'97 Bonnie & Clyde

"'97 Bonnie & Clyde"
Song by Eminem
from the album Slim Shady EP and The Slim Shady LP
Released February 12, 1998
Format CD single
Recorded 1997
Genre Horrorcore[1]
Length 4:20 ("Just the Two of Us")
5:16 ("'97 Bonnie & Clyde")
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • DJ Head (pre.)
  • Bass Brothers
  • Eminem (co.)

"'97 Bonnie & Clyde" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song appears on the Slim Shady EP (as "Just the Two of Us") and The Slim Shady LP. Eminem recorded a prequel for The Marshall Mathers LP, "Kim". The song is covered by Tori Amos on her 2001 album of gender-swapped covers, Strange Little Girls.

Background

The song features Eminem dumping his ex-wife, Kim Mathers' corpse in the lake with his then-infant daughter Hailie. The sounds played at the beginning of the song, including the jingling of keys and the slamming of a car door, imply that Eminem put Kim's body in the trunk of his car. These are the same sounds played at the end of the song "Kim" by Eminem. In "Kim", the lines immediately before the sounds are heard. Eminem got the idea to write this song at a time when Kim was stopping him from seeing his daughter.[2]

Critical response

AllMusic highlighted and praised the song: "notorious track where he imagines killing his wife and then disposing of the body with his baby daughter in tow" and critic noted that this song is connected with Eminem's life struggles.[3] Steve 'Flash' Juon called the remix bad and he continued: "the new one (remix version) is lifeless and oddly out of place among an album full of mostly dope cuts."[4] Rob Sheffield wrote: "the wife-killing jokes of "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" aren't any funnier than Garth Brooks'."[5] Entertainment Weekly wrote a positive opinion: "In the album's funniest slice of black humor, a smart-ass parody of Will Smith's unctuous Just the Two of Us called 97' Bonnie & Clyde, Eminem and his baby daughter take a pleasant drive to a lake — into which he tosses the dead body of the child's mother. Sending up the gooey sentiments and pop melody of the Smith hit, Eminem raps: Mama said she wants to show you how far she can float/And don't worry about that little boo-boo on her throat."[6]

Track listing

CD single
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."'97 Bonnie & Clyde"Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mark BassBass Brothers, Eminem5:16

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Horrorcore: From Esham to Hopsin, a look at the history of rap's most terrifying subgenre". Westword.
  2. ↑ "Eminem: Crossing the Line, 2000. p. 63". Google Books. 2000. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  3. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Slim Shady LP - Eminem | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ "Eminem :: The Slim Shady LP :: Aftermath". Rapreviews.com. 9 March 1999.
  5. ↑ Rob Sheffield (1 April 1999). "The Slim Shady LP | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone.
  6. ↑ David Browne on Mar 12, 1999 (12 March 1999). "The Slim Shady LP Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com.
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