"My Band" is a song by American hip hop group

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

. It was released in March 2004 as the first single from their second album ''

D12 World ''D12 World'' is the second and final studio album by Detroit hip hop group D12, released on April 27, 2004. The album sold 544,000 copies in its first week on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album is also the last D12 release to feature Proof befo ...

''. The song is a parody of the false concept that

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

is the lead singer of the "band" D12. The single became one of the group's most successful, reaching number two in the United Kingdom, number six in the United States, and number one in Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. "My Band" was the first song to top the revamped singles chart introduced in New Zealand in April 2004.

Content

The brief introduction summarizes the song's satirical message: that Eminem is the lead "singer" of the "band" and it makes everyone else in D12 jealous and looked down upon. In the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, he describes how girls have confidence in the group just because he is in it, even though they “don’t even know the name of isband”. Eminem talks about his own popularity in the first verse and the conflict it creates within the group. He describes episodes such as female fans attempting to make sexual advances when meeting him offstage, and group member Kuniva trying to attack him with a knife when he claims that

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

is his "wife-to-be". In the second verse,

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

wrestles the mic from Eminem and then describes some of the negative consequences of this propaganda-like media coverage on the rest of the D12's members, such as not recording with

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

, being stuck driving a van while Eminem rides in a tour bus, getting their names mixed up ("I thought you were Kuniva"), and being provided a dressing room "smaller than a decimal".

Kon Artis Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018. ...

and Kuniva talk about this together in the third verse, with Eminem occasionally interjecting. The two find themselves unable to confront him. Just like

Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

complains about the propaganda in his solo part, implying that people who promote this perception know nothing about the group. (To back up his point, fans yell out "Where's Obie and Dre?", referring to rappers

Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He was signed to fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records in 2002, where he released the albums ''Cheers'' (2003) and ''Second Round's on Me'' (2006). Trice formed his own record ...

and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

.) He also complains that Eminem gets "ninety and we only get ten percent" after explaining that they "ain't a band" because they "don't play instruments" (in response to a fan exclaiming "I love your band!"). In the fifth verse, Bizarre, after attacking Eminem who is at the time singing in a traditional boy band, attacks the media for focusing on Eminem when discussing and covering the group, and claims that he is actually the most popular member of the group. He also threatens to leave D12 on several occasions, claiming he will "start a group with

The Real Roxanne Elease Jack (born July 24, 1968), better known by her stage name the Real Roxanne, is an American hip hop MC who recorded for Select Records. Elease was born in New York City, New York. In the 1980s, she, the producer of Roxanne Shante, and ...

". After this fifth verse, there is a short hook by Eminem (sung in boy-band style with the other members singing backup vocals), and Bizarre follows by trying to sing the chorus, which results in laughter. After that, some members yell out random comments while the others sing the song's title repeatedly. At the end of the song, Eminem sings in a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

-style accent about how his "salsa makes all the pretty girls want to dance and take off their underpants", then facetiously promoting his fictional next single "My Salsa" (a parody of

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

' hit single "

Milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...

"). The song then ends abruptly, followed by Eminem saying, "Hey, where'd everybody go?".

Parodies

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

's "

In da Club "In da Club" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his debut studio album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). Written by 50 Cent alongside producers Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo, the song, which uses an unconventional off-beat rhythm, was rele ...

" video. (Bizarre attempts to lose weight in the music video, similar to 50 Cent working out in the beginning of "In Da Club") *

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

' "

I Want It That Way I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

" video. (The band are dressed in white in the music video and Eminem performs a typical boy-band style vamp) *

's "

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

" and "

Lose Yourself "Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 motion picture '' 8 Mile''. The song was composed and produced by Eminem, longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers and Lui ...

" videos. (Bizarre claims he is in the back of these videos) *

's "

" (Eminem's "My Salsa")

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

begins by showing the rest of D12 looking through the window of a door to find Eminem receiving a

massage Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

, which is similar to the song's preceding skit on the album, "Dude". It then cuts to shots of Eminem in a

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

while the others are forced to wait for a bus, and the whole song's context is picked up from there. Later scenes include Bizarre attempting to get in shape (parodying the video for

's "

In Da Club "In da Club" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his debut studio album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). Written by 50 Cent alongside producers Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo, the song, which uses an unconventional off-beat rhythm, was rele ...

"), Bizarre and a

Verne Troyer Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, YouTuber, and stunt performer. He was best known for his role of Mini-Me in the ''Austin Powers'' film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was ...

spoofing fellow Michiganders

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

and

Joe C. Joseph Michael Calleja (November 9, 1974 – November 16, 2000), known by his stage name Joe C., was an American rapper, best known for being a hype man for fellow rapper Kid Rock. ...

, Bizarre in the background of Eminem's "

" and "Superman" music videos, the entire band performing a

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

-style song while dressed like The

, and a re-enactment of

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's "wardrobe malfunction" (with Bizarre as Janet and Eminem as

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

). At the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

in 2004, "My Band" (directed by

Philip G. Atwell Philip G. Atwell is an American music video, television commercial and feature film director. Starting out as a music video producer, he took up directing in 1999. Often co-directing with Dr. Dre, he has helped out with many music videos for ...

, co-directed by

) was nominated for Video of the Year,

Best Group Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...

, and Best Rap Video, but did not win in any of the categories. During their performance of the song at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards, Eminem mooned the audience. MTV originally planned to blur Eminem's bare bottom, but in light of their recent problems with the aforementioned "wardrobe malfunction" they instead decided to cut the mooning from the performance altogether. Pictures of Eminem's mooning have been spread across the internet. In an uncensored version of the video, a topless woman appears next to Eminem and a topless woman dances on a pole.

Track listings

UK CD1 UK CD2 Notes * signifies an additional producer.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2004 singles 2004 songs Comedy rap songs D12 songs Interscope Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Shady Records singles Song recordings produced by Eminem Songs written by Denaun Porter Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Luis Resto (musician) Songs written by Bizarre (rapper)