Why Eminem Respects Elvis Presley Even Though He Was ‘Never Really’ a Fan
In a lyric from his song “Without Me,” Eminem compared himself to Elvis Presley. Eminem impersonated the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the music video for the song. During an interview, the rapper explained why he came to respect Elvis even though he isn’t a fan of the rocker’s songs.
Eminem dressed up as Elvis Presley in a comic music video that was originally supposed to be serious
In the lyrics of his song “Without Me,” Eminem raps, “I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley to use Black music so selfishly.” In the video for the song, the rapper impersonates Elvis, wearing a white jumpsuit and dancing. He also dresses up as Robin and Osama bin Laden. In a 2002 interview with MTV News, director Joseph Kahn discussed the evolution of the video.
“It was first pitched to me as a more ‘serious’ Eminem video,” Kahn said. “We were initially going to make some sort of slick-looking video with movie-like production values. Eminem was going to just look cool, and in no way was he going to wear a silly costume or make a fool out of himself. Oops.”
Eminem learned to appreciate Elvis Presley as a dancer after trying to imitate ‘Jailhouse Rock’
During a 2009 interview with Metro Times, Eminem discussed Elvis. “I never was really an Elvis fan,” he revealed. “I’ll tell you one thing, though. One respect I do have for that guy was that … Well, obviously he was a great artist, but I was just never really into his music.”
Despite his feelings about Elvis’ songs, Eminem appreciated his dancing. “I’ll tell you something — that motherf***** could dance!” he opined. When I was trying to learn that ‘Jailhouse Rock‘ s*** [for the ‘Without Me’ video], I was like ‘Man, this f*****’ guy could dance!!'”
The way listeners in the United States and the United Kingdom reacted to ‘Without Me’
“Without Me” became one of Eminem’s most famous comic songs. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for 20 weeks, peaking at No. 2. The rapper released the song on his album The Eminem Show. For six weeks, the album was No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It stayed on the chart for 400 weeks.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Without Me” was similarly successful in the United Kingdom. “Without Me” was No. 1 for one of its 19 weeks on the chart in the U.K. Meanwhile, The Eminem Show peaked at No. 1 for five of its 77 weeks on the chart.
“Without Me'” had an impact outside of its time on the charts. It appeared in the DC Comics film Suicide Squad. The song also served as the basis for Drunkenmunkey’s EDM song “E.”
Eminem appreciated Elvis’ talent as a dancer – even if he isn’t blasting “Can’t Help Falling in Love” on his car speakers.
