Fan explainer Alter Ego
Who is Slim Shady? The alter ego, from 1999 to 2024
Slim Shady is the provocative character Marshall Mathers built his breakthrough around — and, in 2024, the subject of a whole concept album about killing him off.
Eminem is the stage name of Marshall Bruce Mathers III. Slim Shady is his alter ego: a deliberately outrageous character who says what Marshall won’t.
The breakthrough
The Slim Shady LP was released on February 23, 1999, through Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records, after Eminem was recruited by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Most of its lyrics are written from Slim Shady’s point of view.
The character was so central that Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg named their label after him: Shady Records was founded in 1999.
The finale?
Twenty-five years later, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) arrived on July 12, 2024. It is a concept album built around a battle between Eminem and Slim Shady.