“Just Lose It” (2004) showcases Eminem at his best as an off-the-rails rockstar. The introduction is as sinister as if the devil on Eminem’s shoulder is rapping his own lyrics. “Guess who’s back, back again?/Shady’s back, tell a friend!”
Some Eminem songs like “Evil Deeds” (2004) and “Kill You” (2000) affirm Em’s vicious self-fulfilling prophecy. Eminem is top scary so that no one should ever love him. In reality, he must use all of his strength to pull himself out of his drug addiction and all of the negative self-talk if he hopes to ever be seen as the man of his family in the same light again. This internal battle is reminiscent of 2Pac’s “Keep Ya Head Up”.
“It’s gonna take the man in me/To conquer this insanity!”
Because of the timing of their release, songs like “Crack a Bottle” (2009) impacted the culture in which his daughter(s) grew up. “Who’s got the r*bbers?/I noticed there’s so many of them, and there’s really not that many of us!”
Later, Eminem “wholeheartedly” apologized to Rihanna on “Zeus” (2019) for leaked song lyrics that were written while Mathers was re-learning how to rap. At the time, Eminem was recovering from his near-fatal overdose.
“For that song that leaked, I’m sorry, Ri’/It wasn’t meant to cause you grief/Regardless, it was wrong of me!”
Moreover, in “Drug Ballad” (2000), Eminem speaks to the cyclical nature of generational curses like alcoholism.
“But when everything is said and done, I’ll be forty in no time, sitting on the porch sharing tales, holding a bottle of Jack, with two grandkids on my lap, babysitting for Hailie while she’s out having a good time!”
In 2022, Eminem’s dark prophesies are unfounded, and he and his children are instead thriving! Eminem’s youngest child has come out as non-binary and changed their name to Stevie Laine. Hailie is a college graduate. Clearly, Eminem was able to provide a safe emotional space for his kids to explore themselves.
