Eminem's 'Slim Shady EP' celebrates its 25th anniversary

Eminem has had what can only be described as a breathtaking journey in his career. From being homeless, working fast food jobs and battle-rapping in the grimiest parts of Detroit, the young man was quickly flung into fame with his Slim Shady LP and was soon a Diamond-certified artist.

The rapper (real name Marshall Mathers) has always remained open about his struggles and has been brutally honest with himself and others. From his tenuous relationship with his mother, Debbie Mathers, to his battles with addiction, the rapper has had tribulations.

Although Eminem’s 1999 major label debut, the Slim Shady LP, is what really flung him into the limelight, many forget that he was releasing projects as a career artist many years before he was even a tiny blip on the radar of Dr Dre. Although they recieved varying degrees of success, they were still an integral part of his growth as an artist, and one of those critical projects was his 1997 Slim Shady EP.

On December 10th 1997, Eminem released the Slim Shady EP, his only EP to date, and it is a hidden gem. Eminem’s 1996 debut album Infinite, performed horribly, receiving little to no airplay by DJs in his city. However, The Slim Shady EP did not meet such a horrible fate.

Although many would cite the Slim Shady LP as the world’s first exposure to Eminem’s infamous alter-ego, Slim Shady, it was not. Instead, it was the first time it had been mass marketed. The first time it was unleashed was on this underappreciated 1997 project. 

The Slim Shady EP received a decent amount of airplay in Detroit, and the project was what Eminem was giving out to scouts and executives at the Battle Rap Olympics. Released through the Detroit-based record label Web Entertainment, the project would eventually turn the head of Jimmy Iovine. Subsequently, it was shown to his business partner Dr Dre who would go on to sign Mathers.

With Mathers keeping the project close to home, the Slim Shady EP is truly a Detroit hip hop classic and was produced in its entirety by DJ Head, Mr Porter and The Bass Brothers in conjunction, executively by the latter. With only a limited number of CDs and vinyl produced, a physical copy of the Slim Shady EP, 25 years after its release, is now considered a collectable and is undoubtedly a high-ticket project.

With only one lead single, ‘Just Don’t Give A F*ck’, in celebration of its 25-year anniversary below, you can listen to the album as well as watch a rare 1998 interview with Eminem, his oldest-ever interview in existence. Happy 25th to the Slim Shady EP.