12 Times Eminem Spit Lyrical Fire
1. If I Had (The Slim Shady LP)
While Eminem’s later exploration into more down-to-Earth tracks come across as whiny and self-indulgent, The Slim Shady LP’s ‘realest’ track, If I Had, makes the controversial rapper relatable.
Over a slow beat, Em shares his thoughts on the ulterior motives of ‘friends,’ being unable to stop drinking, and feeling depressed over low-paid jobs. The repetition of ‘tired…’ at the start of each line hammers in Eminem’s desperation. Revealing his insecurities in the line, ’tired of not drivin’ a BM / Tired of not workin’ at GM, tired of wanting to be him,’ ‘Em demonstrates that behind the controversial tracks, the imagery, and his provocative approach, he is just another person, with similar issues.
Em’s voice sounds different in this track. In the intro, he announces himself as Marshall Mathers, illustrating this to be his real voice, deeper than the mischievous high tones of his Slim Shady persona. Like most great Eminem tracks, this contains a minimalistic beat. However, this contains a backup singer in the chorus, which dates the song to an extent. Regardless of it not sounding the same as other Eminem tracks from this era, it remains one of his best.