Cleanin' Out My Closet
Encyclopedia
"Cleanin' Out My Closet" is a song by American rapper Eminem
released in 2002. It was from his worldwide hit album, The Eminem Show
and was later re-released in 2005 for Eminem's greatest hits album Curtain Call: The Hits
. "Cleanin' Out My Closet" was the second single released from the album following "Without Me
". However, unlike the preceding single Eminem departed from his humorous Slim Shady persona
to take observers on a solemn journey into a deeply personal reservoir of fury and pain. It became the second top-ten single from the album (reaching #4 on the United States
Billboard Hot 100
) and one of the highest-charting singles of his career.
, the Blondie's most famous hit was heavily sampled as the background song throughout the entire video, while Eminem himself rapped throughout the whole song. The music video for the song was directed by Dr. Dre
and Philip Atwell.
examines his life reflecting on such topics as his troubled childhood, marital conflicts, and resentful feud with his mother. Eminem underscores his animosity towards her by melodically rapping a searingly honest portrayal of what he experienced as a child.
Also in the song, he describes how others protest his lyrics. He expresses the anger that he feels towards his family and how he is better off without them now, and goes on to reassure his audience that his words regarding his mother are not done for the sake of public attention "now I would never diss my own mama just to get recognition". The song also describes how Eminem suffers at the hands of his mother because of Münchausen syndrome by proxy
in the line "All my life being made to feel sick when I wasn't".
Eminem also mentions the demo that his mother put out for him called Set The Record Straight.
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
released in 2002. It was from his worldwide hit album, The Eminem Show
The Eminem Show
The Eminem Show is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Eminem, released in 2002. It was the best-selling album of 2002 in the United States, with sales of 7.6 million copies. At the Grammy Awards of 2003 it was nominated for Album of the Year and became Eminem's third LP in four years to...
and was later re-released in 2005 for Eminem's greatest hits album Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits
Curtain Call: The Hits is a 2005 greatest hits compilation album by American rapper Eminem. It collects Eminem's most popular songs, as well as four new tracks; a live version of "Stan" featuring Elton John from the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus new songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That"...
. "Cleanin' Out My Closet" was the second single released from the album following "Without Me
Without Me
"Without Me" is a rap song by American rapper Eminem. It was released as the lead single from his fourth studio album titled The Eminem Show in 2002, and re-released on his greatest-hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits in 2005....
". However, unlike the preceding single Eminem departed from his humorous Slim Shady persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
to take observers on a solemn journey into a deeply personal reservoir of fury and pain. It became the second top-ten single from the album (reaching #4 on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
) and one of the highest-charting singles of his career.
Alternate Version
From the most famous mashup video of "Atomic Closet", a fusion of Eminem's original "Cleaning Out My Closet" and Blondie's AtomicAtomic
Atomic may refer to:* Of or relating to the Atom, the smallest particle of a chemical element that retains its chemical properties* Atomic Age, also known as the "Atomic Era"* Atomic , an Australian computing and technology magazine...
, the Blondie's most famous hit was heavily sampled as the background song throughout the entire video, while Eminem himself rapped throughout the whole song. The music video for the song was directed by Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Philip Atwell.
Lyrical content
In the song, Eminem introspectivelyIntrospection
Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...
examines his life reflecting on such topics as his troubled childhood, marital conflicts, and resentful feud with his mother. Eminem underscores his animosity towards her by melodically rapping a searingly honest portrayal of what he experienced as a child.
Also in the song, he describes how others protest his lyrics. He expresses the anger that he feels towards his family and how he is better off without them now, and goes on to reassure his audience that his words regarding his mother are not done for the sake of public attention "now I would never diss my own mama just to get recognition". The song also describes how Eminem suffers at the hands of his mother because of Münchausen syndrome by proxy
Munchausen syndrome by proxy
Münchausen syndrome by proxy is a label for a pattern of behavior in which care-givers deliberately exaggerate, fabricate, and/or induce physical, psychological, behavioral, and/or mental health problems in others. Other experts classified MSbP as a mental illness...
in the line "All my life being made to feel sick when I wasn't".
Eminem also mentions the demo that his mother put out for him called Set The Record Straight.
Track listing
CD singlePeak positions
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
3 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
5 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
6 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
10 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 | 3 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 10 |
| French Singles Chart | 20 |
| German Singles Chart | 4 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
8 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
4 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 5 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
4 |
| Romanian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
7 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
11 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
5 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 40 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 46 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 42 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 59 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 73 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 59 |
| UK Singles Chart | 94 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Platinum | 2002 | 70,000 |
| Belgium | Gold | December, 2002 | 20,000 |
| New Zealand | Gold | November 17, 2002 | 7,500 |
| Sweden | Gold | December 20, 2002 | 10,000 |
In culture
- In 2003 the Australian comedy duo Scared Weird Little GuysScared Weird Little GuysScared Weird Little Guys were an Australian comedy music duo formed in July 1990, comprising John Chaplin-Fleming and Rusty Berther...
produced a rap version of the folk song "Waltzing MatildaWaltzing Matilda"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
" called "Cleanin' Out My Tuckerbag", which parodies both "Lose YourselfLose Yourself"Lose Yourself" is an Academy Award winning song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the...
" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet", but does not credit Eminem. - The great Luke Ski did a parody called "Stealin' Like a Hobbit," which recaps the plot of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. He also added bits of "StanStan (song)"Stan" is the third single from The Marshall Mathers LP, by rapper Eminem featuring Dido. It peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also included on Curtain Call: The Hits, performed with Eminem and Dido as well track 17 on Curtain Call: The Hits as a live Performance from...
" and "Lose Yourself" at the end.