In the video for “The Real Slim Shady,” from his sophomore album The Marshall Mathers LP (Shady/Interscope, 2000), he dressed up as a reporter, a fast-food worker and Britney Spears. And in his video for “Without Me,” from The Eminem Show (Shady/Interscope, 2002), he portrayed the fictional superhero Rap Boy, his mother Debbie Mathers and his one-time target Moby.
But Em is clearly looking to top all his past performances with the first music video from his fifth solo album Relapse (Shady/Interscope, 2009). In a photo from the set of his first official single, “We Made You,” (first spotted here), he’s shown seated at a blackjack table at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas dressed like Dustin Hoffman’s brilliant (but autistic) character in the 1988 film Rain Man (United Artists). And while the video isn’t due to drop until early April, Slim Shady’s already got the internets going nuts with his new role (dude, didn’t you see Tropic Thunder?). But is that necessarily a good thing? Here’s how five other rappers fared when they tried spoofing an obscure Hollywood movie (and by obscure, we mean anything not titled Scarface, Goodfellas or The Godfather) in order to create hype for a music video.
The Spoof: “We Trying To Stay Alive,” by Wyclef Jean, feat. The Refugee All-Stars, from The Carnival (Sony/Columbia, 1997)
The Original:Saturday Night Fever (Paramount, 1977)
The Review: No one does Travolta like Travolta. But the soundtrack for SNF went platinum something like fifteen times. So if you’re gonna jack the Bee Gees sample straight from the movie, why not go the distance?
The Spoof: “Pump It Up,” by Joe Budden, from Joe Budden (Def Jam, 2001)
The Original:The Ring (DreamWorks, 2002)
The Review: So, let me get this straight: Just like in the movie, three chicks watch a cursed videotape, which happens to feature the video for Jumpoff’s “Pump It Up” and then…Damn. I’ma JB fan so I’m not even doing it. If you so choose, insert your own punchline here → _________________
The Spoof: “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See,” by Busta Rhymes, from When Disaster Strikes (Flipmode/Elektra, 1997)
The Original:Coming To America (Paramount, 1988)
The Review:
Using a fish-eyed lens, legendary video director Hype Williams captured
Busta getting chased through a palace by an elephant and glowing from
an overdose of neon body paint (pause?). It’s ridiculous, over-the-top
and fit for a king. Or Prince Akeem.
The Spoof: “Oooh,” by De La Soul, feat. Redman, from Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (Tommy Boy, 2000)
The Original:The Wiz (Motown/Universal, 1975) and The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939)
The Review: @delasoul LMAO! U guys seen red or digga around?
The Spoof: “Mesmerize,” by Ja Rule, feat. Ashanti, from The Last Temptation (Murder Inc/Def Jam, 2002)
The Original:Grease (Paramount, 1978)
The Review: What has two thumbs and just lost 5:51 of time at work?
*VIBE Media Group does not endorse the use of this phrasing and realizes that autism is a serious disease afflicting over 1 million families, daily. For more information on how you can help contribute to autism research, please click here.
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