Eminem's Kamikaze came as a bit of surprise to rap fans expecting little more than an overnight single tapped for the Venom motion picture soundtrack. Eminem fans were granted an inflamed version of their favorite rapper, within the opening frame. On "Ringer" Em reduces Lil Yachty to specimen data in his case study against "mumble" rappers.
"Get this fuckin' audio out my audio, adios
I can see why people like Lil Yachty, but not me though
Not even dissin', it just ain't for me
All I am simply is just an emcee."
Eminem also doubles down on Donald Trump, after essentially revealing his non-partisan lines in an infamous BET cypher last October. Eminem is almost smug with regards to his exceptional status. He is seemingly the only well-known dissident that Trump hasn't openly criticized.
"These verses are making him a wee bit nervous
And he’s too scared to answer me with words
Cause he knows that he will lyrically get murdered
But I know at least he’s heard it
Cause Agent Orange just send the Secret Service
To meet in person
To see if I really think of hurting him
Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists."
Then he conceivably dumps on another of crop "Lil" rappers: Lil Pump and Lil Xan. "Ringer" conjures mixed feelings about the game; Eminem does invariably anoint Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Joyner Lucas and Big Sean as faithful rap practitioners. Eminem rhymes humble with mumble with subtle variation, so you know where his head is at. Em continues down that path on "Lucky You."
"Lil Pump, Lil Xan imitate Lil Wayne
I should aim at everybody in the game, pick a name
I'm fed up with being humble."
On "Not Alike," Eminem takes a dig at Machine Gun Kelly for running his mouth covertly on Twitter. MGK is the lucky recipient of two high profile diss records in roughly 6 hours. Eminem likely won't forget MGK's Twitter solicitation of his then-16 year old daughter, any time soon.
"But next time you don't gotta use Tech N9ne if you wanna come at me with a sub-machine gun
And I'm talking to you but you already know who the fuck you are, Kelly
I don't use sublims and sure as fuck don't sneak-diss
But keep commenting on my daughter Hailie."
As Alex pointed out, Eminem appears to be singling out Drake on the title song "Kamikaze," but the subliminal message reads more like a competitive quip. The gloves come off, finally.
"You got some views, but you're still below me
Mine are higher, so when you compare our views, you get overlooked
And I don't say the hook unless I wrote the hook
And now I'm just freestylin' in the vocal booth
And you know I've always spoke the truth
You lyin' through your teeth so much, you broke a tooth
And it ain't somethin' I need a phone to do
When I say I can't wait 'til I get ahold of you
And I don't know what I'm s'posed to do
Line up the rappers, take my pic like a photo shoot."
Em does reserve the harshest judgement for Joe Budden, the "Howard Stern of Hip Hop." Their feud had its origin in 2017 when Budden criticized Eminem's Revival album rollout. Even Budden's much derided co-host DJ Akademiks catches a jab of his own within the same verse.
"Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it
Or have his body baggage zipped
The closest thing he's had to hits is smackin' bitches
And don't make me have to give it back to Akademiks
Say this shit is trash again, I'll have you twisted
Like you had it when you thought you had me slippin' at the telly."
Eminem also hits at Tyler, The Creator on "Fall" for allegedly copying D12's brand image. Uncoincidentally, Tyler has been critical of Eminem, with respect to his career choices in the current era post-Relapse. Regrettably Earl Sweartshirt gets dragged into the line of fire by association.
"Tyler create nothin', I see why you called yourself a f***** b****
It's not just 'cause you lack attention
It's 'cause you worship D12's balls, you're sack-religious
If you're gonna critique me, you better at least be as good or better, get Earl the Hooded Sweater."
Charlamagne Tha God, Lord Jamar also caught one-liners, the latter for saying that Eminem was "no different than Macklemore." Charlamagne eats soap not once but twice, on "The Ringer" and "Fall," all revolving around the radio host's categorical depiction of Eminem as a "White Rapper."
"You'd swear to God I've forgot I'm the guy that made "Not Afraid"
One last time for Charlemagne
If my response is late, it's just how long it takes
To hit my fuckin' radar, I'm so far away."