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Guilty Conscience (song)

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This article is about the Eminem song. For other songs, see Guilty Conscience § Music.
"Guilty Conscience"
Single by Eminem featuring Dr. Dre
from the album The Slim Shady LP
ReleasedJune 8, 1999
Recorded1998
Genre
Length3:19
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Eminem singles chronology
"Role Model"
(1999) 		"Guilty Conscience"
(1999) 		"Dead Wrong"
(1999)
Dr. Dre singles chronology
"Zoom"
(1998) 		"Guilty Conscience"
(1999) 		"Still D.R.E."
(1999)
Music video
"Guilty Conscience" on YouTube

"Guilty Conscience" is a song written, produced, and performed by American rapper Eminem featuring fellow American rapper Dr. Dre. It was released as the third and final single from the former's The Slim Shady LP (1999). It was also released on his 2005 greatest hits album Curtain Call: The Hits.

Eminem's 2024 album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) features a sequel to the song called "Guilty Conscience 2". Unlike the original song, the sequel is a solo track and does not feature Dr. Dre.

Background

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The concept for "Guilty Conscience" first arose whilst Dr. Dre and Eminem were at the gym together and discussing potential song ideas. Dr. Dre proposed a collaboration between the two called "Night 'n' Day", in which Dr. Dre would state various lyrics and Eminem would respond with the exact opposite sentiments. Eminem began writing the song upon returning home that evening. Mark Avery, an announcer from a talent agency, was hired to voice the narrator; after Eminem explained to Avery what he wanted him to say, the rest of the song was constructed around his parts.[1]

The song contains a humorous reference to an occasion in which Dr. Dre assaulted Dee Barnes. Having only known Dr. Dre for a few days, Eminem was anxious about how he would react to such a line, and to his relief, Dr. Dre "fell out of his chair laughing" upon hearing the lyric.[2][full citation needed]

The song contains a sample from the Ronald Stein song "Pigs Go Home" from the soundtrack to the film Getting Straight.

Critical reception

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Allmusic highlighted this song on LP.[3] David Browne noted that Eminem's "coldly-calculated-to-offend alter ego considers date rape".[4]

Music video

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The video for "Guilty Conscience" has a nonstop back-beat with a chorus, unlike the album version, and a different narrator, played by actor Robert Culp. The lyrics in the chorus samples the song "I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March ("These voices, I hear them. And, when they talk, I'll follow"). The version that aired on MTV eliminated the murder at the end of the song and converted it into an escalating argument between Eminem and Dre with no resolution. In the Director's Cut, the part where the gunshots were heard is included.[5]

The music video is produced using the bullet time technique, depicting Eminem and Dr. Dre rapping to the song's protagonists on how to deal with their conflicting situations: including a man's temptation to robbing a liquor store, a college student's urge to have sex with an underage girl at a frat party, and the urge of a construction worker to murder his wife after he catches her cheating with another man. Dr. Dre poses as the "good conscience" and wins the first arguments (Eddie) while Eminem poses as the "evil conscience" and wins the second (Stan). However, in the third argument, which is over the actions Grady (the construction worker) should take when he catches his wife cheating with another man, Eminem's taunting and accusations of hypocrisy coaxes Dr. Dre into agreeing with him that Grady should kill them both and subsequently Dre suggests that Grady should get his gun and murder his wife and her lover.

The nonstop back-beat and chorus from the music video were only used in the edited version of the song, but the narrator was not changed. The video won the "Hottest Music Video" award at the Online Hip-Hop Awards in 2000.[6][7] The video was listed on MuchMusic's 50 Most Controversial Videos at No. 38 for its promotion on how people get crossed with their consciences.

Lawsuit

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In September 2003, 70-year-old widow Harlene Stein filed suit against Eminem and Dr. Dre on the grounds that "Guilty Conscience" contains an unauthorized sample of "Pigs Go Home" written for the film Getting Straight by her husband Ronald Stein, who died in 1988.[8] Although the album's liner notes state that the song contains an interpolation of "Pigs Go Home", Stein is not credited as a co-writer and his wife was not paid royalties for use of the song.[8] The lawsuit requested 5 percent of the retail list price of 90 percent of all copies of the album sold in America, and 2.5 percent of the retail price of 90 percent of all copies of the album sold internationally.[8] The suit was dismissed in June 2004 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.[9]

Awards and nominations

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See also: List of awards and nominations received by Eminem
Year Ceremony Award Result
1999[10] MTV Video Music Awards Breakthrough Video Nominated
2000[11] Grammy Awards Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Nominated

Track listing

[edit]
UK CD1[12]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Guilty Conscience" (radio edit) (extra clean with new hook)
3:16
2."Guilty Conscience" (album version) (with new hook)
  • Mathers
  • Young
  • Dr. Dre
  • Eminem[a]
3:19
3."'97 Bonnie & Clyde"
5:03
4."Guilty Conscience" (video)  3:19
Total length:14:57
UK CD2[13]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Guilty Conscience" (radio edit) (extra clean with new hook)
3:16
2."Guilty Conscience" (instrumental)
  • Mathers
  • Young
  • Dr. Dre
  • Eminem[a]
3:19
3."My Name Is" (clean version)
  • Dr. Dre
4:30
4."My Name Is" (video)  4:28
Total length:15:33
UK Cassette
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Guilty Conscience" (radio edit) (extra clean with new hook)
3:16
2."Guilty Conscience" (instrumental)
  • Mathers
  • Young
  • Dr. Dre
  • Eminem[a]
4:27
Total length:6:35
German CD single[14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Guilty Conscience" (radio edit) (extra clean with new hook)
3:16
2."Guilty Conscience" (instrumental)
  • Mathers
  • Young
  • Dr. Dre
  • Eminem[a]
3:19
3."'97 Bonnie & Clyde"
5:03
4."My Name Is" (clean version)
  • Dr. Dre
4:30
5."My Name Is" (video)  4:28
Total length:20:36
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer.

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications and sales for "Guilty Conscience"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Platinum 70,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[28] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Angry Blonde pg. 52 and 53
  2. ^ Stubbs, 2006. p. 68
  3. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Slim Shady LP - Eminem - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. ^ "The Slim Shady LP - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  5. ^ Video clip on YouTube
  6. ^ "Dr. Dre and Eminem Take Three Awards Each at the Annual Online Hip-hop Awards in New York City (NY Rock)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  7. ^ "The Online Hip-Hop Awards". Archived from the original on 17 June 2000. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Wiederhorn, Jon (September 17, 2003). "Eminem Gets Sued ... By A Little Old Lady". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "Harlene Stein v. Marshall B Mathers, et al". Plainsite.org. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  10. ^ "MTV Video Music Awards 1999". mtv.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Past Winners Search (Eminem)". GRAMMY.com. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  12. ^ "Guilty Conscience [CD 1]: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Guilty Conscience [CD 2]: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Guilty Conscience: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Eminem feat. Dr. Dre – Guilty Conscience" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Eminem feat. Dr. Dre - Guilty Conscience" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  17. ^ "Eminem feat. Dr.Dre, Guilty Conscience". charts.de. Media Control Charts. Archived from the original (in German) on October 17, 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know" (insert "Eminem" into the "Search by Artist" box, or insert "Guilty Conscience" into the "Search by Song Title" box). irishcharts.ie. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 33, 1999". top40.nl. Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original (in Dutch) on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  20. ^ "Eminem feat. Dr. Dre – Guilty Conscience" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  21. ^ "Eminem feat. Dr. Dre - Guilty Conscience". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  23. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  24. ^ "Eminem Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  25. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  26. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  27. ^ "British single certifications – Eminem – Guilty Conscience". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  28. ^ "American single certifications – Eminem – Guilty Conscience". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
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