In a new episode of Vevo Footnotes Eminem added context to the recording of his iconic “My Name Is” single and shared some details about its visual supplement. In addition to reflecting on “the learning curve of being on the set of such a large-scale production for the first time,” Eminem took a moment to address some chatter surrounding the project. Check out all the facts told by Slim Shady himself below.
— This was the second song we did during my first session with Dr. Dre. He had a turntable in the studio, dropped the needle on the record and I just started saying “Hi, my name is” over that little snippet.
— Once we hit on that section of Labi Siffre’s song, Dre had the idea to make it into a beat. Dre and his musicians actually recreated Labi Siffer’s record…The interpolation made it more hip-hop.
—I went back to the apartments in Los Angeles where I was living at the time and wrote some dummy verses that night. We both thought it would be a good way to introduce me to the world.
— We shot this video a few months after recording the song – a big moment. It was only second video I had ever done and the first was real low budget.
— Gheorghe Mureșan is 7 foot 7. He was the tallest guy we could think of that could play the ventriloquist so that I could sit on his lap and look like I’m the size of a dummy. I’m glad he had a sense of humor and was down to shoot it with us.
— This video was the first big budget thing I had ever done. It was such a big deal to experience a soundstage, a full crew, and all the things that come with shooting something at that scale. It was such a huge learning curve to see what a big Hollywood production looked like.
— Dre had a working relationship with with the director Phil Atwell (who also directed “The Real Slim Shady,” “Stan,” “Lose Yourself,” “Just Lose It”) They created the vision. It’s hard to imagine the song existing without that video. They perfectly complement each other.
— If you look closely at my eyes during the scene where I was dressed like Bill Clinton, it may look like I was high on ecstasy during that part of the shoot…But that’s just a rumor.
— Looking back this seems like the perfect introduction to the world, a a perfect first single for my major label debut. I don’t think I would have done it any differently, but I certainly had no idea how big it was going to become.
— I don’t think I could write an update in 2024, but maybe I’ll have them write “Bye, My Name Was” on my tombstone.
Eminem premiered “My Name Is” music video on MTV Total Request Live on January 21, 1999. It was ranked No. 71 in NME‘s 100 Greatest Music Videos list. It received three nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards and won in “Best New Artist in a Video” category.
