For this blog post I have chose to write about a song that has caught my attention in recent times because of its different qualities than what the artist usually provides. It has been mentioned a lot in recent times in the music world because of its contradictions.
The song I am referring to is “Rap God” by Eminem.
Above is a link to the audio of the song off of youtube. If you listen to the audio from approx. 3:35-4:00 you will hear lyrics that i will refer to later in this post.
The subject of this post is to focus on some of the lyrics stated in this song that are contradicting to all the work that eminem has done in previous albums. Eminem has never been one to admit failure in the rap game or admit that he is the greatest. However, in this song, he brings out different aspects that I have never heard from him before, and that is coming from a long time fan with many hours invested in listening to his music from the first song of the first album to the final song on his most recent.
In this song Eminem refers to himself as the “Rap God”, the greatest to ever do it. Which, some people will agree with, while some will disagree. However, at the same time, he admits that in recent years he has fell in the rankings of popularity and has noticed it. He admits that he is not nearly as big as he once was.
There is a part in the song, found at the 3:35 mark that goes;
“But sometimes when you combine
Appeal with the skin color of mine
You get too big and here they come trying to
Censor you like that one line I said
On "I'm Back" from the Mathers LP
One when I tried to say I'll take seven kids from Columbine
Put 'em all in a line
Add an AK-47, a revolver and a nine
See if I get away with it now
That I ain't as big as I was”
When I first heard this part of the song, I was shocked to hear that the line about columbine was not edited out like it once was in his song “I’m back”. This really made me think that it is possible that he is realizing that he is not on top of the rap game like he was in previous years. When “I’m Back” was released on The Marshall Mather LP, it raised an unimaginable amount of controversy in the media. The line actually ended up getting demanded to be edited out by the US government leaving every copy of the song with a blank few bars where the line should be. So I am sure you can see why this shocked me when I first heard this song, it shows that Eminem has become less popular and powerful in the game he once controlled, and admits it.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known by his stage name, or in this case, NAMES, Eminem and Slim Shady is one of the most successful hip hop artists in the history of music. Eminem has received dozens of awards for his music and is the best selling hip hop artist since the year 2000. He has been known to be a controversial artist that is not afraid to say what he wants to who he wants, when he wants. Most people do not know that he is the only rap artist to ever go “diamond” in album sales, meaning he sold over 10 million copies of his second studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP.
While analyzing this, it is obvious that the differences far outweigh the similarities in this case, to me at least. The lyrics in his recent single “Rap God” do not compare to any work he has done in the past. While Eminem has admitted a lot of different things in his music, from drug use, to mental disorders, I have never heard him acknowledge that he may not be the best anymore, which really surprised me.
The only reason that this has any meaning in today’s music world and is worth blogging about is solely because for the last few years there has been talk about who is the best rapper to live. It has been a close competition that is overruled by many opinions by fans and artists themselves. In recent years, Eminem has been compared a lot to fellow rapper Lil Wayne, for who is the most iconic and talented rapper of this era. So the fact that he is highlighting his drop in popularity is kind of a big deal in the rap world.
This reflects that anything can change in our culture, from sports franchises rising and falling with each new season, to artists falling in and out of the public eye. This reflects that America is a very fast changing current in terms of media, things come and go with no warning.
This song, as well as the album, I believe was targeting men from age 16-35. These ages seem to be the boundaries of Eminem’s real fan base, and rap’s fan base in general.
This single includes very offensive lyrics, including the line that I mentioned earlier about columbine. The fact that these lyrics are even being presented in the song is the reason I was compelled to write about this topic.
If I am evaluating this song, I would say it is lyrically a very good song although it is different than what I am used to by this artist.
By no means would I ever consider this song among the best pieces of work by Eminem, his career is laced with such success that it will be hard for him to top what he has accomplished in his lifetime.
I expect this song to be memorable due to the fact that is is on the #2 selling album of this year so far, and it is Eminem, people love to love him, and love to hate him.
After viewing several professional critiques of this song, the majority of them focus on some of the alleged homophobic things that Eminem says, not the topic I am focusing on.
While writing this blog, I went to and played Eminem’s radio station on Pandora Radio for the entire process of writing this blog. This helped me engage with what i was writing about and keep interest, while also being reminded of the work he has done.
In conclusion, the song “Rap God” included a lot of different components that may not be familiar to some Eminem fans. It seems that Eminem has changed in the last few years and while he is still making hits and selling records, he is changing his attitude and perspective on some topics.
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