The first single off Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP was The Real Slim Shady; the song was a hit single, garnering much attention for insulting various celebrities, including:

• Actress Pamela Anderson's abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, rocker Tommy Lee
• Eminem claims in one line to have murdered Dr. Dre.
• Comedian Tom Green's humping of a deceased moose on TV
• Pop-rapper Will Smith's brand of commercialized and clean rap music
• Eminem also criticizes Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, both similarly commercially-oriented pop singers; Aguilera was angered by his claim that she performed oral sex on Carson Daly, an MTV VJ, and Fred Durst, of the band Limp Bizkit.

The chorus is about the sudden fashion changes caused by Eminem's success: "I'm Slim Shady, yes I'm the real Shady/All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating/So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?". In the video for the song, a factory can be seen turning young white men into clones of Eminem, with hair dyed platinum blonde, baggy jeans and a plain white t-shirt.