Eminem’s ‘Kamikaze’ Spits Disses With Solid Bars

Shaina Blakesley, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Dear haters,

Eminem is still the Rap God.

To answer Machine Gun Kelly’s question in his name-calling response “Rap Devil;” Is Eminem too old? I have to spit a resounding no.

After 30 years of rapping, Eminem released his tenth studio album, “Kamikaze” on Aug. 31. Following the all-too-real lyrics, commenced a massive controversy over these 11 diss tracks reverberating among the music industry.

The only thing the 45-year-old rapper is too old for is the on-the-sly slaps embedded within his fellow hip-hop artists songs and the tweets sexually harassing his daughter, Hailie. Eminem has also incorporated his beef’s in his music; he is an artist that uses his reality to inspire his lyrics and “Kamikaze” is no different.

I have always followed the creative lifestyle of Eminem because he has always kept his words real — and unlike other artists, he pens his own lyrics. For years, Eminem has had an on-and-off again relationship with his alter ego, Slim Shady, which sprung up during his time in the rap gang D12. This album is melted with this different side of him.

Slim Shady is the dark, twisted and violent side of Eminem’s music. The rapper brings in this personality when he needs to spit bars that are aimed directly at individuals who curate conflict with all of Marshall Bruce Mathers III personas. This out-of-the-blue album blurs the line between the split personalities: Eminem and Slim Shady.

Eminem claims that Slim was contrived as a means to vent on topics he himself cannot, spewing lyrics that reference drug use, rape, mental instability, gore and assaults towards his loved ones. Seems fitting since several artists, who claimed to idolize Eminem, are recently promoting hate and negativity towards him and his family. This album alternates between Eminem’s truthful insight and Slim Shady’s disdain for slander.

The irony that Eminem should retire is washed away by the reality that the surprise release of “Kamikaze” has “earned 434,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Sept. 6,” according to Neilson Music and “of that sum, 252,000 were in traditional album sales.”

The G.O.A.T.(Greatest of all Time) Eminem earns his ninth No.1 album on the Billboard 200 charts since his first chart-breaking album in 1999, “The Slim Shady LP.” Maintaining his Greatest of all Time title, he is the first artist in history with eight consecutive albums in the top seed.

The no-bullshit album disses everyone: Tyler, the Creator, Machine Gun Kelly, the easy to mock Donald Trump, Joe Bidden and pokes fun at the increasing amount of horrible mumble rappers. On the bandwagon of lackluster nicknames with the overused “Lil,” — come on, over 17 rappers feature this in their stage name.

The first song on “Kamikaze” titled “The Ringer” kicks off the name-dropping fashion.

Eminem calls out Long Beach native rapper, Vince Staples, who tried to further his fan base in his Twitter post dissing the rapper’s BET Freestyle, “The Storm” about Donald Trump. Staples commented that it was “trash” and alluded to his own meek talent saying he “could do better.”

Eminem references Staples in the lines: “Ain’t no mistakes allowed, but make no mistake I’m ’bout/ To rape the alphabet, I may raise some brows/ If I press the issue just to get the anger out/ Full magazine could take staples out.” This stems from the magazine cover story with Complex, where the rapper shakes off Staples prior criticism. Eminem melds poetic devices with the hard truth, which increases his musicality.

Eminem truly despises mumble rappers, and can you blame him? That style of nu-gen hip-hop is a mockery of the legends that sky-rocketed the rebellious rap genre throughout the years. Slim Shady comes out of the woodwork during this demolition of artists like Lil Yatchy, Lil Pump and Lil Xan; Basically calling them out as carbon copies of New Orleans guru Lil Wayne. Weezy started the trend that, unfortunately, lead to these joke artists.

Anti- Lil Yachty sentiments: “Get this fuckin’ audio out my Audi yo, adios/ I can see why people like Lil Yachty, but not me, though.” Closely followed by “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.”

Several other tracks follow the dissatisfaction with the oddly popular genre. The third song on the explosive album, “Lucky You” takes more shots at mumble rappers, calling these musicians as clowns in a circus and he is coming for their jugulars.

The best song on the list destroying this genre is “Not Alike” because it follows the ear-splitting hit “Bad and Boujee” by Migos. Eminem imitates the flow by saying verses of random things that have no relation to each other. “Braindead, eye drops/ Pain meds, Cyclops/ Daybed, iPod/ ‘May-back,’ Mybach/ Train wrecks, sidewalks/ Payless, high-tops/ K-Fed, iHop/ Playtex, icebox.”

It seems not uncommon for an upcoming artist to spit hate towards the Rap God just to gain fame and traction for their own rhymes. This is how the rivalry between MGK and Eminem commenced.

MGK tweeted that Hailie was “hot as fuck” and disses other tracks produced by Eminem. Didn’t the Cleveland rapper learn from Ja Rule to not make derogatory comments towards Eminem’s daughter? MGK is called out in “The Ringer,” “Not Alike” and the title song, “Kamikaze.”

The best line against MGK is in “Not Alike,” when he drops “But keep commenting on my daughter Hailie/ I keep on telling motherfuckers/ But just in case you forgot really and need Ja memories/ Jarred like strawberry or pineapple, apricot jelly/ I respond rarely, but this time Shady ’bout to sound off/ Like a fuckin’ cocked semi Glock, demi-god.”

In reference to Ja Rule’s disgraceful comments about Hailie becoming a whore like her mother in 2002, when she was seven-years-old, is again brought up in the track titled “The Greatest.” Eminem previously combated this disgusting ploy, but clearly, he was not done maintaining the honor of his daughter.

This by far is my favorite song on the track because he really drives it home that you do not write flows degrading women. The rap game is primarily a male-dominated genre, and testosterone-fueled artists think it is clever to destroy the confidence of females, even if they are not in the game.

The anger igniting within Eminem brings out his rougher alter-ego Slim Shady in the lines: “God forbid I forget, go and jump out the window/ Somebody better child-proof it/ ‘Cause if I lose it we can rewind to some old Ja Rule shit/ And I can remind motherfuckers how I do shit/ You don’t got the tools, I got in my toolkit.”

Despite what anyway has to say about this shocking album, Eminem’s “Kamikaze” deserves all the credit because it holds other artists to standards they will never be able to achieve. Other artists spew lyrics that perpetuate hate towards women, parties they attend and their avid drug use. Same old pathetic attempts at creating music that truly means something and Eminem is calling you out on your bluff.

Hey MGK, your diss track of Eminem only makes you look as foolish as he states in his songs. Get a new hobby, stop thinking demeaning women and talking tough will make your career the same caliber as Eminem.