Eminem
Some days I just wanna up and call it quits
I feel like I’m surrounded by a wall of bricks
Every time I go to get up I just fall in piss
My life’s like one great big ball of shit
If I could just, put it all into all I spit
Instead of always tryin to swallow it
Instead of starin at this wall and shit
While I sit writer’s block, sick of all this shit
Can’t call it, shit
All I know is I’m about to hit the wall
if I have to see another one of mom’s alcholic fits
This is it, last straw, that’s all, that’s it
I ain’t dealin with another fuckin politic
I’m like a skillet bubblin until it filters up
I’m about to kill it, I can feel it buildin up
Blow this buildin up, I’ve been sealed enough
My cup, runneth over, I done filled it up
The pen explodes and busts, ink spills my guts
You think, all I do is stand here and feel my nuts?
Well I’ma show you what, you gon’ feel my rush
You don’t feel it, then it must be too real to touch
Peal the dutch, I’m about to tear shit up
Goosebumps yea, I’ma make your hair sit up
Yea sit up, I’ma tell you who I be
I’ma make you hate me, cause you ain’t me
You wait, it ain’t too late to finally see
what you closed-minded fucks were too blind to see
Whoever finds me is gonna get a finder’s fee
out this world, ain’t no one out there mind as me
You need piece of mind? Here’s a piece of mine
All I need’s a line
But sometimes I don’t always find the words to rhyme
to express how I’m really feelin at that time
Yea sometimes sometimes sometimes
It’s just sometimes, it’s always me
How dark can these hallways be?
The clock strikes midnight, one-two, then half past three
This half-assed rhyme with this half-assed piece of paper
{*rip*} I’m desperate at my desk
If I can just get the rest of the shit off my chest again
Stuck in this slum, can’t think of nothin
Fuck I’m stumped, but wait, here comes somethin
{*crumples paper*} Nope, it’s not good enough, scribble it out
New pad, crinkle it up, and throw the shit out
I’m fizzlin now, thought I figured it out
Ball’s in my court, but I’m scared to dribble it out
I’m afraid, but why am I afraid?
Why am I a slave to this trade?
Signed out of spit to the grave
Real enough to rill you up
Want me to flip it I can rip it any style you want
I’m a switch hitter bitch, Jimmy Smits ain’t a quitter
I’ma sit until I get enough in me to finally hit a
fuckin boilin point, put some oil in your joints
Flip the coin bitch, come get destroyed
An MC’s worst dream, I make ’em tense
They hate me, see me and shake like a chainlink fence
By the looks of ’em, you would swear their jaws was comin
By the screams of ’em, you would swear I’m sawin someone
By the way they’re runnin, you would swear the law was comin
It’s now or never and tonight is all or nothin
Momma Jimmy keeps leavin on us, he said he’d be back
He pinky promised, I don’t think he’s honest
I’ll be back baby, I just gotta beat this clock
Fuck this clock, I’ma make ’em eat this watch
Don’t believe me watch, I’ma win this race
And I’ma come back and rub my shit in your face, bitch
I found my nitch, you gon’ hear my voice
‘Til you sick of it, you ain’t gonna have a choice
If I gotta scream ’til I have half a lung
If I had half a chance I’d grab it – Rabbit, run
There is even much more stress and tension in « Rabbit Run » from the 8 Mile soundtrack than in « The Way I Am » from the Marshall Mathers LP.
But the deep meaning of this tension is not the same : « The Way I Am » shows the rage of an exceeded man, but « Rabbit Run » is much more a constant struggle to survive and to achieve some important goals. The obstacles Rabbit has to face are numerous, they are referred to as a wall of bricks. Wherever Rabbit goes, he finds an obstacle on his road. Rabbit has to face his every day trouble with his alcoholic mom.
He appears to be a real perfectionist (what Eminem actually is in real life). He is never satisfied with his lyrical content.
You can feel the same poetic words aimed at his pen that you found in the « Infinite song ».
« The pen explodes and busts, ink spills my guts
» compared to
« Ayo, my pen and paper cause a chain reaction
» from the Infinite song sound similar. Why ? Simply because Jimmy brings you back to that period around 1995 when Eminem had to prove his skills. If it is true that « you gotta be mad to rap », it is also true that you need a high level of skills to be credible. A good MC needs to be offensive. To be taken seriously, he cannot rap on flowers and bees.
The subject matter has to be aggressive, shocking, destructive as well. An Mc is a soldier and his words the weapons aimed at his enemies.
You got to battle to gain some credibility.
Dissing your enemy is not only a goal, it is also the part that helps you to spit your words. When somebody who hates you said something bad about you, the words to prove him wrong come easy. You can feel the words popping in your head like a cascade and youre ready to shoot your enemy in no time. Among all the amateur freestyles I have written, the most offensive were the most appreciated by my friends.
So Rabbit goes on, he is determined to make « your hair sit up », he will make you « hate him cuz you aint him ». He will battle against the world. But before he lets his rage out publicly, he battles with his pen and paper, sitting on his desk and waiting for the best inspiration, ready to destroy his words when he feels they arent good enough ; hes battling against the time. His clock is a symbol of the time that is flying away from him. Between his job, his problems in his privacy and his passion of emceing. He doesnt want to be average, he knows that he has to be excellent.
Rabbit spends his time running between two different realities.
There is an important lesson to learn from those lyrics : always dare grabbing your chance, as little as it may be. Dare trying, it is worth it .
« If I had half a chance I’d grab it – Rabbit, run »