"Ass Like That", also referred to as "A** Like That", "@$$ Like That", "Like That" or "Butt Like That" in their respective censored forms, is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fifth studio albumEncore. It was released as the sixth and final single from the album on June 7, 2005. Musically, the song blends elements of rap, Indian music and Middle Eastern music.
Critical reception
wrote: "Eminem is plain-spoken and literal, intent on refuting every critic from Benzino at The Source to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who gets an entire song devoted to him." HipHopDX editor J-23 was divided: "'Ass Like That' is gonna be a song you either love or hate. Whatever the case, it sure is surreal to hear him rap an entire song as that Triumph puppet from MTV." Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork was positive: "Em also shines when he spins well off his axis, as he does on the R. Kelly/Triumph the Insult Comic Dog-baiting 'Ass Like That'," but he noted that the song sounds like mixtape material. NME magazine was proud, calling the song a "silly, groin-levelled that both producer and rhymer aren’t just on autopilot, they’re having a nice snooze in the cockpit while the plane plummets towards Earth. Or to put it another way, undercooked juvenile shite." USA Today wrote that "On the lighter side, name-drops the likes of Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on 'Ass Like That'." RapReviews noted that "In 'Ass Like That' Slim impersonates Triumph the Insult Comic Dog for three perverse verses of ogling over the Olsen twins and booty bashing Hilary Duff." Josh Love of Stylus Magazine was negative: "'Ass Like That', Em’s 'response' to Triumph, fares better, and actually makes a pretty salient point about Hollywood's fetishization of barely legal starlets, but then you realize that it's AN ANSWER RECORD TO AN AWARDS SHOW BEEF WITH A HAND PUPPET and suddenly you're not even able to make eye contact with the album cover anymore" and he added that it does flash some Eminem's once-patented lyrical venom. The Austin Chronicle called the song a "demented Bollywood fever dream manages to out-deprave R. Kelly." SPIN said that the song was "so sophomoric that on surreal, all syncopated dis-gibberish and loony celebrity-baiting." The New York Times said that the song was "brilliantly inane: Dr. Dre lays some curlicued sitars atop a lazy bass line, while Eminem pays tribute to Hilary Duff and the Olsen Twins, delivering his rhymes in a thick accent that's supposed to be either Triumph the Insult Comic Dog or Arnold Schwarzenegger." Slant Magazine called "Ass Like That" "a whole song devoted to Robert Smigel’s Triumph The Insult Comic Dog". The A.V. Club called it "a track so muddled that it's hard to tell whether it's a song-length putdown of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog or an elaborate backhanded homage. The song backfires spectacularly, because Eminem and Triumph essentially share the same shtick—deflating celebrity egos with barbed wisecracks—and because at this point, Triumph is a lot funnier and more pointed in his putdowns than his human counterpart."
Music video
The music video was released on May 20, 2005. The video begins with the instrumental to "Evil Deeds" playing in the background as famous people exit a limo, walking down a red carpet with fans off to the side. Eminem is the last to come out and as the news reporters ask him a question, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interrupts by asking "Yes I have a question, as a dog, I must know, what does Dr. Dre's ass smell like?" The crowd gasps and Triumph continues to insult Eminem by saying "You're so cute and small, no wonder Elton John loves you, your head comes up to his waist". Eminem shakes off the remark and attempts to answer the question originally posed to him by the reporter when Triumph once again implies Eminem has sexual relationships with men: "Do you kiss 50 Cent with that mouth?" Eminem swiftly punches Triumph and wrestles several security guards to the ground. In the scuffle, as Eminem appears to be trying to choke Triumph, Triumph shouts out "I'm not your wife!". The puppet dog becomes attached to Eminem's hand as the scuffle continues; and, as it is broken up, Eminem stands up with Triumph to sing the chorus of the song. The video then switches between the "real world" and the "puppet world". There are puppet versions of many of the celebrities Eminem makes fun of, as well as Nick Lachey. The puppets from Crank Yankers also make an appearance, including: Elmer Higgins, Terrence Catheter, Birchum, Special Ed, Bobby Fletcher, Niles Standish, Spoonie Luv, Hadassah Guberman. Puppet versions of Dr. Dre and 50 Cent are also featured. A censored version of the song was featured in the movie Drillbit Taylor and briefly in HBO's You're Welcome America. He sang an altered version of the song in the New York Tour DVD.
