The Way I Am

Whatever..
Dre, just let it run
Aiyyo turn the beat up a little bit
Aiyyo.. this song is for anyone.. fuck it
Just shut up and listen, aiyyo..

I sit back with this pack of Zig Zags and this bag
of this weed it gives me the shit needed to be
the most meanest MC on this — on this Earth
And since birth I’ve been cursed with this curse to just curse
And just blurt this berserk and bizarre shit that works
And it sells and it helps in itself to relieve
all this tension dispensin these sentences
Gettin this stress that’s been eatin me recently off of this chest
and I rest again peacefully (peacefully)..
but at least have the decency in you
to leave me alone, when you freaks see me out
in the streets when I’m eatin or feedin my daughter
to not come and speak to me (speak to me)..
I don’t know you and no,
I don’t owe you a mo-therfuck-in thing
I’m not Mr. N’Sync, I’m not what your friends think
I’m not Mr. Friendly, I can be a prick
if you tempt me my tank is on empty (is on empty)..
No patience is in me and if you offend me
I’m liftin you 10 feet (liftin you 10 feet).. in the air
I don’t care who is there and who saw me destroy you
Go call you a lawyer, file you a lawsuit
I’ll smile in the courtroom and buy you a wardrobe
I’m tired of all you (of all you)..
I don’t mean to be mean but that’s all I can be is just me

[Eminem]
I’m so sick and tired of bein admired
that I wish that I would just die or get fired
and dropped from my label and stop with the fables
I’m not gonna be able to top on “My Name is..”
And pigeon-holed into some pop-py sensation
to cop me rotation at rock’n’roll stations
And I just do not got the patience (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 askin
the same fuckin questions (fuckin 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 grabbin my hair and I’m tearin it out
cause they drivin me crazy (drivin me crazy).. I can’t take it
I’m racin, I’m pacin, I stand and I sit
And I’m thankful for ev-ery fan that I get
But I can’t take a SHIT, in the bathroom
without someone standin by it
No I won’t sign your autograph
You can call me an asshole I’m glad

“The Way I Am » could have been called « Eminem Against The World » as well.
You can see an exceeded MC who is just fed up with everyone. At this time, Eminem had to face with so many pressures from his label, from the media, and even some fans who just didn’t respect his privacy.You can feel the anger coming out of the rapper’s chest. The song sounds authentic, because Eminem refers to real feelings, as usual. He lets his frustrations and all the negative emotions out. When we feel bad, when we feel that the pressure’s too high, we need to slacken it the same way a pressure cooker does…and the healthiest way is to let our anger, rage and frustrations out.
That is exactly what Eminem does. The repetition of the /u/ and /e/ sounds at the beginning of the song accentuates the pressure. Eminem appears to be a real word and sound technician. He anticipates the effect created by each word. While listening to the song, you can feel that rage. Most of you probably know that Eminem’s ascension to the top is rather uncommon. As I expressed it before, he came from the bottom to stardom and the pressures put on him at the beginning of his career were very high. All of a sudden, he couldn’t eat peacefully outside without being recognized by fans who wouldn’t leave him alone. His privacy was exposed and it was difficult to face with his new gained stardom.The media constantly targetted Eminem about his lyrical content. He was accused of being a bad example for the youth. Acts like Eminem and Marilyn Manson have always been easy targets for the media. They ave easy culprits from teenagers suicidal behavior or for any kind of foolishness. But Eminem brings the parents back to their responsibility : they should watch their kids. He’s not responsible for every kid’s drug addiction. As Paul Rosenberg replied sarcastically to Benzino on the phone, Eminem is « whatever you say he is.»
Eminem is somebody you cannot buy. He won’t rap just to please your ears. He doesn’t rap to get cash. He is used to speaking his mind and he doesn’t care if people agree with him or not. Another thing that really angered Eminem was to be confused him with a « wigga ».

What is exactly a « wigga »?
A « wigga » is a term that means « white nigga » and that the black community uses for white men who are trying to imitate black men by talking « ebonics » and who wear the same clothes just to imitate the black community. For obvious reasons, Eminem cannot be classified as a « wigga ». Eminem grew up in the black hood of Detroit, his accent is natural for a white man who grew up among Blacks. Eminem embraced the hip hop community, hip hop is part of his life. You cannot reproach a foreigner who was born in America to act like an American, that would be silly. It’s the same for Marshall Mathers. He is white, but his culture is hip hop, who would deny it? Eminem is fed up to have to reply to the same silly questions, he is fed up to be confused with a superficial pop icon and he just lets his rage out against all those white speakers and journalists who don’t get him. All his life, he has been annoyed about his skin color, he can’t stand such questions and shows it offenly. Marshall points out sarcastically :”I try not to look at it that way. Being white. I don’t wake up every day and look in the mirror, ‘Oh. I’m white’.
At the beginning of his career and before Benzino was trying to create an issue out of Eminem’s skin color, « white » magazines used to question him more about his skin color :”At this point, I’m like “Come up with something new.” I hate the same old questions. But it seems like “white” magazines such as Spin and Rolling Stone focus on my “whiteness” more than Black magazines.”

When Eminem wrote « The Way I Am », many people were convinced he was disrespecting his fans. Honestly, I don’t think so. I think that he was exceeded by some fans’ behavior. The kind of fans who don’t respect his privacy and who would stalk him for hours. He wanted them to understand that even if he’s a public person, he’s got a private life too.
Moments with Hailie, for instance, only belong to his private sphere. A respectful fan will get the message.« The Way I Am » are the feelings of a moment. The feelings of a man who is tired of all of us. So won’t you just leave him alone until he feels better?