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My Name Is

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"My Name Is"
Song

"My Name Is" is a song by Eminem released in 1999. It is the debut single overall from his major label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. The song was ranked at #26 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's".[1] "My Name Is" also was ranked #6 on Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever".[2] Debuting on January 21, 1999, the My Name Is music video eventually reached the #1 position on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL), making Eminem the first rapper to reach the top spot.[3]

Background

Producer Dr. Dre wanted to use a sample of Labi Siffre's "I Got The ..." for the rhythm track; as revealed in the sleeve notes of the re-mastered CD of the source album, Remember My Song, Siffre, who is openly gay, stated, "attacking two of the usual scapegoats, women and gays, is lazy writing. If you want to do battle, attack the aggressors not the victims." Eminem made lyric changes and Siffre cleared the sample. There are currently three different versions available. The "clean" and "explicit" versions are available on iTunes. There is also another version which is more explicit than the one available on iTunes, released as the B-side to "Guilty Conscience" on the CD single. The Explicit version on iTunes contains reverb on the backing vocals - the kids voice - in the beginning of the song while the backing vocals on the clean version does not. During the time the song was released, Eminem and Insane Clown Posse were having a "rap feud". After the release of this song, Insane Clown Posse parodied this song with a song called "Slim Anus". "My Name Is" was later re-released in 2005, on Eminem's compilation album, Curtain Call: The Hits. The song is mixed with Jay-Z's song "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and Beck's song "Loser" on the video game DJ Hero. Eminem also made a remix of it, using the most explicit version, over the top of AC/DC's "Back In Black".

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: "Extra-terrestrial, killing pedestrians / Raping lesbians while they're screaming, 'Let's just be friends!' The version on the CD was changed to "Extra-terrestrial, running over pedestrians in a spaceship / While they're screaming at me, 'Let's just be friends!'

There's also a line that was changed from "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."

Critical response

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine highlighted it,[4] Rolling Stone wasn't that positive: "Eminem is on some serious Dangerfield shit in loser anthems like "My Name Is."[5] David Browne described this single as: "the attention-grabbing single and video, My Name Is."[6] Piero Scaruffi wrote that this song highlights his "carefree and sarcastic attitude."[7]

Music video

The video was directed by Phillip Atwell which would later direct the music videos for Eminem's "Stan", "Lose Yourself", "The Real Slim Shady", "Just Lose It", and others. The video starts out with a stereotypical redneck family watching television as they come across a show starring "Marshall Mathers" (Eminem's real name) as the video goes on Marshall parodies several TV shows and movies. He also imitates then President Bill Clinton, a porn star and others.

The video was ranked #97 in NME's 100 Greatest Music Videos.[8]

Track listing

  1. "My Name Is" (Clean) - 4:28
  2. "My Name Is" (Explicit) - 4:28
  3. "My Name Is" (Instrumental) - 4:28
  1. "My Name Is" (Clean) - 4:28
  2. "My Name Is" (Instrumental) - 4:28
  3. "Just Don't Give" (Clean Version) - 4:02
  • UK Cassette
  1. "My Name Is" (Clean) - 4:28
  2. "My Name Is" (Instrumental) - 4:28

Awards

Grammy Awards

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 13
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 24
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 33
Canada (RPM)[14] 38
France (SNEP)[15] 68
Germany (Media Control AG)[16] 37
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 4
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 12
New Zealand (RIANZ)[19] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[20] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 29
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[23] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 36
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[25] 18
US Rap Songs (Billboard)[26] 10
US Pop Songs (Billboard)[27] 29

References

  1. ^ "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". Blog.vh1.com. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  2. ^ "1001 Best Songs Ever". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-slim-shady-lp-mw0000601851
  5. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-slim-shady-lp-19990401
  6. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,274722,00.html
  7. ^ http://www.scaruffi.com/vol5/eminem.html
  8. ^ "100 Greatest Music Videos". NME. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  9. ^ "My Name Is [CD 1]: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  10. ^ "My Name Is [CD 2]: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  11. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is" (in Dutch). ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  14. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 68, No. 26, April 19, 1999". RPM. Retrieved 1 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Eminem / Single" (in German). musicline.de. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know" (insert "Eminem" into the "Search by Artist" box, and "My Name Is" into the "Search by Song Title" box). irishcharts.ie. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1999" (in Dutch). top40.nl. Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  19. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  21. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Eminem - Hi! My Name Is" (in German). hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  23. ^ "Eminem" (select "View Singles" tab). The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  24. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 1 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  25. ^ "Eminem Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 1 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  26. ^ "Eminem > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  27. ^ "Hot 100 Songs & New Music: 1 - 10 Songs | Billboard Music Charts" (in Template:De icon). Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-09-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Gettin' Jiggy Wit It
 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance
2000 		Succeeded by
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