Eminem – ‘Without Me’

25 May 2002

Is this the first Irish number one we can attribute to bantz? Certainly l’affaire Keano of the time made Eminem’s ‘Without Me’ topical, or at least an easy reach for the same breakfast radio presenters who pre-Saipan had been regaling us with their World Cup-flavoured comedy songs and skits.

Of course, Eminem had already topped the Irish singles chart twice, so even without the gravitational pull of current affairs there was a ready buying public for ‘Without Me’. And you’ll be unsurprised to know that ‘Without Me’ stinks as badly as ‘The Real Slim Shady’ and ‘Stan’. Once again we’re served homophobia (including an actual f-slur) and misogyny, though these harsh realities of the Eminem aesthetic will have been finessed out of the radio edit. Even without them, we still get another cartoonish skit of rap and hip hop: in the video, collaborator Dr Dre and Eminem even dress up as ’60s Batman and Robin. Eminem here also has the neck to equate criticism of his profiteering from music of Black origin to the same criticism met by the young Elvis. In truth, the charge stands, but more that Eminem is a frat-boy Vanilla Ice. Unfortunately for us, he’ll return for another of his and our traditionally festive Irish Christmas number ones. Just like the Saipan debate, Eminem toxifies our airwaves in 2002. But hey, great bantz!