'97 Bonnie & Clyde

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Not to be confused with '03 Bonnie & Clyde.
"'97 Bonnie & Clyde"
Eminem - Role Model single CD cover.jpg
Promotional cover art
Song by Eminem
from the album Slim Shady EP and The Slim Shady LP
ReleasedFebruary 12, 1998
Recorded1997
GenreHorrorcore[1]
Length4:20 ("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 the 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 was covered by Tori Amos on her 2001 album of gender-swapped covers, Strange Little Girls. In the song, Eminem (or in this song slim shady) he talks to his daughter whilst taking her to the pier to throw his wife, Kim, in the sea. He speaks to his daughter Hailie in a baby like fashion (ex: c’mon Hai-Hai we going to the beach. Grab a couple of toys and let Dada strap you into the car seat.) but still has a dark undertone.

Background[]

The song has Eminem disposing of the corpse of his ex-wife, Kim Mathers, 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, "[It is] lifeless and oddly out of place among an album full of mostly dope cuts."[4] Rob Sheffield wrote, "[T]he wife-killing jokes of “’97 Bonnie and Clyde” aren't any funnier than Garth Brooks’."[5] Entertainment Weekly gave 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"
5:16
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Horrorcore: From Esham to Hopsin, a look at the history of rap's most terrifying subgenre". Westword.
  2. ^ Martin Huxley (2000). Eminem: Crossing the Line. St. Martin's Press. p. 63. ISBN 1429975741. Retrieved 8 January 2016. I lied to Kim and told her I was taking her to Chuck E. Cheese that day.
  3. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Slim Shady LP - Eminem". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Eminem :: The Slim Shady LP :: Aftermath". Rapreviews.com. 9 March 1999.
  5. ^ Rob Sheffield (1 April 1999). "The Slim Shady LP". Rolling Stone.
  6. ^ David Browne (12 March 1999). "The Slim Shady LP Review". Entertainment Weekly.
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