The album that launched the Eminem phenomenon, The Slim Shady LP was a rude, lewd, caustic milestone that skewered pop culture and transformed an underground Detroit MC into a worldwide phenomenon. With beats by the Bass Brothers and mentor Dr. Dre, the collection is laced with biting humor that reveals a dark edge. It’s alienation finding an outlet: These tracks are cartoons sketched in the margins of life's homework assignment. Comic narratives like "Guilty Conscience" and "My Fault" have an underlying bleak realism leavened by Eminem's dynamic, larger-than-life performance.