The Marshall Mathers LP explained (A thread):

This album doesn’t have a coherent concept throughout it, but there are common themes and a lot of great storytelling and wordplay. This will be a track by track explanation of one of the greatest albums ever to be released, as well as talk of its achievements and overall impact.

As the album begins, we have a hilariously offensive intro, Public Service Announcement 2000, where Eminem pretty much tells the listener to deal with whatever he says. This is a good intro to the album considering people taking him too seriously is a common theme present.

Kill you, the following track, is an attack on his mother. In this song he packs in a ton of offensive (but also humorous) bars about none other than his mother. In one of my favorite moments on the album Eminem goes into a perfectly smooth flow and says...what Eminem says.

Stan is one of the most famous songs of all time. In this legendary track Eminem depicts a fans descent into madness as he repeatedly fails to be noticed by Em. This song was supposed to do 2 things, prove he could write songs without pure shock value, and be a message (1/2)

(2/2) to fans who had been taking his shocking lyrics too seriously. As you’ll see through this thread, the perception of his lyrics are an incredibly common theme on this album, tackled in many different ways.

This is followed up, by a classic skit by Paul Rosenberg, where he expresses disappointment in Em for the content on the album, in a moment of self aware humor.

Who Knew contains some of the funniest bars of the whole album. The whole point of the song is to make fun of the people that are trying to hold em responsible for things clearly out of his control. In this moment of satire Em takes the opportunity to call out americas parents.

This is immediately followed by the skit Steve Berman where Steve, the director of marketing, tells Eminem that his content is too crude for the general audience, and the album won’t sell.

The Way I Am contains some of the best rapping ever to be in a song. The way Eminem rides the beat is absolutely ridiculous. The point of the song is to criticize the media and some fans for their treatment of him. He has been portrayed as a villain so he begins to play along.

The Real Slim Shady was not even meant to be on the album, but they were scared that there was no song comparable to the legendary My Name Is, so Em wrote this track just a few hours before the album was due. (1/2)

(2/2) On this song he tackles a variety of issues. He talks about everything from censorship to his influence to the Grammys. The hook of the song is supposed to reflect his uniqueness, and that no one else can do what he can.

Remember me is a song with a ton of shock value, and a very energetic hook from both Em and RBX. This song has a little less going thematically than some of the others, but it is still a strong addition to a great album.

I’m back is Slim Shadys return to the limelight. This song might have the single most shocking bar in Eminem’s career with the now blurred out columbine reference. In this song slim shady expresses disgust with the sensitivity of the mainstream media.

A stark contrast from I’m Back, Marshall Mathers is an introspective song told from the perspective of Marshall himself. He talks about what’s happened in his life since his rise to fame, regarding family relationships, and his portrayal by the media.

Ken Kaniff is a long existing fictional character created by Eminem. This skit contains some gross imagery of a scene between Ken and a few other characters.

Drug Ballad is the most Eminem love song possible. He talks about his relationship with substances in a very funny way. This song is catchy as hell and he rides the beat perfectly. He tells some ridiculous stories from childhood and it makes for one of the more entertaining cuts.

Amityville is a horrorcore inspired track that compares Eminem’s home city of Detroit to Amityville which is the setting for Amityville horror. Eminem comparing Detroit to it is a pretty scathing review of life on the streets of Detroit.

Bitch please 2 is the awaited sequel to bitch please, and it does not disappoint. All of the verses on this song are super entertaining, and Eminem continues the themes he has presented throughout the whole album. It fits perfectly into the tracklist.

Kim is a song that was greeted by varying reviews. The song is a prequel to the 1999 song “97 Bonnie and Clyde.” However it goes significantly harder, as this song depicts Eminem killing his ex, Kim. The songs imagery is vivid, and it provides context for the sequel track.

Under the influence comes at a perfect time, after the emotionally draining Kim, we have a funny Eminem x D12 track. The point of the song is to tell people that didn’t like what he had to say on the album to get over it.

The next track, Criminal, perfectly follows suit with the preceding tracks. He is making fun of the people that actually believe the extremes he claims to go to in his music. Between the fun Dre beat and Eminem’s shocking bars this makes for a super entertaining song.

Overall this album is a criticism of America in a variety of ways. He criticizes the media for their portrayal of people, and for their sensitivity. The album is a violent, self aware, satirical view on life in America.

The Marshall Mathers LP was both a critical and commercial success, and sold 1.76 million records in its first week. It won the Grammy for best rap album, as well as went on to be the best selling album of all time.

All of these things together make what is looked at as one of the best rap albums in history. Thank you for creating this masterpiece @Eminem