For those of you who need a reminder, Eminem's real name is Marshall Mathers — making the title of his first hit album pretty understandable. The LP's title certainly grabbed the attention of his fans, who, of course, stayed for the music, making Eminem a household name. But, did you know that the album was almost named something entirely different? In a 2000 profile for SPIN, Slim Shady shared that he originally workshopped the name "Amsterdam" for the album — we're glad he stuck to "The Marshall Mathers LP," which featured one of his biggest hits, "The Real Slim Shady" — but there's a story behind this once possible name for the album.
Apparently, Amsterdam was one of young Eminem's favorite cities, no doubt, because it has malleable drug legality. In fact, the city has the reputation as the "Ecstasy-producing capital of the world," and, as we learned earlier, Eminem was partial to the substance (per SPIN). However, the rapper also sourced album inspiration from Amsterdam-based journalists who "irked" him so much and never left him alone. On a flight home from Europe, he apparently wrote four songs for the album, which set the rapper up for stardom.
