Straight from the Lab is a 2003 bootleg album consisting of previously unreleased songs by Eminem. Some of the songs on the album were scheduled to be released the following year on Eminem's fifth studio album, Encore. Two additional series of unreleased songs were leaked in 2011 and 2025 as Straight from the Lab Part 2 and Straight from the Lab Part 3, respectively.
If those hadn't leaked, Encore would've been a much different album. "We as Americans", "Love You More", a lot of songs ended up on the bonus disc because they leaked and that disappointed me. So, I had to start over, which felt like a mountain I had to climb. You climb half the mountain, and then all of a sudden, you get knocked back down. "We as Americans" was going to start the album, then "Bully". "Evil Deeds" was in there. If that would've been on Encore, and the other couple songs that leaked, to me it would've been right there with The Eminem Show as far as its caliber.[3]
"Hailie's Revenge" (sometimes referred to as "Doe Rae Me"), is another diss track which features vocals from Eminem's daughter Hailie Jade in the intro and the outro. It is a response to Ja Rule's song "Loose Change", in which Ja Rule has insulted Eminem's family, including Hailie.[4][6]
"We As Americans" (incorrectly titled "We Are Americans") was later included on a bonus disc for Eminem's fifth studio album, Encore. In 2022, Eminem stated that if the song had not leaked, it would have been the opening track on the album, followed by "Bully" as track two.[3] The version in the bootleg is the original uncensored version, with the bonus disc version having a line about the president reversed, while this one does not.
"Love You More" (incorrectly titled "I Love You More") was also included on the Encore bonus disc.
"Come On In" (later retitled "6 in the Morning") was later released on D12's sophomore album, D12 World.
In 2011, a series of leaks occurred by a Twitter user named "NotAfraid2Leak."[7] These leaks occurred over the span of a few months, and eventually lead to a fully unreleased and unofficial project titled Straight From The Vault EP.[8] Since then, fans have retroactively compiled all of those songs into a follow up mixtape to Straight From The Lab, titled Straight from the Lab Part 2.[9]
"Things Get Worse" was later released on B.o.B's Greatest Hits album. In 2019, the track leaked again with a never-before-heard verse that contained reference to the Chris Brown's assault of Rihanna saying that he would side with Chris Brown in this situation, which caused a lot controversy around the track. Eminem would eventually go on to apologize to Rihanna for the lyrics on "Zeus", a track off his 2021 album Music to Be Murdered By.
"Going Crazy" (later mastered and retitled "Fame") was later released on D12's 2011 mixtape, Return of the Dozen Vol. 2.
"I Get Money", "Emulate", "Detroit Basketball", "Going Crazy", "WEE WEE", "G.O.A.T", "The Apple", and "It's Been Real (Outro)" were released on the Straight From The Vault EP
On 12 January 2025, a series of leaks surfaced online.[10] The first 14 unreleased songs were compiled into a bootleg album titled Straight From The Lab, Part 3. In the days that followed, more songs surfaced, leading dedicated fans to expand the tracklist, share updated versions, and work to derail any fake AI-generated songs. The songs were arranged chronologically based on their leak dates. The current tracklist is:
[11]
"Antichrist" was originally recorded for the 2005 compilation, Curtain Call, and was later altered and released on the 2024 album, The Death of Slim Shady.
"Christopher Reeves" was recorded for the 2004 album, Encore and was released under the title "Brand New Dance", with modern additions, on the 2024 album, The Death of Slim Shady.
"Sexual Healing" is the original version of "Is This Love ('09)", which was released on the 2022 compilation Curtain Call 2. The solo version is partly a reference track, recorded for Dr. Dre.
"Back and Forth", recorded for the 2009 album, Relapse, was altered and released under the title "Discombobulated" on the 2020 album, Music to Be Murdered By.
"My Darling" and "Careful What You Wish For" are earlier versions of songs that were later released on Relapse: Refill.