Released March 14, 2004 Recorded 2003 Label Shady, Interscope | Format CD single Genre Comedy hip hop | |
Length 4:58 (album version)
4:44 (radio edit) | ||
"My Band" is a song by the American rap group D12. It was released in March 2004 as the first single from their second album D12 World. The song is a parody of the false concept that Eminem is the lead singer of the "band" D12.
Contents
The single became the group's most successful so far (outside the United Kingdom), reaching number two there, 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, 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 [his] band”.
Eminem talks about his own popularity in the first verse. It describes episodes such as him meeting some of his fans offstage, and when group member Kuniva tries to attack him when he claims that Jessica Alba is his future wife.
In the second verse, Swift wrestles the mic from Eminem and then describes some of the negative consequences this propaganda has for the rest of the D12’s members, such as not recording with Pro Tools, being stuck driving a van whilst Eminem rides in a tour bus, getting their names mixed up, and being provided a dressing room "smaller than a decimal". Kon Artis and Kuniva talk about this together in the third verse, with Eminem occasionally interrupting. The two find themselves unable to find a proper insult for him.
Just like Swift, Proof complains about the propaganda in his solo part, and says how people that view it this way know nothing about the group (To back up his point, fans yell out “Where’s Obie and Dre?”, referring to rappers Obie Trice and Dr. Dre).
In the fifth verse, Bizarre, after attacking Eminem who is at the time singing in traditional boy band, attacks the media for promoting a concept that he clearly views as nonsense, and claims that it's actually he that's the most popular person in the group. He also threatens to leave D12 on several occasions, claiming he'll "start a group with The Real Roxanne."
After this fifth verse, there is a short hook by Eminem, 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-style accent, "promoting" his fictional next single "My Salsa" (a parody of Kelis' hit single "Milkshake"). The song then ends abruptly, followed by Eminem saying, "Where did everybody go?".
Parodies
Music video
The music video begins by showing the rest of D12 looking through the window of a door to find Eminem receiving a massage, which is similar to the song's preceding skit on the album, "Dude". It then cuts to shots of Eminem in a limousine 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 50 Cent's "In Da Club"), Bizarre and a midget spoofing fellow Michigander Kid Rock, Bizarre in the background of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and "Superman" music videos, the entire band performing a boy band-style song while dressed like The Backstreet Boys, and a re-enactment of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" (with Bizarre as Janet and Eminem as Justin Timberlake).
At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2004, "My Band" (directed by Philip G. Atwell, co-directed by Eminem) was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Rap Video, but did not win in any of the categories. During their performance of the song, 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.
Also, in the clean version on YouTube, Bizarre's verse where he is in the music videos, The word "fuck" was left out.
Track listing
UK CD1
UK CD2