Without Me (Eminem song)
2002 single by Eminem
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"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). "Without Me" was released on April 29, 2002,[1] as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries.
- "The Way I Am" (Danny Lohner remix) (featuring Marilyn Manson)
- "Say What You Say" (featuring Dr. Dre)
| "Without Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Eminem | ||||
| from the album The Eminem Show | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | April 29, 2002[1] | |||
| Recorded | July 2001(Instrumental And Skeleton Voices) February 2002(Eminem Vocals)[2] | |||
| Genre | Comedy hip-hop | |||
| Length | 4:51 (album version) 4:23 (radio edit) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers | ||||
| Eminem singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Without Me" on YouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Without Me" | ||||
Background and recording
Eminem and Jeff Bass first began working on "Without Me" in the summer of 2001, during a late-night recording session for The Eminem Show. Eminem played a pre-recorded drum track provided to him by DJ Head, to which Bass played various keyboard sounds until he found a bass guitar effect that suitably matched the track. Bass repeated two notes over the track that prompted Eminem to sound out what became the song's melody, which Bass then recorded on saxophone. Eminem, Bass and engineer Steve King wrote and recorded the music in approximately 30 minutes, finishing at 3:00AM. Eminem presented the song's lyrics to Bass around three months later.[2]
Content
The song was Eminem's return after the successful 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 Vice President Dick Cheney (including his recurring heart problems) and his wife Lynne, the FCC, Chris Kirkpatrick (of NSYNC), Limp Bizkit and Moby,[4][5] as well as parodying Prince's decision to change his name to an unpronounceable 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 breakthrough hit "My Name Is".
The opening lyric "Two trailer park girls go round the outside" is based on the hip-hop single "Buffalo Gals" by Malcolm McLaren.[6] 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.[7] 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'."[8] HipHopDX noted that the blazing single "Without Me" is one of the only light-hearted songs on the album.[9] NME magazine noted that this song is "tackling disco."[10] RapReviews wrote: "His 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."[11] Kris Ex of Rolling Stone calls it "a fun-loving, barb-laden romp on which [Eminem] flits from one topic to the next like a bumblebee with ADD."[12]
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. In the United Kingdom, Without Me made its debut at number 1, on the week ending 1 June 2002, selling over 165,500 copies in its first week.[13]
"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 Nelly's "Hot in Herre", behind which it had peaked on the Billboard Hot 100.
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.[14]
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | Won |
| Best Male Video | Won | ||
| Best Rap Video | Won | ||
| Best Direction | Won | ||
| Best Editing | Nominated | ||
| Viewer's Choice Award | Nominated | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Video | Nominated | |
| 2003 | Grammy Awards | Record of the Year | Nominated |
| Best Male Rap Solo Performance | Nominated | ||
| Best Music Video | Won | ||
| Detroit Music Awards | Outstanding National Single | Nominated | |
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Video of the Year | Nominated | |
| Best Male Video | Nominated | ||
| Best Hip-Hop Video | Nominated | ||
| MTV Asia Awards | Favorite Video | Nominated | |
| Mnet Music Video Festival | Best International Artist | Won | |
Music video
The song's music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features a number of scenarios built around its context, including Eminem and Dr. Dre as parodies of comic book characters in general, specifically Batman, Robin (Rap Boy), and Blade trying to save a child who bought a copy of The Eminem Show that has a Parental Advisory sticker. Rap Boy and Dre rush to the rescue before the child puts the CD in his CD player and when they arrive Rap Boy snatches it away from him, pointing out that the CD has explicit lyrics that are not suitable for him to listen to. The kid cries and is upset after Rap Boy and Dre confiscate the album. The video also features Eminem (as Slim Shady) appearing in a variety of fictional television shows, such as a parody of ER, an infomercial, The Real World, and a talk show. Supporting actors are the adult film performer Jenna Jameson, television host Kiana Tom and well as character actor Michael Berryman.
The video was shot from April 12–13 at Barwick Studios.[15] It 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.
Track listing
- European CD single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Without Me" | 4:53 | ||
| 2. | "The Way I Am" (Danny Lohner remix) (featuring Marilyn Manson) | Mathers | Eminem | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Without Me" (acapella) |
| 4:53 | |
| 4. | "Without Me" (instrumental) |
| 4:53 | |
| Total length: | 19:38 | |||
- UK CD single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Without Me" | 4:53 | ||
| 2. | "The Way I Am" (Danny Lohner remix) (featuring Marilyn Manson) | Mathers | Eminem | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Without Me" (instrumental) |
| 4:53 | |
| Total length: | 14:45 | |||
- Australian CD single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Without Me" | 4:53 | ||
| 2. | "The Way I Am" (Danny Lohner remix) (featuring Marilyn Manson) | Mathers | Eminem | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Without Me" (acapella) |
| 4:53 | |
| 4. | "Without Me" (instrumental) |
| 4:53 | |
| 5. | "Say What You Say" (featuring Dr. Dre) | Dr. Dre | 5:09 | |
| 6. | "Without Me" (video) |
| 4:53 | |
| Total length: | 29:40 | |||
- Notes
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
|
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2000–2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[96] | 16 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[97] | 10 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[98] | 69 |
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[99] | 17× Platinum | 1,190,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[100] | 4× Platinum | 120,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[101] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[102] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[103] | 3× Platinum | 270,000‡ |
| Finland | — | 4,874[104] |
| France (SNEP)[105] | Gold | 250,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[106] | Platinum | 500,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[107] sales since 2009 |
3× Platinum | 300,000‡ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[108] | Gold | 100,000* |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[109] | 8× Platinum | 240,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[110] | 2× Platinum | |
| Portugal (AFP)[111] | 4× Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[112] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[113] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[114] | Platinum | 40,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[115] | 5× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[116] | 7× Platinum | 7,000,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Greece (IFPI Greece)[117] | 2× Platinum | 4,000,000† |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
In popular culture
- The song is included in the soundtrack for the 2016 film Suicide Squad.[118]
- Attorney Alex Spiro in a court filing for Elon Musk against the Securities and Exchange Commission to rescind a SEC decree requiring Musk's tweets about Tesla to be reviewed before posting, quoted "(SEC) won't let me be or let me be me so let me see; They tried to shut me down",[119][120] replacing FCC with SEC.
- In 2024, Eminem sampled "Without Me" for his song "Houdini". The music video also pays heavy homage to the video for "Without Me".[121]
- The Detroit Red Wings began using the song as their goal song at the beginning of the 2023–2024 season.[122]
- Following his return as Reform UK leader during the 2024 United Kingdom General Election, Nigel Farage used the song as his personal campaign theme. "Without Me" was further used in his social media videos as well as during the build up to his leader's speech at the Reform Annual Conference in September 2024.[123]