Songfacts®:

• Released in 2002, "Without Me" was Eminem's first single since his Marshall Mathers LP from two years earlier. He explains in the song that everything was boring and empty with him away, but he's now here to give us something to talk about. He takes shots at The FCC, Limp Bizkit, Moby and Chris Kirkpatrick.
• The video shows Eminem and Dr. Dre as Batman and Robin-type heroes sent to save the world. This earned director Joseph Kahn his first Grammy Award for Best Music Video. He went on to direct clips for Eminem's "We Made You," "Love the Way You Lie" and "Space Bound."
• Eminem's friend and fellow rapper Obie Trice intros the song with, "Obie Trice, real name no gimmicks." Eminem produced Trice's first album in 2003 and gave him a role in the movie 8 Mile. In early 2006, Trice was shot in the head while driving his SUV, but was treated and released.
• The opening lines, "Two trailer park girls go round the outside" comes from a traditional Appalachian square dance song called "Buffalo Gals." Malcolm McLaren, who is best known for managing The Sex Pistols and Bow Wow Wow, released a rap version of "Buffalo Gals" in 1983 that brought a lot of attention to the song.
• As part of Eminem's critique of Moby in this song, he exclaims, "Nobody listens to techno." This line became a popular sample in the techno community and was made into a song produced by Deep Dish and Danny Howells under the alias Size DDD (Deep Dish Danny). >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR
• Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, is mentioned in the lyrics:
  
  I know that you got a job, Ms. Cheney
  But your husband's heart problem's complicating
  
  She once said of Eminem's music, "Despicable. It is horrible. This is dreadful. This is shameful. This is awful." Apparently, Eminem found her remarks offensive.
• Eminem compares himself to Elvis Presley in this song, noting that both excelled in music styles dominated by Black musicians. Eminem points out that many of those who criticize him were fans of Elvis, who did the same thing. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2
• Speaking during a Reddit AMA, Moby said he likes this song despite being dissed on it, as, "he gave me some amazing free publicity."
  
  Moby added that he does not hate Eminem for abasing him in song. "I think apart from his misogyny and homophobia he's an amazingly talented rapper," he wrote. "And it's amazing to me that he's had such a long and successful career. So kudos to him."
• In 2024, Eminem sampled the iconic line "Guess who's back? Back again?" for his "Houdini" single. The "Houdini" music video also pays heavy homage to this song's visual. Fueled by the sample and visual connection,"Without Me" returned to the charts worldwide in the week following the release of "Houdini."