"Without Me" is a song 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 fourth studio album ''

The Eminem Show ''The Eminem Show'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eminem. After it had originally scheduled for release on June 4, 2002, the album was released nine days earlier on May 26, 2002, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and ...

'' (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 15, 2002, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album '' Curtain Call: The Hits'' (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two in the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, and number one in fifteen countries.

Content

The song was Eminem's return after the successful ''

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 ...

'', intended as a sequel to "

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 ...

" and essentially says that he is back to save the world. It also refers to Eminem's role in the music industry and his effect on culture. The song mocks a number of Eminem's critics, including then-Vice-president

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

(including his recurring heart problems) and his wife Lynne, the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

Chris Kirkpatrick Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick (born October 17, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, and occasional actor, who is best known for his work as the founding member of the pop group NSYNC, in which he sang countertenor. He ...

(of

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

and

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

, as well as parodying

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's decision to change his name to a symbol. It also lampoons comparisons of him to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

as a white man succeeding commercially in a predominantly black art form. A line also attacks his mother Debbie Mathers for the lawsuit she filed for the lyrics of his debut single "

My Name Is "My Name Is" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his second album ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). It is also the opening song and lead single of the album. The song samples British singer Labi Siffre's 1975 track "I Got The..." as a bass and g ...

". The opening lyric ''"Two

trailer park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and eas ...

girls go round the outside"'' is based on the

country rap Country rap (or country hip hop and sometimes hick hop) is a fusion genre of popular music, blending country music with hip hop–style singing or rapping. History Prototypes Early influences on the emergence of country rap as a distinct genre ...

single "

Buffalo Gals "Buffalo Gals" is a traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the blackface minstrel John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White". The song was widely popular throughout the United States, where minstrels often ...

" by

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

. The introduction—"

Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He was signed to fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records in 2002, where he released the albums ''Cheers'' (2003) and ''Second Round's on Me'' (2006). Trice formed his own record ...

, real name, no gimmicks"—is sampled from Obie Trice's own track "

Rap Name Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

marked it as one of the best tracks on ''The Eminem Show''. David Browne was positive: "'I've created a monster, 'cuz no one wants to hear Marshall no more,' he (Eminem) whines, partly in jest, in the beat-crazy single 'Without Me'." ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' noted that the blazing single "Without Me" is one of the only light-hearted songs on the album. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' magazine noted that this song is "tackling disco." RapReviews wrote: "His fearlessness continues on the lead single "Without Me" when he lambasts everyone from Dick Cheney's wife to the leading electronic artists of the day." Kris Ex exclaims: ""Without Me"—like his "The Real Slim Shady," the leadoff single from 2000's ''The Marshall Mathers LP''—is a fun-loving, barb-laden romp on which he flits from one topic to the next like a bumblebee with ADD."

Chart performances and awards

"Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles. The song reached the number one position in the charts in numerous countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand for 7 weeks. In the United States, the song reached a peak of number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 behind "

Hot in Herre "Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the first single from his second studio album ''Nellyville'' (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the producers ...

" by

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

, although it reached number one on both the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

and

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

charts. "Without Me" was nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

at the

Grammy Awards of 2003 The 45th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002. Musicians accomplishments ...

(losing to

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

's song "

Don't Know Why "Don't Know Why" is a song written and composed by Jesse Harris that originally appeared on his 1999 album, ''Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos.'' A cover of the song was the debut single of American singer Norah Jones from her debut studio album, ...

"), being Eminem's first song to receive a Grammy nomination in a major category. It also received a nomination for

Best Male Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance was an honor presented to male recording artists at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003 and the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004 for quality rap solo performances. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony th ...

but lost that award as well to the song "Hot in Herre" by rapper Nelly. In 2009, the song was honored by

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

as the 251st-greatest song of the 2000s. The song was the 69th-best-selling single of the 2000s in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The song's music video features a number of scenarios built around its context, including Eminem and

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 ...

as parodies of comics in general, specifically

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

, Robin (Rap Boy), and

Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...

trying to save a child who bought a copy of ''The Eminem Show'' that has a

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

sticker. Eminem and his band of heroes rush to the rescue before the child puts the CD in his CD player and when they arrive Rap Boy snatches it away from him, showing that his CD has explicit lyrics that are not suitable for him to listen to. The kid cries and is upset after Rap Boy and Blade (Dr. Dre) confiscate the album away from him. The video was shot from April 12–13 at Barwick Studios. The comic and the scene with Moby feature a rabbit costume, a possible reference to the one featured in two Love Inc. music videos. As of May 2022, the music video has over 1.4 billion views. This video received

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s for Video of the Year,

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

, Best Rap Video, and Best Direction (for

Joseph Kahn Joseph Kahn may refer to: *Joseph Kahn (director) (born 1972), a film and music video director *Joseph Kahn (journalist) (born 1964), American journalist * Joseph Kahn (shipping executive) (1916–1979), American businessman See also *Joseph Hahn ...

), as well as gaining nominations for Best Editing and Viewer's Choice. It also won

Best Short Form Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

at the

Track listing

;European CD single ;UK CD single ;Australian CD single ;Notes * signifies a co-Record producer. * signifies an additional producer.

Charts

Weekly charts

, - , - , - ! scope="row", Lithuania ( AGATA) , align=center, 38 , - !scope="row", Slovakia ( Singles Digitál Top 100) , align=center, 46

Year-end charts

, +2002 year-end chart performance for "Without Me" , - , - , - , - , - , - ! scope="row", Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)
, 67 , - !scope="row", Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)
, 111 , - ! scope="row", Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) , 3 , - , - !scope="row", France (SNEP) , style="text-align:center;", 15 , - !scope="row", Germany (

Official German Charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

) , style="text-align:center;", 4 , - , - !scope="row", Italy (FIMI) , 12 , - !scope="row", Netherlands (

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

) , style="text-align:center;", 18 , - , - !scope="row", New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) , style="text-align:center;", 4 , - !scope="row", Sweden (

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

) , style="text-align:center;", 6 , - , - !scope="row", UK Singles (OCC) , style="text-align:center;", 10 , - !scope="row", US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 , style="text-align:center;", 21 , - ! scope="row", US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (''Billboard'') , 79 , - , +2022 year-end chart performance for "Without Me" , - , - ! scope="row", Australia (ARIA) , 56 , - ! scope="row", Global 200 (''Billboard'') , 63 , - ! scope="row", Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) , 89 , -

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

In popular culture

* In December 2002,

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's flagship sketch comedy show ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...

'' created a parody video of this song, entitled "Without Meat". * The song is included in the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the 2016 film ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

''. * The song is also featured in the dance rhythm game, ''

Just Dance 2021 ''Just Dance 2021'' is a 2020 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on August 26, 2020 during the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase August 2020 web presentation as the twelfth main installment of the series, an ...

''. * The song was also used in the trailer for ''

Despicable Me 2 ''Despicable Me 2'' is a 2013 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to ''Despicable Me'' (2010), it is directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, and ...

''. * The teaser and trailer for the 2020 mockumentary/comedy '' Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' produced by British comedian

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

features a brief Kazakh iteration of the song. * The song was parodied on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' with a song named "NFTs" with

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian and actor. He was a cast member of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) for eight seasons, running from 2014 to 2022. Davidson's ...

as Eminem,

Chris Redd Christopher Jerell Redd (born March 25, 1985) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, rapper, and singer. Redd was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2017 to 2022. For his work on the show, he won ...

as Dr. Dre, and a cameo by

Jack Harlow Jackman Thomas Harlow (born March 13, 1998) is an American rapper from Louisville, Kentucky. He started his career in 2015 and released several EPs and mixtapes before he was signed to Don Cannon and DJ Drama's record label Generation Now in 201 ...

. * Attorney

Alex Spiro Alexander Benjamin Spiro (born ) is an American attorney. He is a partner at the New York office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Early life and education Spiro was born in New York and grew up in Boston. He is the eldest of four children ...

in a court filing for

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

against SEC to rescind SEC decree requiring Musk's tweets about Tesla to be reviewed before posting, quoted ''"(SEC) won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see; They tried to shut me down"'', replacing FCC with SEC.

References

External links