Meaning of “Kim” by Eminem

Kim is a song performed by American rapper Eminem.  The song, which is a prequel of the 1998 song titled ’97 Bonnie and Clyde, has very shocking lyrics that portray the rapper murdering his former wife Kimberly Anne Scott in an extremely gruesome manner. Eminem and Kimberly were married and divorced twice. Their first marriage was from 1999 to 2001, whereas the second took place in 2006 and ended that same year. Eminem wrote this song at the time he and Kimberly were going through very serious marital problems, during which she prevented him from seeing their daughter Hailie Jade.

Facts about the song “Kim”

• Kim was written by Eminem and long time collaborators the Bass Brothers – a songwriting and music producing team made up of Mark and Jeff Bass.
• The song appeared on Eminem’s Grammy Award winning third studio album The Marshall Mathers LP, which came out in 2000 and sold over 32 million copies worldwide.
• Kim is one of the most prominent examples of misogyny in rap music. And despite its highly violent and controversial nature, the song is considered one of the best works of Eminem’s career.
• In an interview with Q magazine, Eminem said during the writing process of the song, he was heavily under the influence of a drug. It is obvious that is what led to the birth of the extremely shocking nature of the lyrics of the song.
• The song is one of three songs Eminem has written so far about his former wife Kim. The two other songs about his former wife are: Searchin and 97 Bonnie & Clyde.
• In 2013, the song was placed at the 21st position on Complex’s list of the 25 most violent hip hop songs of all time.
• The song played a significant role in turning Eminem’s former wife Kimberly Anne Scott into a household name the world over.