The Reason Some Are Convinced Eminem Is A Clone

So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up? (Please stand up? Please stand up?) That may have been one of the most quoted lines from Eminem's breakthrough hit from 1999, "The Real Slim Shady," but in the context of musical conspiracy theories, those lyrics mean a lot more for those who believe in them. When talking about musicians being replaced with a clone, oftentimes this is because the musician in question died under disputed or mysterious circumstances — see the example of Jim Morrison and the claims that he's alive and using an assumed name as an Oregon-based rancher. But in other instances, the supposedly cloned performer is still living and has been for years since the conspiracies first started flying around. (Oh hi, Paul McCartney/William Campbell.)

In the case of Eminem, the Rap God has been the subject of his share of out-there theories claiming that he's actually a clone. Now it's pretty obvious that Marshall Bruce Mathers III is still spitting bars and drawing controversy for his lyrics now that he's fast approaching his 50th birthday. But why do certain people think that the Eminem of today is not the real Slim Shady, and probably hasn't been for the past 15 years?

There are many variants on the Eminem clone theory, but according to LADbible, one of them, from a Spanish-language website called La Guia del Varon, alleges that the rapper died in 2006. This was in the middle of a five-year gap in between albums and one year after he entered rehab for his dependence on sleep medication (via Rolling Stone). Wanting to make sure that he would keep making record labels a lot of money, the "music industry," as noted, purportedly replaced Eminem with an android. Yes, an android. With technology that is now 15 years old. The only Android (note the capitalization) that's part of our everyday lives at the present is a mobile operating system, so it's easy to cast doubt on the theory based on that claim alone.

In an effort to provide photographic evidence that present-day Eminem literally isn't the same man who took the rap scene by storm in the late '90s and early 2000s, La Guia del Varon shared before-and-after images of the rapper, supposedly revealing that his cheekbones are now more prominent and his jaw has become slimmer. This, however, is an obvious case of a performer aging over time — while Eminem has aged nicely for a guy in his late 40s, you can't expect him to look exactly like he did when he was in his late 20s or early 30s.

In addition, La Guia del Varon claimed in their since-deleted post that Eminem has tweaked his image since getting cloned, shifting to a darker wardrobe and toning down his lyrical content. Again, this doesn't prove much, except that a person's fashion tastes and songwriting can evolve as they grow older.

Another riff on the theory that Eminem died in 2006 and was cloned by popular music's powers that be points to his 2013 BBC Radio 1 interview with Zane Lowe. As seen in the video, Eminem warns Lowe toward the end of the interview that he shouldn't get "trapped in [his] head." After Lowe asks Em to address the viewers at home, the rapper says the words "stay out of my head" then stares at the camera in silence for several seconds, barely moving a muscle as his mouth hangs open. Then, out of the blue, Eminem and Lowe shake hands and thank each other for their time, acting as if nothing had just happened.

According to Daily Star, the interview helped bring the "Eminem is a clone" theory back to life in 2017, when a YouTube conspiracist named Vrillex uploaded an edited version of the "glitching" moment. Several viewers took to the comments section, with one noting that "something isn't right" and another positing that the performer is "definitely a clone" whose long, unexplained silence was most likely a glitch. However, there were others who had their doubts, including one viewer who wrote that it was just "Em being Em."

Indeed, it does seem like an on-brand moment from the 100% human Eminem. But the claims of "glitching" resurfaced two years later when an up-and-coming musician from Canada wrote an entire song about cloned rappers ... entitled "Cloned Rappers."

Although not exactly a household name on the same level as present-day rap icons like Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone, Tom MacDonald has been drawing attention in recent years for the hot takes he shares through his music. A look at the rapper's discography, which includes singles titled "Fake Woke," "Straight White Male," and "Politically Incorrect," tells you all you need to know about his favorite lyrical subject matter. But if you look past those tunes, you'll see that MacDonald has a few songs dedicated to Eminem, most notably the aforementioned 2019 track "Cloned Rappers."

As reported by Daily Star, the song's lyrics reference many of the key points of various Eminem clone theories, including the line claiming that the Illuminati "took bone samples to clone rappers," and the one that says "if they can't control you, they erase the old you." MacDonald then goes on to allege that rappers such as Gucci Mane and Kodak Black were cloned, before adding that Eminem was also replaced by a doppelganger, and that "he ain't rapped since 'Encore.'" That latter album, as fans know, was released in 2004 and would have been the "real" Slim Shady's last album before he "died" in 2006 and was "replaced" by a faux Slim Shady.

Of course, those quotation marks are there because we know there has only been one Eminem, and he's still alive. But viewers still flock to the comments section of the "Cloned Rappers" video on YouTube, seemingly agreeing with MacDonald's allegations and giving the video the ol' thumbs-up. We can only hope the majority of those comments were made with the users' tongues planted firmly in cheek.