The Real Slim Shady, one of the hit songs from the legendary rapper Eminem, has entered the YouTube Hall of Fame as part of the songs to surpass over one billion views.
A full 14 years after it was uploaded to the website and almost 25 years after the hit song was initially released, Eminem’s renowned The Real Slim Shady music video has now become a member of YouTube’s Billion Views Club.
The Real Slim Shady, as the Detroit rapper’s visuals frequently do, transports viewers to an incredible place. The video opens with Em dressed in a hospital gown in a mental health facility, with comedian Kathy Griffin playing one of the nurses. From there, it shows him rapping in the middle of a group of bleach-blond doppelgängers, running amok in a red-and-yellow superhero suit, and serving onion rings at a fast-food joint.
Some of the song’s most significant call-outs are also shown visually in the Philip G. Atwell and Dr. Dre-directed film.
The video turns to the Lose Yourself singer dressed up as the pop diva in “…Baby One More Time” drag when Em makes a reference to Britney Spears, for example.
Related stories
Viewers also see Em sipping from a milk carton with a “Missing” poster for the founder of Death Row Records on the side while the 15-time Grammy winner shouts, “Dr. Dre’s dead, he’s locked in my basement.”
The Real Slim Shady peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 after being released in 2000 as a part of The Marshall Mathers LP. Not only does Em’s songs Without Me, Mockingbird, Rap God, and Lose Yourself have 10-figure views on YouTube, but his videos for these songs have also received a billion plays.
With July’s Billboard 200-topper The Death of Slim Shady, Eminem returned to his Y2K glory, nearly 25 years after the release of “The Real Slim Shady.” The hip-hop icon’s lead song “Houdini” also featured him channeling his mid-20s persona in a nostalgic music video, where Em employed artificial intelligence to bring back his earlier persona.
