My Band
| "My Band" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"My Band" is a 2004 rap single by the rap group D12. It is the first single from their second album D12 World. The song is a parody of the false concept that Eminem is the lead singer of the "band" D12. The single became the group's most successful so far, reaching #2 in the UK the top 10 in the U.S. and #1 in Australia.
Lyrics
The brief introduction summarizes the song’s message: that Eminem is the lead singer of the band and it makes everyone else in D12 jealous and looked down upon. In the chorus, he describes how girls have confidence in the group just because he is in it, even though they “don’t even know the name of my band”.
Eminem talks about his own popularity in the first verse. It describes episodes such as him meeting some of his fans offstage, and when group member Kuniva tries to attack him when he claims that Jessica Alba is his future wife. This verse contained a controversial line where Eminem states that his popularity makes some girls want to suck his penis, an explicit reference to oral sex.
In the second verse, Swift describes some of the negative consequences this propaganda has for the rest of the D12’s members. Kon Artis and Kuniva talk about this together in the third verse, with Eminem occasionally interrupting. The two find themselves unable to find a proper insult for him.
Just like Swift, Proof complains about the propaganda in his solo part, and says how people that view it this way know nothing about the group (To back up his point, a security guard yells out “Where’s Obie and Dre?”, referring to rappers Obie Trice and Dr. Dre, whom he wrongly thinks are members of the group). In the fifth verse, Bizarre attacks the media for promoting a concept that he clearly views as nonsense, and claims that it’s actually him that’s the most popular person in the group. He also threatens to leave D12 on several occasions.
After this fifth verse, there is a short hook by Eminem, and Bizarre follows by trying to sing the chorus, which results in laughter. After that, some members yell out random comments while other sing the song's title repeatedly.
At the end of the song, Eminem sings in a Mexican-style accent, "promoting" his fictional next single "My Salsa" (a parody of Kelis' hit single Milkshake).
Music video
The music video begins by showing the rest of D12 look through the window of a door to find Eminem receiving a massage, which is similar to the song's preceding skit on the album, "Dude". It then cuts to shots of Eminem in a limousine while the others are forced to wait for a bus, and the whole song's context is picked up from there.
Later scenes include Bizarre attempting to get in shape (parodying the video for 50 Cent's "In Da Club"), the entire band performing a boy band-style song while dressed like 'N Sync, and a re-enactment of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" (with Bizarre as Janet and Eminem as Justin Timberlake).
At the MTV Video Music Awards in 2004, "My Band" was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Rap Video. It failed to win any, though. During their performance of the song, Eminem mooned the audience. MTV originally planned to blur Eminem's bare bottom, but in light of their recent problems with the aforementioned "wardrobe malfunction" they instead decided to cut the mooning from the performance altogether. Pictures of Eminem's mooning have been spread across the internet.