The Way I Am (Eminem song)
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"The Way I Am" is a song written, produced, and performed by American rapper
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 ...
from his third album ''
The Marshall Mathers LP ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass Br ...
'' (2000). It was released as the second single from the album on October 3, 2000, later being featured on his 2005 compilation album, '' Curtain Call: The Hits''. In the tradition of most of Eminem's follow-up singles, "The Way I Am" is one of the rare songs for which he has sole songwriting credit. It features a much darker and emotionally driven sound than the album's lead single "
The Real Slim Shady "The Real Slim Shady" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his third album ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' (2000). It was released as the lead single a month before the album's release. "The Real Slim Shady" was Eminem's first song to reach numb ...
". "The Way I Am" peaked at number 58 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside the United States, "The Way I Am" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belgium (Wallonia), Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, and United Kingdom.


Background

The song was written by
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 ...
to express the negative side of the fame that he had gained. The song makes points such as him not being able to go out in public and live a normal life due to him being harassed by fans. He also vents about the pressure put on him to top his earlier work on ''
The Slim Shady LP ''The Slim Shady LP'' is the second studio album and major label debut by American rapper Eminem. It was released on February 23, 1999, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Recorded in Ferndale, Michigan following Eminem's recruitm ...
''. The song has also been remixed by
Danny Lohner Daniel Patrick “Danny” Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project. He has also played for Methods of M ...
featuring
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
, who has performed the song with Eminem live on stage. In 2005, it was re-released on the album '' Curtain Call: The Hits''. "The Way I Am" was certified Gold in Sweden, selling over 20,000 copies. In 2008, Eminem released a second autobiography titled '' The Way I Am''.


Critical reception

The song received very positive reviews. Aspects lauded were the vocal delivery, rhyme pattern, production and political material covered. Cynthia Fuchs of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
was positive: "In 'The Way I Am', Eminem expounds, 'Since birth I've been cursed with this curse to just curse / And just blurt this berserk and bizarre shit that works / And it sells and it helps in itself to relieve / All this tension, dispensin' these sentences.' So there it is: he's performing therapy."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
highlighted the song.
Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
described this song as "Amityville's portrayal of the Detroit he grew up in; 'The Way I Am' as a whole". Same critic listed it in Recommended Downloads and praising the single: "Built over doomy, gothic arpeggios, rumbling bass, and church bells, Eminem lays down one of the most perfectly formed lyrics of his career, weaving in and out of a tight rhyme scheme that echoes the loping piano motif. Interesting aside: this is one of the first Eminem songs that gives him 100% of the writing credits." IGN praised the song: "Eminem is an angry ass white boy and the vitriol continues on 'The Way I Am', in which he soundly states 'I am whatever you say I am / If I wasn't why would I say I am?' And when he complains that he's 'so sick and tired of being admired...', one almost believes that he'll hang up the mic and disappear (but Em obviously loves the attention so that's not an option at this point in the game). The throbbing, tubular bell and piano laced beat only add to the intensity of the track (incidentally it was crafted by Em himself and it's one of the more stellar examples of his often hit or miss production techniques)." Sal Cinquemani called this song: "He (Eminem) revels in the fact that there's teen violence in upper-class cities on the epic 'The Way I Am'. The song was named the 35th Best Song of the decade by the magazine ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
''. The same magazine, in April 2011, ranked the song at #3 on their 100 Best Eminem Songs list. The line, "If I wasn't, then why would I say I am" was taken from the song "As The Rhyme Goes On" by Eric B. & Rakim from the album Paid in Full .


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 ...
at the beginning plays an instrumental of his song "
Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...
", after the "Kim" instrumental is played, the song carries on as normal and when the song starts, it shows him about to jump out the window of a tall building, and shows him falling through the sky, in a sequence inspired by the
Coen brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
film ''
The Hudsucker Proxy ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' is a 1994 screwball comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by the Coen brothers. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business scho ...
'', in which the hero also falls slowly from a skyscraper window.
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
appears behind Eminem when the song refers to him — and a few more times thereafter. Other shots show fans coming up to him, asking for his autograph, the scene when Eminem throws a chair at his Slim Shady LP platinum plaque was inspired by the pressure he felt by his label to write a hit as the first single for ''
The Marshall Mathers LP ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass Br ...
''. In the video, Proof is in the scene when Eminem is doing a radio interview and flips the DJ off. Also, the little boy who asks for Eminem's photo in the public bathroom is his half-brother, Nathan. It was released by Paul Hunter as well as Eminem in his neighborhood in front of an old house. At the end of the video, when Eminem hits the ground, it bounces him safely like a giant mattress. It was named the 19th Best Music Video of the 2000s by ''Complex'' magazine. In the music video version of the song wind sound effects can be heard when Eminem is singing the intro, the first & last chorus. This can't be heard in the album version.


Credits

* Singing and lyrics : 
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 ...
* Production : Eminem * Mixing : Eminem * Guitar and bass :
Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...
* Keyboard : Mike Elizondo,
Tommy Coster Thomas Joseph Coster Jr. (born June 10, 1966) is an American keyboardist and composer. He played on his first song titled "Zulu" with Santana in 1977 receiving his first gold record the following year in 1978. In the following years he co-w ...
* Composer :
Marshall Mathers 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 music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...
* Executive Producer :
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 ...
* Producer Video : Nina Huang Fan * Director : Paul Hunter * Appearances in the clip:
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
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 ...
, Nathan Mathers


Track listing

;UK CD single ;UK Cassette ;Australian CD single ;Notes * signifies a co-
producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Way I Am, The 2000 singles Eminem songs Works about the Columbine High School massacre Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Songs written by Eminem Songs about the media Song recordings produced by Eminem Shady Records singles Aftermath Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles 2000 songs American hip hop songs Hardcore hip hop songs