The year 2014 marks the 18-year anniversary of Eminem's underground debut album Infinite. With almost 20 years worth of material floating around, Eminem has one of the densest musical catalogues out there. On top of that, he's also one of the most consistent rappers in the game, so you're hard-pressed to find something from Em that's not worth listening too.
This makes combing through his work equal parts difficult, time-consuming and rewarding. It also makes for one heck of a listening experience-- watching Em’s musical talent progress through the years, never degrading and never ceasing to disappoint is the thing that made him the most loved and hated musician of the 2000s. The shock value.
This list doesn't just cover Eminem’s most outrageous lyrics. We’re looking at some of the most technically accomplished bars, some of the funniest, some of the most touching and most impactful musical offerings from Detroit’s crowned emcee.
In no particular order, HNHH presents 50 of Eminem’s craziest lines, verses and songs.
love game
Stay Wide Awake
Fe-fi-fo-fum, I think I smell the scent of a placenta
I enter Central Park, it's dark; it's Winter in December
I see my target, put my car in park and approach a tender
Young girl by the name of Brenda and I pretend to befriend her
Sit down beside her like a spider, hi there girl, you mighta
Heard of me before, see whore, you're the kind of girl that I'd assault
And rape then figure why not try not to make your pussy wider?
Fuck you with an umbrella, then open it up while the shit's inside ya
I'm the kinda guy that's mild but I might flip and get a little bit wilder
Impregnate a lesbian, yeah, now let's see her have triplets and I'll di-
-sintegrate them babies as soon as they're out her with formalde-
-hyde and cyanide, girl you can try and hide, you can try to scream louder
No need for no gunpowder, that only takes all the fun outta
Murder and I'd rather go "vinn-vinn!" and now you see just how the
Fuck I do just what I do when I cut right through your scalp
Shit, wait a minute I mean skull, my knife seems dull, pull another one out
"Stay Wide Awake" was a very (yet typically) dark, story-telling record that appeared on Relapse. Em kills the hook with lines like "Soon as my flow starts, I compose art like the ghost of Mozart/Even though they all say that they're real, I know that most aren't," and then flows with such ease over a looming beat.
kill you
Kill You
Oh now he’s raping his own mother
Abusing a whore, snorting coke, and we gave him the Rolling Stone cover?
You goddamn right bitch.
The first verse is as topically foul as you can get with Shady. With effortless execution Em details raping his mother, while poking fun at the media’s reaction to his antics.
Classic Shady.
bonnie and clyde
‘97 Bonnie and Clyde
Wake up, sleepyhead we're here, before we pway
We're gonna take mama for a wittle walk along the pier
Baby, don't cry honey, don't get the wrong idea
Mama's too sleepy to hear you screaming in her ear (ma-maa!)
That's why you can't get her to wake, but don't worry
Da-da made a nice bed for mommy at the bottom of the lake
Here, you wanna help da-da tie a rope around this rock? (yeah!)
We'll tie it to her footsie then we'll roll her off the dock
Ready now, here we go, on the count of three
One, two, free, whee! (woosh!)
There goes mama, splashing in the water
No more fighting with dad, no more restraining order
No more step-da-da, no more new brother
Blow her kisses bye-bye, tell mama you love her (mommy!)
Now we'll go play in the sand, build a castle and junk
But first, just help dad with two more things out the trunk
This song takes the most horrific elements of “Kim” and adds in another variable, Em’s then-baby daughter Hallie. The young girl is comforted by Shady as he murders and dismembers her mother.
kim
Kim
You can't run from me Kim, it's just us, nobody else
You're only making this harder on yourself
Ha-ha, got ya, go ahead, yell
Here I'll scream with you
Ah, somebody help
Don't you get it bitch, no one can hear you
Now shut the fuck up and get what's coming to you
You were supposed to love me
Now bleed bitch, bleed
Bleed bitch, bleed
Bleed
There are few songs more effed up than “Kim.” It is probably Eminem’s most disturbing, most appalling record, which says something given his discography. The song’s content, and crazed ambiance can be summed up in the last bar of the song--“Now bleed bitch bleed/ bleed bitch bleed.”
white america
White America
Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself
If they were brown Shady'd lose, Shady sits on the shelf
But Shady's cute, Shady knew Shady's dimples would help
Make ladies swoon baby (ooh baby!), look at my sales.
As Trinidad James recently reminded us, not only is it what you say, but who you are to say it. Eminem’s unflinching critique of white privilege in America was doubly powerful given his significant benefit from it.
real slim
The Real Slim Shady
Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records
Well, I do; so fuck him and fuck you too
You think I give a damn about a Grammy
Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me
But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be weird
Why, so you guys could just lie to get me here
So you can sit me here next to Britney Spears
Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst
And hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
Little bitch put me on blast on MTV
"Yeah he's cute, but I think he's married to Kim, hee-hee"
I should download an audio on MP
And show the whole world how you gave Eminem VD
I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups, all you do is annoy me
So I have been sent here to destroy you
And there's a million of us just like me
Who cuss like me; who just don't give a fuck like me
Who dress like me; walk, talk and act like me
And just might be the next best thing but not quite me
In one verse Slim Shady sent shots at nearly every A-List celebrity of the day (back then), while still lyrically dancing all over the rest of the track. This was Em’s biggest record at that point, and the first time many of us heard the Detroit emcee. He definitely left an impression.
GIRLS
Girls
Now see if you diss me and I respond, the beef is on
But if I help you sell one record
And I see you at a show, I'll strip you naked
See I was smart, I came back and scooped up my friends
Now I got five dawgs that'll die for me like I'll die for them
I'll fight for them, swing or shoot like I fight for Kim
All of 'em been with me through this fucked up life that I'm in
That goes for all of my dogs, from Royce to Dre
From Xzibit to Mel-Man, 'til I'm hoist away
In my coffin I'll never soften no matter how often I'm tested
I'll never give a fuck, I won't never be interested
Love me or hate me as much as Fred wants to be hated
I will solemnly stand by every statement I stated
This shit that I been through my pencil never could pencil
But I will never be this gullible ever again though (nope)
Next time I'll know when someone's copyin' off me
I'm not bein' cocky, I just know when somebody's mockin' me
I stick up my middle finger, he sticks up his finger (Hey!)
I say "Fuck Christina" he says "Fuck Christina" but meaner
So from doin' a song with Method to beggin' to get accepted
I'm peggin' Fred with the bottle of dye that he bleached his head with
And as for Lethal, don't forget what I said
I'm fuckin' you up punk, you're dead! Don't think that I'm playin'
And fuck BIZKIT! Cause I know you're sayin' fuck D-12
Only not to our face, under your breath, to yourselves
"Girls" was a hidden cut from the D12 album Devil's Night. Eminem goes in solo on it, recording another epic diss track, this time towards DJ Lethal and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. While Em spits three verses on it, the second verse takes the cake.
medicine ball
Medicine Ball
Put Christopher Reeves on a unicycle with a kickstand
Kick it up and push him and lead him right into quicksand
Here, you need a hand, big man? Grab hold of this branch
With both hands, man they don't understand I'm just a sick man
Now everybody's pissed at me - like it's my fault
His name rhymes with so many different words, jeez!
Similar in vibe to “The Way I Am,” Em starts spitting venomous rhymes about homosexuals with a clear tongue-in-cheek approach. Things quickly progress to more Christopher Reeve disses, and even Em’s very own rendition of Reeve’s rebuttal.
It’s trolling at its finest. Vile, aggressive and extremely offensive.
Welcome to D-Block
Welcome to D-Block
Welcome to D-Block, the mighty mighty D-Block/ The place in New York City where Diddy won't even walk/ Its D-Block, the part of Yonkers I wouldn't be caught/ Without two pistols on me that'll be cocked in each pocket/ D-Block don't even stop to talk, you just keep walking/ Stick up kids every block who watch for every opportunity/ As soon as you leave out that jewelry shop/ And you won't even notice your mind will be so/ Preoccupied with that new watch you just copped/ You won't even see that ride pulling up alongside you
You'll be shot 'fore you even realize you were spied for three blocks/D-Block the place where O.G.'s get knocked, locked up/ Get out come home for a week and get re-knocked/ You won't even see cops, hip-hop police don't even stop/ On D-Block, where everybody wants to be 'Pac/ And you can get popped over the new G-Unit Reeboks
One of the dopest tracks from Jadakiss’ album Kiss of Death has Eminem going toe to toe with the members of one of rap’s most talented group of emcees. Not for nothing, he does a lot more than hold his own.
bad guy
Bad Guy
Such a disappointment I had to make this appointment to come and see ya
But ain't here for ya empathy, I don't need your apology
Or your friendship or sympathy; it's revenge that I seek
So I sneak vengefully and treat your bedroom window
Though it probably won’t have the same impact as “Stan,” “Bad Guy” makes the poignant song fresh again and address the fallout in Stan’s family after his deranged suicide, particularly that of his little brother.
remember me
Remember Me
Sick, sick dreams of picnic scenes
Two kids, sixteen with M-16's and ten clips each
And them shits reach through six kids each
And Slim gets blamed in Bill Clint's speech to fix these streets
Fuck that, pbbt -- you faggots can vanish to volcanic ash
And reappear in hell with a can of gas and a match
Aftermath, Dre, grab the gat
Show 'em where it's at
This is just a dope verse. Em, and other controversial musicians of the time, were coming under heavy fire for the Columbine Massacre. Em was fairly vocal about this issue then, but this is one of the many verses on the subject that encapsulate his argument - which is basically a giant middle finger.
amityville
Amityville
That's why the city is filled with a bunch of fucking idiots still
That's why the first motherfucker popping some shit he gets killed
That's why we don't call it Detroit, we call it Amityville
You can get capped after just having a cavity filled
Ahahahaha, that's why we're crowned the murder capital still
This ain't Detroit, this is motherfucking Hamburger Hill
We don't do drive-bys, we park in front of houses and shoot
And when the police come we fucking shoot it out with them too
That's the mentality here, that's the reality here
Did I just hear somebody say they want to challenge me here
While I'm holding a pistol with this many calibers here
Plus a registration that just made this shit valid this year
Cause once I snap, I can't be held accountable for my actions
And that's when accidents happen
When a thousand bullets come at your house
And collapse the foundation around and they found you
And your family in it
GOD DAMMIT HE MEANT IT WHEN HE TELLS YOU
Eminem and Bizarre paint a vivid and dystopic picture of Detroit throughout the song, but the current state of the city makes these lyrics almost creepy. And let’s not forget clever lines like, “you can get capped after just having a cavity filled.”
lose yourself
Lose Yourself
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already: mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth but the words won't come out
He's choking, how? Everybody's joking now
The clock's run out, time's up, over - blaow!
Some of the most recognizable lyrics of our generation right here. Also one of the funniest memes of last year.
Few songs spring to mind faster when in (or watching) a rap cypher or battle.
the way i am
The Way I am
And I just do not got the patience
To deal with these cocky Caucasians who think
I'm some wigger who just tries to be Black
Cause I talk with an accent, and grab on my balls
So they always keep asking the same fucking questions
What school did I go to, what hood I grew up in
The why, the who, what, when, the where and the how
'til I'm grabbing my hair and I'm tearin' it out
Cause they drivin' me crazy, I can't take it
I'm racing, I'm pacing, I stand and I sit
And I'm thankful for every fan that I get
But I can't take a shit in the bathroom without someone standing by it
No I won't sign you an autograph
Another of Em’s vast collection of eff-you songs, “The Way I am” features Shady acknowledging and embracing the ugly things about him and his behavior that make him who he is and keep fans enthralled. It’s easy to empathize with him too, since any of us would be upset as well if someone was always standing by the restroom while we were in it.
purple pills
Purple Pills
Cool, calm, just like my mom
With a couple of Valium inside her palm
It's Mr. Mischief with a trick up his sleeve
Roll up on you like Christopher Reeves
I can't describe the vibe I get
When I drive by 6 people and 5 I hit
Ah shit, I started a mosh pit
Squashed a bitch and stomped her foster kids
These shrooms make me hallucinate
Then I sweat until I start losing weight
Until I see dumb shit start happening
Dumber than Vanilla Ice trying to rap again
So bounce, bounce, come on bounce (gunshots)
I said come on bounce
Everybody in the house with a half an ounce
Not weed I meant coke dumb ass sit down
We don't bullshit, better ask around
D12 throws the bombest bash in town
Bizarre, your mom is passing out
Get her ass on the couch before she crashes out
Before druggie rap was cool, there was “Purple Pills” or as many of us knew it at the time, “Purple Hills.” It’s fairly par for the course by today’s standards, but this was a wild notion and a trippy verse back when it dropped. Shady even manages to fire shots at Vanilla Ice and (strangely) Christopher Reeve.
my name is
My Name Is
"My English teacher wanted to flunk me in junior high
Thanks a lot, next semester I'll be thirty-five
I smacked him in his face with an eraser
Chased him with a stapler
Stapled his nuts to a stack of papers
Walked in the strip club, had my jacket zipped up
Flashed the bartender, then stuck my dick in the tip cup
Extraterrestrial running over pedestrians
In a spaceship while they're screaming at me
"Let's just be friends!"
99 percent of my life I was lied to
I just found out my mom does more dope than I do
I told her I'd grow up to be a famous rapper
Make a record about doing drugs and name it after her
You know you blew up when the women rush your stands
And try to touch your hands like some screaming Usher fans
This guy at White Castle asked for my autograph
So I signed it:
"Dear Dave, thanks for the support, asshole"
Eminem’s break-out hit and the first the world ever saw of Slim Shady.
To this day “My Name Is” is one of the most incendiary pieces of music ever recorded and kicked of the emcee’s controversial rise to fame. He would later prove extremely skilled on the mic, but with this first offering, many fans just laughed along at the sheer outrageousness of the lyrics.
psycho
Psycho
Beat the Octomom to death with a Cabbage Patch Kid
Attack a snatch yeah there's somethin to jack a batch in
Impregnated then shoot up the embryo sack with Mac-10s'
Triplets, quadruplets, and a couple of back-to-back twins
That fetus is fallin out all over, Jack is back again
Insane wordplay from Shady on this one. Among hundreds of dope verses, Em’s work on “Psycho” still manages to stick out. All the trademarks are present, along with sick bars like the one above, equaling out to an amazing lyrical experience.
till i collapse
Till I Collapse
I got a list, here's the order of my list that it's in:
It goes Reggie, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie
Andre from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me
Nothing too crazy in the way of lyrics here, but Em does list his top 9 greatest rappers of all time (at least, at that moment). Though much of rap world argues differently, Em places himself last at number 9, with Redman, Jay Z, Tupac, Biggie, Nas, Andre 3000, Kurupt, and Jadakiss all before him.
guilty con.
Guilty Conscience
Okay, thought about it? Still wanna stab her?
Grab her by the throat, get your daughter and kidnap her?
That's what I did, be smart don't be a retard
You gonna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes?
(What you say?) What's wrong? Didn't think I'd remember?
(I'll kill you mothafucka!) Uhh-ahh, temper, temper
Mr. Dre, Mr. N.W.A, Mr. AK
Coming straight outta Compton, y'all better make way
How in the fuck you gonna tell this man not to be violent?
This song, from concept down to execution is just dope. Dre and Em play the devil and angel from so many cartoon character’s shoulders. But the issues here aren’t stealing toy cars; it’s robbing stores, date rape and double homicide.
bad meets evil
Bad Meets Evil
I don't speak, I float in the air wrapped in a sheet
I'm not a real person, I'm a ghost trapped in a beat
I translate when my voice is read through a seismograph
And a noise is bred, picked up and transmitted through Royce's head
Trap him in his room, possess him and hoist his bed
'til the evilness flows through his blood like poisonous lead
Told him each one of his boys is dead
Eminem and fellow Detroit emcee Royce da 5’’ 9’ go bar for bar in this bugged out display of flow, rhyme and insanity.
loud noises
Loud Noises
You don’t like it? you can eat shit, fuck off little faggot and die
You right back like a magnet on my dick grabbin' at my
Shit better get to the back of the line, If you wanna get your shot at me what kinda crap is that battle
What kind of rapper would I be before I let another rapper think he’s hot
I’ll bury my face in a stinky twat and go...
Em’s vivid, demented imagery is as strong as ever in his verse on “Loud Noises.” The flow is there, the deliver is there. The rhymes. Everything is great. Then he hits us with, “What kind of rapper would I be before I let another rapper think he’s hot/ I’ll bury my face in his stinky twat and go (???).”
What?
The Reunion
The Reunion
While I bump that Relapse CD, trying to hit every bump, and that cunt
Thought I snapped back in that accent cause she kept asking me
To quit calling her cunt, I said I cunt
Who knows what Em and Royce meant to come out of the session when they cooked this one up. If it was some hilarious bars then they definitely did work. The whole song is funny, but few are those that don’t actually laugh out loud when Em ends his first verse.
Living Proof
Living Proof
Your body language is sayin’ your confidence is gone
Well pick ya ass up lil homie, come on
You just gone sit there and take it or make 'em suck it
Tell em where to shove it straight up
You gon' make love to the world or you gon' fuck it
The last time that life kicked me in the ass
I pulled down it’s pants and put a foot up its ass
Man what a catastrophe it’d be for me to be a bitch ass pussy
And not open a can of whoop ass, let you piss ants whoop me
Will be the day I say I ate poop, shit, the day that
I don't straight shoot, I'll drop outta my anti-women hate group
Say I’m a sissy faggot, record it play it back
And put it on straight loop, you haters look like you ate a grape fruit
You see me climbing back on that wagon got my swagger back
I was dragging, hop back on it, grab the reigns on that bastard
And came back on 'em without remorse man
Man of course I’m a one trick pony
Cause I’ll be screaming on these whores 'til I’m hoarse!
Of All Bad Meets Evil’s songs, “Living Proof” is probably the most technically impressive. Both emcees murder their verses, but Em lapses into an insane flow during his first verse. Listen to the track, and kick the link to anyone that says Shady can’t spit (yes people say that).
cleanin out my closet
Cleaning Out My Closet
Have you ever been hated or discriminated against?
I have; I've been protested and demonstrated against
Picket signs for my wicked rhymes, look at the times
Sick as the mind of the motherfuckin' kid that's behind
All this commotion emotions run deep as oceans explodin'
Tempers flarin' from parents just blow 'em off and keep goin'
Not takin' nothin' from no one, give 'em hell long as I'm breathin'
Keep kickin' ass in the mornin' and takin' names in the evenin'
Leave 'em with a taste as sour as vinegar in they mouth
See they can trigger me, but they'll never figure me out
Look at me now; I bet ya probably sick of me now ain't you momma?
I'ma make you look so ridiculous now
Em’s history and relationship with his mother has always been public. She was often a target in his lyrics, never more so than in “Cleaning Out My Closet.”
The monstrously popular song, and to a greater extend its video, made it clear how tough Shady had it growing up and made it easier for the public to empathize with its favorite media menace. Few rap songs have so successfully appealed to the masses while offering a deeply introspective look at an artist and his past.
without me
Without Me
Little hellions, kids feeling rebellious
Embarrassed their parents still listen to Elvis
They start feeling like prisoners helpless
Til someone comes along on a mission and yells BITCH!!!
A visionary, vision is scary
Could start a revolution, polluting the airwaves
A rebel, so just let me revel and bask
In the fact that I got everyone kissing my ass {smak}
And it's a disaster, such a catastrophe
For you to see so damn much of my ass; you asked for me?
Well I'm back, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Fix your bent antenna tune it in and then I'm gonna
Enter in, getting under your skin like a splinter
The center of attention, back for the winter
I'm interesting, the best thing since wrestling
Infesting in your kid's ears and nesting
Testing, attention please
Feel the tension, soon as someone mentions me
Here's my ten cents, my two cents is free
A nuisance, who sent? You sent for me?
Channeling much of the spirit from his breakout hit “My Name Is,” Eminem doned a Robin-esque costume and hilariously challenged critics to envision the rap scene without him. For a while, we did experience that. It was indeed “empty” without Em.
The song also doubled as Em’s latest volley of insults at the moment’s favorite celebrities. Anyone (or any show) missed in the lyrics got it in the music video.
Sing for the moment
Sing for the Moment
"These ideas are, nightmares to white parents
Whose worst fear is a child with dyed hair and who likes earrings
Like whatever they say has no bearing
It's so scary in a house that allows, no swearing
To see him walking around with his headphones blaring
Alone in his own zone, cold and he don't care
He's a problem child, and what bothers him all comes out
When he talks about, his fucking dad walking out
Cause he just hates him so bad that he, blocks him out
If he ever saw him again he'd probably knock him out
His thoughts are wacked, he's mad so he's talking back
Talking black, brainwashed from rock and rap
He sags his pants, doo rags and a stocking cap
His step-father hit him so he, socked him back
And broke his nose, his house is a broken home
There's no control, he just let's his emotions go"
In a manner that’s yet to be topped, Eminem details the cultural struggle of many white rap and hip-hop fans around the country in the first verse of this profound record.
We’ve all heard the derogatory terms leveled at white fans and we’ve seen the hordes of cultural appropriators across every race. What Em does with this first verse is tell some of their story in a language we all speak - hip-hop.
say what you say
Say What You Say
Dre told me to milk this shit for what it's worth
Till the cow just tilts and tips and stumbles to earth
And if I fumble a verse, keep going
First take I make mistakes just keep it
No punches pulled, no punches, that's weak shit, fake shit
If I ever take shit I'll eat shit
Wasn't for him, wouldn't be shit
These aren’t rare words from behind the curtain, but Em’s breaking of the fourth wall with this song helped ally listeners against unfair and uninformed critics.
This is a simple line, but it manages to dissolve the arguments of thousands of offended naysayers.
There’s also a bunch of stuff in there like, “Amateurs drink veteran piss, from a dixie cup/ if you ever mix me up or confuse me with a Canibus or Dre with a Dupri.”
Stir Crazy
Stir Crazy
I'm crazy with this razor, with this razor I'm crazy
With this crazor I'm razy, razor crazed, I'm CRAZY!
(Okay, I'm Re-Loaded!!) Go Bring Jay-Z!
(Tell them him I'mma ghostwrite for him!) On Dre's Beats!
Ran in the ladies room naked in a blanket
At the banquet and started to spank it (AHHH!)
Came in the bank with a tank, fired a blank
At the clerk and handcuffed her ankles to the safe and thanked her
But I didn't take nothing (Thanks!)
Every bullet came from the same gun, just from different angles
Cause I was picking strange places to aim from
(Man, I bet you 50 bucks you won't jump out the window Shady)
*Crash* (Ahhhh!!) PAY ME!
This was a hilarious and equally crazy verse from an early Slim Shady, and given the title of the track, what would you expect? PLUS this has production from Kanye West...now that's crazy.
criminal
Criminal
"The mother did drugs, hard liquor, cigarettes and speed
The baby came out, disfigured ligaments indeed
It was a seed who would grow up just as crazy as she
Don't dare make fun of that baby cause that baby was me
I'm a criminal, an animal caged who turned crazed
But how the fuck you supposed to grow up when you weren't raised?
So as I got older and I got a lot taller
My dick shrunk smaller, but my balls got larger
I drink more liquor to fuck you up quicker
Than you'd wanna fuck me up for saying the word *****"
Eminem says a lot of crazy stuff. A lot of that stuff is in this song.
As the title suggest, Em embraces his criminal persona after lambasting fans and critics that take his lyrics seriously. Amidst the homophobia, rape and drug references, Em clarifies (again) the troll nature behind much of his music.
drips
Drips
"Now I don't wanna hit no women but this chicks got it coming
Someone better get this bitch before she gets kicked in the stomach
And she's pregnant, but she's egging me on, begging me to throw her
Off the steps on this porch, my only weapon is force
And I don't wanna resort to violence of any sort
But whys she shoving me for doesn't she love me no more?
Wasn't she hugging me four minutes ago at the door?
Man I'm this close to going toe to toe with this whore
What would you do if she was telling you she wants a divorce
She's having another baby in a month and it's yours
And you found it isn't cause this bitch has been visiting
Someone else and sucking his dick and kissing you on the lips
When you get back to Michigan, now the plot has thickened 'n worse
Cause you feel like you've been sticking your fucking dick in a hearse
So you're paranoid at every little cold that you get
Ever since they sold you this shit, you've been holding your dick
So you go to the clinic, sweating every minute you're in it
Then the doctor comes out looking like Dennis the Menace
And it's obvious to everyone in the lobby, it's AIDS
He ain't even gotta to call in you the office to say it
So you jet back home, cause you gone get that ho
When you see her, you're gonna bend her fucking neck back yo
Cause you love her, you never would've expect that blow
Obie told you the scoop, how could she stoop that low?
Jesus, I don't believe this bitch works at the cleaner's
Bringing me home diseases swinging from Obie's penis
She's so deceiving, shit this ho's a genius, she geed us"
“Drips” is pretty graphic, even for Eminem. Mostly because of the premise, contracting STIs and cuckolding.
The song is horrific and disturbing on a completely different level. Eminem doesn’t get much crazier than he is here.
bagpipes
Bagpipes From Bahgdad
"You can be a permanent fixture in my lyrical mixture
I'm the miracle whip... trickster
My signature sound when a tube of lipstick's around
I'm bound to put it on in an instant, wow man
What an ensemble, what an assortment of pharma-
-ceuticals this beautiful pill dust in my palm, my
Cuticles get residue just from touchin the bottle
Never knew I could remind me so much of my momma
I'll cut ya like Dahmer, pull the butcher knife on ya
The size of a sword boy I'm like the fuckin Red Sonja
Get it stuck in your cornea, nice knowin ya, Norman
You're so fuckin' annoyin', drop the shovel boy
You don't know what the fuck you're doin
I ain't playin' no fuckin' more
Nick Cannon, you prick, I wish you luck with the fuckin' whore
Every minute there's a sucker born, snuck up on
Malachi made the motherfucker suck on a shuck of corn
Chaka, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan
Hit Jason in the face with a hockey puck and told him it's fucking on
Man what the fuck are ya doin'
You're runnin over the snowblower with the lawnmower
Blowin' your bagpipes from Baghdad"
This is a wild track in general, from both a lyrically accomplished standpoint and topically. Em’s vivid language and sharp disses toward Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are almost tough to listen to.
The third verse in particular holds this little nugget of morbidity - “Nothing will stop me from molestin' you/ titty-fuckin' you til' your breast nipple flesh tickles my testicles.”
Don't Approach Me
Don’t Approach Me
"So do I gotta buy a whole block to myself
A front door with twelve locks
And have a bodyguard walk me out to my mailbox
And every time somebody makes a threat, run and tell cops
Fuck that, I protect myself with these twelve shots
And one in the chamber, gun in the waist
And one in the ankle, waitin' for someone to come to my place
Tryna walk up and knock, like these cocksuckers are not
Gonna get a shotgun or a Glock shoved in their face
And it's a disgrace Hailie can't play with her toys
In the front yard, without you drivin' by, honkin' your horn
Screamin' some shit, leanin' out your windows, beepin' and shit
Or pullin' up in my drive like I won't leap in your whip
And so these kids tell their friends and relatives where I live
So my address ends up on the Internet again
So then, I do an interview with Spin, tellin' them
That if someone comes to my crib, I'mma shove a gun in their ribs
And reporters blow it out of proportion"
Em absolutely bodied these verses. “No bullets? You're so full of shit/ this clip is so full, it'll spit if I don't pull it.”
To sum up the track in one line look toward the last - “It's not that I don't like you/ it's just that when I'm not behind the mic/ I'm a person who's just like you.”
patiently waiting
Patiently Waiting
"They think they're crazy but they ain't crazy, let's face it
Shit, basically they're just playing sick
They ain't shit, they ain't saying shit, spray em 50
A to the K get in the way I'll bring Dre and them with me
And turn this day into fucking mayhem, you staying with me?
Don't let me lose you, I'm not trying to confuse you
When I let loose with this Uzi and just shoot through your Isuzu
You get the message? Am I getting through to you?
You know what's coming, you motherfuckers don't even know, do you?
Take some Big and some Pac and you mix em up in a pot
Sprinkle a little Big L on top, what the fuck do you got?
You got the realest and illest killers tied up in a knot
The juggernauts of this rap shit, like it or not
It's like a fight to the top just to see who'd die for the spot
You put ya life in this, nothing like surviving a shot
Y'all know what time it is, soon as 50 signs on this doc
Shit what you know about death threats, cause I get a lot
Shady Records was eighty seconds away from the towers
Some cowards fucked with the wrong building, they meant to hit ours
Better evacuate all children, it's nuclear showers
There's nothing spookier
You now about to witness the power of fucking 50"
In what was easily among the best songs off 50 Cent’s debut album, Eminem offered up some cut-throat bars about the status of him and his team. Of course, it wouldn’t be Eminem without some odious reference, in this case an allusion to the attacks of 9/11.
“Shady Records was eighty seconds away from the towers/ some cowards fucked with the wrong building, they meant to hit ours.”
toy soliders
Like Toy Soliders
I'm supposed to be the soldier, who never blows his composure
Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders
I ain't never supposed to show it, my crew ain't supposed to know it
Even if it means going toe to toe with a Benzino
It don't matter I'd never drag them in battles that I can handle
'less I absolutely have to, I'm supposed to set an example
I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em
If some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em
That Ja shit, I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it
There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it
I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it
It was crazy, the shit went way beyond some Jay-Z and Nas shit
And even though the battle is won I feel like we lost it
I spent so much energy on it, honestly I'm exhausted
And I'm so caught in it, I almost feel I'm the one who caused it
This ain't what I'm in hip hop for, it's not why I got in it
That was never my object, for someone to get killed
Why would I want to destroy something I helped build?
It wasn't my intentions, my intentions were good
I went through my whole career without ever mentioning *Suge*
And that was just outta respect, for not running my mouth
And talking about something that I knew nothing about
Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef
So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth
While he's all over TV, down talking the man
Who literally saved my life, like fuck it I understand
This is business, and this shit just isn't none of my business
I'm still knowing this shit could pop off at any minute, because
As Eminem’s most personal record at the time, “Like Toy Soldiers” detailed what Em had been going through after the death of his close friend Proof.
It was also a huge departure from the Slim Shady persona, and a touching send off to one of Em's closest friends.
the last hit
The Last Hit
"I'm e-mailing you, at the wrong website
And misspelling you, prank you and put the fear of hell in you
Escaped Bellevue, stuffed the nurse in a purse
Disperse like I added too many words in a verse
Slim Shady, a perverted version of birth
Driving off, leaving a murdered virgin at church
The first person who searching the earth for the motherfucker
That pulled the plug when they should have alerted the surgeon first (Kill his ass)
Get thrown curves, and hit with your own words
Leave me alone bitch! I get on my own nerves!
And if I don't got two balls and a middle finger to throw up
I'm taking off both shoes and sticking each middle toe up"
Em engages in lyrical acrobatics with The High and Mighty on this dope throwback track.
Em’s clean delivery and effortless flow over the boom-bap production of DJ Mighty Mi serves up a prime example of why he’s considered one of the greats at rapping.
3 am
3 A.M.
"Sitting nude in my living room, it's almost noon
I wonder what's on the tube, maybe they'll show some boobs
Surfing every channel until I find Hannah Montana
Then I reach for the aloe and Lanolin
Bust all over the wall panelin'
Dismantlin' every candle on top of the fireplace mantle and
Grab my flannel and my bandana then kiss the naked mannequin man again
You can see him standin' in my front window if you look in
I'm just a hooligan who's used to using hallucinogens
Causing illusions again, brain contusions again
Cutting and bruising the skin, razors, scissors and pins
Jesus, when does it end?
Phases that I go through, dazed and I'm so confused
Days that I don't know who gave these molecules to
Me, what am I gon' do? Hey, the prodigal son
The diabolical one, very methodical when I slaughter them"
Somehow, Em manages to keep to the same rhyme scheme throughout this song's wacky second verse. A verse that manages to pack masturbation, Hannah Montana, mannequins, and hallucinogens all into 16 bars that still end up making sense.
Off the Wall
Off the Wall
"Cause wit my luck, I'll probably get shot by a stalker
Probably got a fanatic waiting upstairs in the attic
Wit a automatic calling me up there
My man, Stan, with a gat in his hand
Staking my house out in a tan, tinted sedan"
Eminem and his favorite emcee offer up some crazy raps in this track. Em's reference to Stan come from a different perspective than the pragmatic one we're used to.
love me
Love Me
"There's a certain mystique when I speak, that you notice
Cause it's sort of unique cause you know it's me
My poetry's deep, and I'm stillmatic, the way I flow to this beat
You can't sit still, it's like trying to smoke crack and go to sleep
I'm strapped, it's known any minute I could snap
I'm the equivalent of what would happen if Bush rapped
I bully these rappers so bad lyrically
It ain't even funny, I ain't even hungry, it ain't even money
You can't pay me enough for you to play me
It's cockamanie you just ain't zany enough to rock with Shady
My noodle is cock-a-doodle, my clock's coo-coo
I got screws loose, yea the whole kit and caboodle, I'm just brutal
It's no rumor, I'm numero uno, assume it
There's no more humor in it, you know
I'm rolling with a swollen bowling ball in my bag
You need a fag to come and tear a near hole in my ass, you better love me, bitch"
This little-known verse is among Em’s best lyrical displays, period.
“I'm strapped, it's known any minute I could snap/ I'm the equivalent of what would happen if Bush rapped,” isn’t even the illest line in the verse, but it gets the point across - Shady ain’t nothing to mess with.
313
313
"I'll stop the alphabet at S and got it down to a T
I'm sure your bound to agree, a sweet MC crashes the spot
I'll make the roof hot like I was Rock Master Scott
Your ass forgot, so just in case you don't remember me
I'll run your brain around the block to jog your fucking memory
It's either them or me man, kill or be killed
You will will be sealed your casket closed you still will be billed
My facilities filled with fans, packed to capacity
I'll send a rapper back with the crack of his ass shitty
If he's acting soft and he cowers
He better come cleaner then Jeru jackin' off when he showers
You flowers got no clout with a thing
You could date a stick of dynamite and wouldn't go out with a bang
I shout with a slang, simple as A,B,C's"
Regardless of its sales, some of Eminem’s hardest bars came from Infinite. Even among these, the lyrics on “313” are some of the best Shady’s ever spit. He says, “Your ass forgot, so just in case you don't remember me/ I'll run your brain around the block to jog your fucking memory.”
syllables
Syllables
"If we gotta dumb down our style and ABC it, then so be it
Cause nowadays these kids just don’t give a shit 'bout lyrics
All they wanna hear is a beat and that's it
Long as they can go to the club and get blitzed
Pick up some chicks and get some digits
And the DJs playing them hits "Oh, this my jam, this my shit"
We don't know a word to a verse, all we know is the chorus
Cause the chorus repeats the same four words for us
And the song's ginormous, the whole formula’s switched
Cause we don’t know anymore, what are hits?
Is it the beat, is it the rap?
Is it a finger snap or the same 808 clap?
And how do we adapt and get TRL votes
When 13-year-olds control the remotes?
And Ashley’s got a brand new nose
We gotta put some new em-pha-sis on our sa-lyl-la-bles"
It’s no surprise that a song lamenting the lost art of lyricism features some incredibly technical raps from Eminem, and everyone else on the track. His is not the longest verse, but it is arguably the strongest and most direct. Plus the satirical hook is hilarious.
When I bust on the mic
When I Bust on the Mic
Let the cat out, flat out
Detroit's a mad house
So I don't get offended when I hear my city bad mouthed
We quick to pull the gat out, set it
And leave you with more shit missin'
Then a Lil' Kim radio edit
You can hear the grit of the underground in this super old shady record. What the song lacks in production value, it more than makes up for in bars. Eminem was spitting like he had mouths to feed and something to prove. Interestingly enough, he doesn’t sound any less hungry now than he did then.
forgot about dre
Forgot About Dre
So what do you say to somebody you hate
Or anyone tryna bring trouble your way
Wanna resolve things in a bloodier way
Then just study a tape of N.W.A
One day I was walking by
With a Walkman on
When I caught a guy
Give me an awkward eye
And I strangled him up in the parking lot
With his Karl Kani
I don't give a fuck if it's dark or not
I'm harder than me tryna park a Dodge
When I'm drunk as fuck
Right next to a humongous truck in a two-car garage
Hopping out with two broken legs
Trying to walk it off
Fuck you too bitch, call the cops
I'mma kill you and them loud-ass motherfucking barking dogs
And when the cops came through
Me and Dre stood next to a burnt down house
With a can full of gas and a hand full of matches
And still weren't found out
From here on out it's the Chronic II
Starting today and tomorrow's anew
And I'm still loco enough to choke you to death with a Charleston Chew
Slim Shady, hotter then a set of twin babies
In a Mercedes Benz with the windows up
When the temp goes up to the mid-80s
Calling men ladies, sorry, Doc, but I been crazy
There's no way that you can save me, it's okay, go with him Hailie
“Slim Shady, hotter than a set of twin babies/ In a Mercedes Benz with the windows up/ When the tint goes up to the mid eighties.”
Those old enough might remember the feeling of accomplishment that came from reciting Shady’s verse, or even the hook, from start to finish.
“Forgot About Dre” was one of the dopest songs of that year and won Dre and Em a Grammy. It was also one of the verses that proved how dope Em is with a mic. This verse is a showcase of his skill with multisyllabic rhymes.
three six five
Three Six Five
"Stoppin' your short life while you're still a teen virgin
Unless you get a kidney specialist and a spleen surgeon
In the best hospital possible for emergency surgery
To try to stop the blood from your ruptured sternum internally
I'll take it back before we knew each other's name
Run in a ultrasound and snatch you out your mother's frame
I'll take it further back than that
Back to Lovers' lane, to the night you were thought of, and
Cock-block your father's game"
Here we have one of Em’s rarest songs, and also some of the toughest rhymes spit by the Slim Shady persona. Bars like, “So when I grab a pencil and squeeze it between fingers/ I'm not a rapper, I'm a demon who speaks English,” are the straight up raw raps that get names mentioned in G.O.A.T. lists.
Eminem take the theme of waxing whack emcees several bars deep and ends with, “I'll take it further back than that/ back to Lovers' lane, to the night you were thought of, and/ cock-block your father's game.” There aren’t a lot of rappers than can spit to this degree, and this was well over 10 years ago.
Deja Vu
Deja Vu
Maybe just a nice cold brew, what's a beer
That's the devil in my ear, I been sober a fuckin' year
And that fucker still talks to me he's all I can fuckin' hear
Marshall, come on we'll watch the game, it's the Cowboys and Buccaneers
And maybe if I just drink half I'll be half buzzed
For half of the time, who's the mastermind behind that little line
With that kind of rationale man I got half a mind
To have another half of glass of wine, sound asinine
Yeah I know, but I never had no problem with alcohol
Ouch, look out for the wall, aim for the couch - I'm 'bout to fall
I missed the couch and down I go lookin' like a bouncy ball
Shit musta knocked me out cause I ain't feel the ground at all
Wow, what the fuck happened last night, where am I
Man, fuck am I hungover and goddamn I
Got a headache, shit half a Vicodin, why can't I
All systems ready for take off, please stand by
If most people agree Relapse was something of a disappointing project (let it be noted, we don't necessarily agree), most also agree that “Deja Vu” is one of the few exceptional songs from the LP, and possibly one of Em’s best records period.
Eminem takes listeners on a trip through the thoughts and internal bargainings and battles of an addict. It’s a potent, poignant song and mixes well intended messaging and content with flawless execution and accomplished lyrics.
The Warning
The Warning
Better shut your lying mouth if you don't want Nick finding out
You probably think cause it's been so long
If I had something on you I woulda did it by now
Oh on the contrary, Mary Poppins
I'm mixing our studio session down
And sending it to mastering to make it loud
Enough dirt on you to murder you
This is what the fuck I do
Mariah it ever occur to you
That I still have pictures
However you prefer to do
And that goes for Nick too, faggot you think I'm scurred of you
You're gonna ruin my career you better get one
Like I'mma sit and fight with you over some slut bitch cunt
That made me put up with her psycho ass over six months
And only spread her legs to let me hit once
Nas' “Ether” is lauded as one of the best diss tracks of all time, but that doesn’t mean Em’s “The Warning” isn’t close behind.
It’s a vicious assault with no breaks or hooks where Eminem alludes to various sexual excursions with Mariah Carey while simultaneously destroying Nick Cannon on wax. Em has a lot of dis bars and dis records out there, but “The Warning” is easily among the most venomous of them all.
stan
Stan
"Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I just been busy
You said your girlfriend's pregnant now, how far along is she
Look, I'm really flattered you would call your daughter that
And here's an autograph for your brother, I wrote it on a Starter cap
I'm sorry I didn't see you at the show, I musta missed you
Don't think I did that shit intentionally just to diss you
But what's this shit you said about you like to cut your wrists too
I say that shit just clowning dog, come on, how fucked up is you
You got some issues Stan, I think you need some counseling
To help your ass from bouncing off the walls when you get down some
And what's this shit about us meant to be together
That type of shit'll make me not want us to meet each other
I really think you and your girlfriend need each other
Or maybe you just need to treat her better
I hope you get to read this letter, I just hope it reaches you in time
Before you hurt yourself, I think that you'll be doing just fine
If you relax a little, I'm glad I inspire you, but Stan
Why are you so mad
Try to understand, that I do want you as a fan
I just don't want you to do some crazy shit
I seen this one shit on the news a couple weeks ago that made me sick
Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a bridge
And had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was pregnant with his kid
And in the car they found a tape, but they didn't say who it was to
Come to think about it, his name was, it was you, damn"
“Stan” is one of the most iconic songs in rap music. The story of crazed fans doing drastic things isn’t new, and it wasn’t back in 2001 when the single was released. For whatever reason though, “Stan” made a lasting impact on rap culture and added a new term to rap’s vernacular.
It’s a chilling song, a disturbing video and among the best written hip-hop records of all time.
When I'm gone
When I’m Gone
"Have you ever loved someone so much, you'd give an arm for?
Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for?
When they know they're your heart
And you know you were their armour
And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm her
But what happens when karma, turns right around and bites you?
And everything you stand for turns on you to spite you?
What happens when you become the main source of a pain?
"Daddy look what I made", Dad's gotta go catch a plane
"Daddy where's Mommy? I can't find Mommy where is she?"
I don't know go play Hailie, baby, your Daddy's busy
Daddy's writing this song, this song ain't gonna write itself
I'll give you one underdog then you gotta swing by yourself
Then turn right around on that song and tell her you love her
And put hands on her mother, who's a spitting image of her
That's Slim Shady, yeah baby, Slim Shady's crazy
Shady made me, but tonight Shady's rocka-by-baby"
Right up there with “Stan” this is one of Eminem’s most powerful records of all time. It almost feels too personal to listen to, like we’re intruding on a heartfelt conversation with Em and his daughter.
Through all the controversy and craziness that his career has wrought, his daughter will forever have this track to glimpse at her father’s true feelings.Between the touching lyrics and Shady’s cracking voice, this is a powerful track indeed.
rap god
Rap God
Little gay lookin' boy
So gay I can barely say it with a straight face lookin', boy
You witnessing a massacre
Like you watching a church gathering take place, lookin' boy
Oy vey, that boy's gay, that's all they say looking, boy
You get a thumbs up, pat on the back
And a way to go from your label everyday lookin', boy
Hey, lookin' boy, what you say lookin' boy
I get a "hell yeah" from Dre lookin', boy
I'ma work for everything I have
Never ask nobody for shit, get outta my face lookin' boy
Basically boy you're never gonna be capable
To keeping up with the same pace lookin', boy
There isn’t much new to say about Eminem’s latest lyrical exhibition “Rap God.” The song is six minutes of some of the best lyrical displays of talent in a long time. One line in particular has the whole country talking - “Little gay lookin’ boy/ So gay I can barely say it with a straight face lookin’ boy.”
It’s a crazy play on Hotstylz track “Lookin’ Boy,” and at the same time a crazy thing to say in 2013. But while everyone else argues over the perceived homophobia of the lyric, hip-hop heads can marvel at the effortless dis Em leveled at the type of rap he mimics here.
ren
Renegade
"Since I'm in a position to talk to these kids and they listen
I ain't no politician but I'll kick it with em a minute
Cause, see, they call me a menace and if the shoe fits I'll wear it
But if it don't, then y'all'll swallow the truth, grin and bear it
Now who's the king of these rude, ludicrous, lucrative lyrics
Who could inherit the title, put the youth in hysterics
Using his music to steer it, sharing his views and his merits
But there's a huge interference: they're saying you shouldn't hear it
Maybe it's hatred I spew, maybe it's food for the spirit
Maybe it's beautiful music I made for you to just cherish
But I'm debated, disputed, hated and viewed in America
As a motherfuckin' drug addict, like you didn't experiment, nah nah
That's when you start to stare at who's in the mirror
And see yourself as a kid again, and you get embarrassed
And I got nothing to do but make you look stupid as parents
You fucking do-gooders, too bad you couldn't do good at marriage
And do you have any clue what I had to do to get here
I don't think you do so stay tuned and keep your ears glued to the stereo
Cause here we go, he's {*Jigga j-Jigga*}
And I'm the sinister Mr. Kiss-My-Ass, it's just the..."
Of all the dope rhymes in Eminem’s catalogue, his two guest verses on Jay Z’s “Renegade” stand out as some of his best. Maybe his best period.
Em’s lyrics aren’t layered in multis, metaphors or double entendres, but neither is their content lost in these technicalities. Em addressed his criticisms directly, much of the same criticism he gets today actually, in straightforward raps that required almost no deciphering.
Besides that, these are the verses that birthed the term “renegading,” the most recent example of which came in Big Sean’s “Control.”
infinite
Infinite
"I let the beat commence so I can beat the sense in your elite defense
I got some meat to mince, a crew to stomp and then two feet to rinse
I greet the gents and ladies, I spoil loyal fans
I foil plans and leave fluids leaking like oil pans
My coiled hands around this microphone are lethal
One thought in my cerebral is deeper then a Jeep full of people
MC's are feeble, I came to cause some pandemonium
Battle a band of phony MC's and stand the lonely one
Imitator intimidator, stimulator, simulator of data, eliminator
There's never been a greater since the burial of Jesus
Fuck around and catch all the venereal diseases
My thesis will smash a stereo to pieces
My a capella releases classic masterpieces through telekinesis
It eases you mentally, gently, sentimentally, instrumentally
With entity, dementedly meant to be Infinite"
The title track from Shady’s very first album, before he was even Shady. The album never really popped, but in hindsight, it’s easily some of Em’s best work lyrically. “Infinite” especially.
Em flexes densely packed rhymes bar after bar until hitting the equally dope bridge and hook. It’s hard to follow on the first listen, but “Infinite” does what so few rap songs do (even during today’s lyrical renaissance) - it demands listeners pause and replay lyrics.
“My acapella releases, classic masterpieces through telekinesis/ It eases you mentally, gently, sentimentally, instrumentally with entity dementedly meant to be infinite”
This is textbook flow and finesse here. Let’s not even get started on the rhyme schemes.