Eminem wanted to prove that white people can rap. He was desperate for success, after making quite a few underground tapes, making Infinite, which sadly only sold about 900 or 1,000 copies, attempting suicide,(by legend the night that he wrote Rock Bottom, which is on The Slim Shady LP) and being kept away from his daughter, Hailie, at the time. Finally, he got with the famous producer and rapper, Dr. Dre. He bought a mansion, and released this EP in 1998.
His EP's seem more innovative and fearless than his full productions, especially this one. Songs like If I Had, Just Don't Give A ****, and Just The Two Of Us made it to The Slim Shady LP. They seem slightly differnt on the LP version, but not much. Just The Two Of Us was renamed 97' Bonnie & Clyde, after one line he says about him and Hailie being like Bonnie and Clyde. Here, he talks in baby talk to Hailie, and her voice is used once and a while. This is one of those fearless moments, rapping about how he fantasises to murder Kim, and taking her body in the trunk to dump it in the lake, with Hailie in the car.
My favorite here is No One's Iller than me, which is probably one of the first times Eminem appears on an album with, D12 members, Bizarre and Kuniva, also a rapper called Fuzz. Everyone's raps are good, and the beat has a strange yet irresistable sound to it. The chorus sounds great, with Bizarre rapping it for some reason. It sounds serious, but it's funny when you listen to the lyrics. That's also the case with Murder Murder II, a song about slightly funny violence.
Low, Down, Dirty is also very good. The chorus is catchy, the beats are great, and the production sounds like there's an echo in the background. It's in my opinion the 2nd best on here, and is hilarious. If I Had is very serious, and has the type of idea that Rock Bottom has. It's about what Em wishes he had, and how terrible his life is going. Much like Rock Bottom, it makes you feel sorry for him, instead of making you laugh or smile, like the majority of his songs.
Just Don't Give A **** is hilarious, and came out to be this album's most popular, once TSSLP came out. It has a good beat, and is funny, but also is rapped in a serious tone. I think that rapping amusing lyrics with a serious tone, and even a beat that almost sounds serious makes it even funnier.
Overall, his EP's are just a little bit better than his full productions, because of the fact that they usually have no filler, and just seem less held back. The beats even sound more underground-like sometimes. In my opinion, that's a good thing. This was released right before he got famous making it a good album for any fan to own.
Reccomended tracks: #1: No One's Iller Than Me
#2: Low, Down, Dirty
#3: Just Don't Give A ****
#4: If I Had
