The Way I Am (Eminem song)

Background

The song is angst-ridden and ostensibly directed towards the record executives who had greatly stressed Eminem to top the success of his last album. As of the time of writing, which was shortly before the album's end of production, Eminem had yet to create any such singles that might replicate his previous success with "My Name Is", though he would soon pen "The Real Slim Shady", which would go on to be his most successful single to date. The song lashes out at those whom he perceived were placing undue burdens upon him and at overzealous fans, telling them they should leave him alone rather than harass him and his family.

It features the first beat Eminem produced on his own, featuring an ominous bass line, a piano loop, and bell chimes. In the song, Eminem lashes out at people he feels are putting too much pressure on him, including overzealous fans and record executives expecting him to top the success of his hit single "My Name Is", though in fact he went on to do so with "The Real Slim Shady," as well as other songs. He delivers each line very aggressively, almost shouting them out. The song contains the line "When a dude's gettin bullied and shoots up his school, and they blame it on Marilyn...", referring to either Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold, the bullied perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre which took place the previous year, and the resulting media backlash against Marilyn Manson. The song has also been remixed by Danny Lohner featuring Marilyn Manson, who has performed the song with Eminem live on stage. The song reached number 8 in the United Kingdom, while in the United States it did not fare as well, not charting on the top 50. 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.

Structure

From the perspective of traditional poetic theory, almost the entire song, excluding the chorus, can be described as being written in anapestic tetrameter. Eminem's short-short-long "anapestic" rhythm is in a highly syncopated manner which is completely off the beat: he rests on the beat itself, 1,2,3,4, and delivers his words on the other 16th notes (e & a), accenting the last 16th note, the same place where the kick drum hits. This syncopated rhythm gives this piece much of its dramatic tension and is identical to the rhythm of the piano accompaniment.

The chorus adapts lines from the song "As the Rhyme Goes On" from Eric B. and Rakim's debut album Paid in Full in which Rakim raps,

I'm the R, the A, to the K, I, M; if I wasn't, then why would I say I am?

Critical reception

Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters 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 highlighted the song. Sputnikmusic 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 "I 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.

Music video

The music video at the beginning plays a slow instrumental of his song "Kim", 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 film The Hudsucker Proxy, in which the hero also falls slowly from a skyscraper window. Marilyn Manson 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, 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. The music video removes Eminem saying 'whatever'.

Track listing

1. "The Way I Am" - 4:50
2. "Bad Influence" - 3:40
3. "My Fault" (Pizza Mix) - 3:54
4. "The Way I Am" (Video) - 4:52

1. "The Way I Am" - 4:50
2. "Bad Influence" - 3:40

1. "The Way I Am" (Unedited Version) - 4:50
2. "The Way I Am" (Clean) - 4:49
3. "Kids" (Uncensored Version) - 5:07
4. "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" - 5:17
5. "Steve Berman" (Skit) - 0:56
6. "The Real Slim Shady" (Video) - 4:44