later ') and Lindsey Richter (of "") on a log later revealed to be a turd in Elvis's toilet, and Moby getting body-slammed by Obie Trice. Nate Samara, Eminem's brother, D12, and Xzibit also appear in the talk show scene. The video also features a Lamborghini Murcielago (referred to as the "Rapmobile", parodying the Batmobile). Also, the video leaves in words like 'ass', 'bitch', and 'bastard' while on the clean album they were censored.
This video received MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, and Best Direction (for Joseph Kahn), as well as gaining nominations for Best Editing and Viewer's Choice. It also won Best Short Form Music Video at the Grammy Awards of 2003.
Clips of the video for "Without Me" can also be seen playing in a number of other music videos, including 50 Cent's "In da Club", Tony Yayo's "I Know You Don't Love Me" and Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor".
On June 16, 2009, upon the release of Vevo, the music video was uploaded to Eminem's YouTube channel. As of April 2021, the video has over 1.1 billion views.
Charts.
Year-end charts.
!scope="row"|French (SNEP)
!scope="row"|Germany (Official German Charts)
!scope="row"|Italy (FIMI)
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
!scope="row"|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)
!scope="row"|Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
!scope="row"|US "Billboard" Hot 100
! scope="row"| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ("Billboard")