When Eminem was first gearing up to release Encore, he originally lifted the curtain by teasing a brief snippet of "Mosh." Steered by a brooding dirge from his longtime collaborator Dr. Dre, Em made it clear that he intended to lead a charge. Though this was many years ago, there was more than enough chaos to go around.
The United States was embroiled in the Iraq War, and many weren't entirely pleased with former President George W. Bush's handling of the situation. For Eminem, the situation needed to be addressed, and he made sure to put fire and brimstone to the page on the most political song of his career thus far. Opting to use an uncharacteristically slow, borderline lethargic flow, Em took to Dre's ominous backdrop with a clear sense of purpose.
"Maybe we can reach Al-Qaeda through my speech, let the President answer a higher anarchy," he sneers. "Strap him with an AK-47, let him go fight his own war, let him impress Daddy that way." It's almost strange to factor in how irate Em's Trump freestyle left the masses, given dismantling Republican Presidents is hardly new territory for the legendary emcee. Given everything transpiring in the world today, it feels appropriate to revisit this protest anthem, in which many of the lyrics remain applicable to the current state of affairs.
QUOTABLE LYRICS
If you don't understand, don't even bother to ask
A father who has grown up with a fatherless past
Who has blown up now to rap phenomenon that has
Or at least shows no difficulty multi-taskin'
And juggling both, perhaps mastered his craft slash
Entrepreneur, who's helped launch a few more rap acts
Who's had a few obstacles thrown his way through the last half