From Encore to Kamikaze, especially, Eminem has sounded trapped within the idea that lyricism matters more than purpose, shock more than thoughtfulness, and showmanship more than substance. There are seeds planted within every album Eminem has released over the past 20 years that capture the polarity that plagues SSLP. Still, the imprint Slim Shady LP made on the entirety of his career remains the most profound. One year later, Eminem released his magnum opus and most exhilarating album, Marshall Mathers LP, which was then followed two years later by arguably the most mature and well-rounded project in his catalog, The Eminem Show. The outlaws of the Wild West were privy to two fates: either die legends or live just long enough to see themselves diminished from a society progressing without them. Going back to the Western trope: the gunslinger narrative isn’t a tale of heroism as much as it is a tragedy about the eventual uselessness of such a figure the more that society outgrows it. It’s also evident that Eminem knew and understood his role in hip-hop and the responsibility of having such a role. The success of Slim Shady LP rests almost entirely on how the framing of Eminem’s own narrative-and the gunslinger mentality that drove every ounce of the album-has played out over the past 20 years. Eminem could be Jesse James and John Wayne at once: an artistic outlaw refusing to conform, and a self-appointed savior of pop culture. He was an anti-hero daring enough to poke fun at the music industry-all while garnering fame by pushing the boundaries of storytelling and shock rap. The polarizing nature of Slim Shady is what made Slim Shady LP iconic for its time. Eminem’s alter ego, as he saw it, was neither the hero or villain, but the satirical and bitter antihero channeling everything from his difficult childhood to his frustration with the music industry into one rebellious figure. The success of both Eminem’s Slim Shady persona, and subsequently the Slim Shady LP, follows the same traits of the gunslinger trope in American culture.