Eminem Talks the Surreal Reality Behind Writing “Stan”

Living at Kim’s mom’s place, Eminem channeled the shock of sudden fame into a song that would change hip hop forever.

Speaking on Shade45 for the Stans premiere special, Eminem recalled what the headspace he was in when creating “Stan”. He was drawing parallels to how he once felt about Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, and other heroes of his:

It was a surreal moment for me to write a song like that, from the perspective of this is happening to me. The way I feel about Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, Treach, Redman, the list goes on. It was crazy that it was happening to me. I still was living at Kim’s mom’s house on Chalmers. I remember where I was when I wrote the song. I hadn’t moved and bought a house yet. My second album was out before I actually bought my first house.

Writing about the situation where he might be an equally influential figure for someone else felt bizarre, especially since the fame was so new, Em recalled:

To be in that position and to write a song from the perspective of a fan obsessed over me was crazy. But it was so fresh, and it had just started happening. And it was so weird for me to be able to grasp. There are people who listen to my music, and I’m impacting their lives. That’s what was happening to me: meeting fans at shows, after shows, standing in line. These people are here to see me. It was fucking blowing my mind. But it was also about how controversial my music was at that time. People taking the shit that I say so literally and thinking I’m really like this, the way I portray myself in my music, walking around like Slim Shady all day.

The layers of meaning rooted in real-life experience – the secret of “Stan” might sound simple, but it is impossible to imitate.