Was Eminem high on ecstasy in his classic video “My Name Is”?
This has been a lingering question among fans, who might have noticed something peculiar in the rapper’s eyes during certain scenes.
The iconic rapper Eminem navigates through these rumors and more as he takes viewers behind the scenes of the official music video for “My Name Is,” in the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes.
The release comes in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Eminem’s major-label debut single in 1999. Eminem shares fascinating insights into how the song and the video came to life.
He details his first-ever studio session with Dr. Dre, where a simple action of Dre dropping the needle on a record led Eminem to spontaneously start saying, “Hi, my name is,” over the beat. This session marked the inception of a song that would soon take the world by storm, reshaping Eminem’s career.
Delving into the making of the music video, Eminem recounts his experience with humor and appreciation.
He highlights the challenge of finding tall individuals for a specific ventriloquist scene, and how delighted they were when Gheorge Murasan, standing at 7 feet 7 inches, agreed to participate, bringing both his towering stature and a great sense of humor on set.
Eminem reflects on the production of the video, emphasizing the enormity of the project.
“This video was the first big budget thing I had ever done,” Eminem recalls, pointing out the vast learning curve he faced while being part of such a large-scale production for the first time.
Addressing the rumors head-on, Eminem hints at a particular scene where viewers speculated if he was under the influence of ecstasy.
“If you look closely at my eyes during the scene where I was dressed like Bill Clinton, it may look like I was high on ecstasy during that part of the shoot…but that’s just a rumor,” Eminem clarifies.
Eminem takes pride in how “My Name Is” served as the perfect introduction to his music career and admits, while he enjoyed the creation and filming process, he was not high on ecstasy, debunking the long-standing myth.