Stan (song) the song: "'Stan' is a wonderful short story, an astute study in extreme fandom." Sputnik Music described that "Stan's sampling of Dido and use of rain and writing sound effects" make the album versatile. The same critic listed the song in the Recommended Downloads list and reviewed it:If you haven't heard this, you probably make a career out of living under rocks. It tells the story of an obsessive fan who kills themselves because their idol (Eminem) never writes back, and introduces one of the album's key themes – the scary power of fame. Ironic, then, that this album made
Stan (song) about his own faith and help him through his troubles. The lyrics to "Dear Slim" reference the obsessed fan in "Stan". Various instruments within the song "My Life" by The Game were taken from "Stan." Rapper Canibus released a response track to this song titled "U Didn't Care" in which Canibus, portraying Stan, accused Eminem of not caring about him at all. "Stan" has entered into the lexicon as a term for an overly-obsessed fan of someone or something. The term is especially popular in the rap community; in "Ether", the anti-Jay-Z diss track, Nas notably called Jay-Z a "stan"