Trivia

• “I’m Back” was released as a single exclusively in France on April 9, 2001.
• Eminem originally intended either this track or “Who Knew” to serve as the album’s lead single, but the label instead requested a new song, resulting in the creation of both “The Way I Am” and “The Real Slim Shady.”
• At the start of the third verse, the words “kids” and “Columbine” are censored — a decision made due to the intense public sensitivity surrounding the 1999 high school shooting. Eminem later questioned the decision, asking, “What the fuck is the big deal with Columbine that makes it separate from any other tragedy in America?”
• Eminem later reused the “Columbine” line on his 2013 track “Rap God,” this time without any censoring.

Words from Eminem

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“I’m Back” was just one of those songs that happened by accident. Dre and I booked our studio time, went in there, and he came up with a track while I was thinking of a rhyme and it all worked out. We both thought that this was the joint for the first single, but when we took it to the label they said, “Nope, this isn’t it.” I would’ve made it the first track on the album to officially reintroduce myself, but I already had my mind set on “Kill You.”

Spontaneous sessions like this one make me appreciate the chemistry that has grown between the Doc and me. It’s one thing to strain ourselves for a good song. But when his vibe and mine naturally connect on a quick song that’s just as good, the results reassure me and make me feel that I’m not just a rapper on one of his beats, but I’m also a partner in the music-making process.