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Eminem – Rap God Lyrics Meaning
Eminem is a figure that everyone knows in the world. He has risen from a nobody to the Hip-Hop community praying him more than Jesus. Everyone fears his dignity. According to Genius Lyrics, “Rap God” is Eminem’s braggadocious ode to himself and his career, meaning Eminem is the greatest rapper of all time. This is Mr. Marshall Mathers. Let’s learn the meaning behind the lyrics of Rap God by Eminem.
There is no one pinpoint to represent Eminem as the best rapper of all time. The album sales are at the peak, the vocabulary range is at the peak, the lyrical ability is at the peak, the flow is at the peak, and the rhyming patterns are at the peak. You can’t just say Eminem rose out of luck. This is ridiculously untrue. What we have seen here is the one and the only talent we might never see again. Eminem is on the God level of the greatest. Call me a fanboy, I don’t care.
Introduction: Rap God Lyrics
The whole story brings us to Eminem’s 2013 massive hit “Rap God” lyrics to decode the meaning behind the lines. Even though Entertainment Weekly says “Eminem is getting away with homophobic slurs”, that’s not what we’re really going after. According to Guinness World Record, “Rap God” by Eminem (USA) packs 1,560 words into a fast and furious 6 min 4 sec – that’s a tongue-twisting average of 4.28 words per second!
In one 15-second segment alone, “Slim Shady” spits 97 words (6.46 words per second) at “supersonic speed”. That is some noteworthy achievement right there! At this point, if Eminem features in any songs, that song turns into his own. Okay, let’s move past this cheesy line.
Rap God Lyrics Meaning
Let’s dissect the meaning behind the lyrics of “Rap God” by Eminem section-wise.
[Intro]
In the Intro of the song, Eminem creates an environment of confusion by his monotonous robotic vocal delivery. The Mockingbird rapper is developing mystery around what the song is going to be about in the Intro. Eminem quotes “But I’m only going to get this one chance. Something’s wrong, I can feel it.” from his hit single ‘Lose Yourself’ showing a sense of urgency.
Chorus I
Every chorus has several lyrical changes. In the first chorus, Eminem boasts about his ability of crowd control. Every time he is on the stage, everyone in the audience is nodding their heads back and forth. Since God is significantly praised for their ability to influence millions of people, it isn’t unusual for Eminem to feel like God. Let’s face it, more people pray to see Eminem than to see Jesus or any other gods. It is a known fact.
Since God have remarkable qualities to stand out, Eminem has a distinct quality to rap better and faster as well. The rapper raps like a robot and he is unbelievably fast with the words. So, him claiming to be a person with a higher power or God is absolutely tolerable. In this era of mumble rappers spreading like the viral flu, who else do you see to be a fit person to claim the title of God of hip-hop? Don’t lie to me, you know it’s Eminem.
[Verse 1]
Part I
But for me to rap like a computer it must be in my genes
I got a laptop in my back pocket
In the first line, Eminem has used the word “genes” to represent both “genes” and “jeans”. In the music video of Rap God, the rapper literally walks around with a laptop in his jeans. This is Eminem. We shouldn’t be surprised at him throwing out a little bit of everything at once. The singer rapping like a robot can also be seen in his recent feature with Logic on Homicide track.
Eminem openly talks about him making a huge profit from his album sales. No one has ever outperformed him in terms of the number of album sales. We are in the era of streaming music. So, it is technically impossible to beat Eminem’s album sales because people aren’t buying records anymore. There are honorable mentions of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky about that moment when Bill was still in office with Monica (pun intended!).
Part II
Syllables, skill-a-holic
According to Genius, Eminem is rude and offensive to many, but he is also one of the few rappers with an ability to say what he thinks without sugar-coating it. He adds another wordplay into the song where he calls himself a “skill-a-holic”. Eminem derived this term from the word “alcoholic”. This means Eminem is addicted to new skills and he is different than alcoholic people who don’t use their brain properly.
He then proceeds to use a few homophobic slurs and other jargon words along the lines. But his intention is not to offend homosexuals or anybody. The words are to be taken as the expression of his feelings. They are just a few words with no meaning but sound cool to say. We all have been there, let’s face it. This song is a masterpiece and it doesn’t matter what he says.
Chorus II
The sentiment of the chorus here is the same as that of the previous one with a few minor changes. Here, the rapper laughs at the “artists” who rise with 15 minutes of fame and then they disappear. Eminem has lasted for a decade and a half and yet he is still as relevant as most of the current rappers in the industry, maybe even more. We can say his influence will live longer than anyone else’s. The only person who has the key to rap immortality is Eminem. Therefore, he calls himself a “Rap God”.
[Verse 2]
Part I
In the second verse of the song, the rapper tries to teach us the secrets of how to get to the top of the rap game. According to God himself, the secret to longevity in the rap game is to have the energy of a newcomer and to be angry, like he (Eminem) is. Eminem says any song that sings nuisance sells itself. Wait a minute, is he saying his songs are nuisances? Wow, I feel attacked Mr. Marshall Mathers. But I will always remember the name. Okay, I’ll admit this was the worst wordplay of all time. Sorry!
Eminem gives a big shoutout to his inspirations. He says he is a product of the rappers like Rakim, Lakim Shabazz, 2pac, and members from NWA. The members from NWA are Eazy E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Eminem gives a credit to his inspirational figures for shaping him to be in a position where he is at today. Even more, his inspirational figures are the reasons why he was able to induct Run D.M.C. in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Further down the lyrics of Rap God in the second verse, Eminem talks about how he has humiliated the Church and how he is destined to be in Hell. Then, he proceeds to sing homophobic lyrics which gained a lot of interest in media to highlight homophobia.
Chorus III
In this chorus, Eminem compares himself to Dale Earnhardt who died racing in the racing track (NASCAR). He probably thinks he should leave the earth that way as well as it looks “Godly”. Similar to those who oppose General Zod, other rappers should kneel in front of Eminem because their skills are inferior. To understand the reference, watch the following video:
[Verse 3]
The third verse is the reason why most of us are here. Let’s go:
Just like a zombie that comes back from the dead, Eminem’s music will keep him alive even after his death. Eminem has heated up a lot of controversies throughout his career. But he says people don’t like them because they’re brutally honest, which, to a degree, is correct. However, the media always ignores the fact that his music has helped a lot of depressed people. They never give him any credit for that.
The rapper points out his skin color to have expedited his success even though he is still lyrically dominant. This is where he stands out. The rappers who are his competition are eerie-ly normal. Therefore, he hates being normal and he says he will never ever be a normal generic rapper. Then, he proceeds to spit 97 words (6.46 words per second) at “supersonic speed” in 15-seconds alone. He said this in an interview:
I don’t ever want to be too braggadocious. If I’m going to brag, let me pull it back with lines like “school flunky, pill junkie.” I’m a f*****g waste of life. I’m a waste of s***m. I am a f*****g outcast of society, I am a piece of s**t. But I know how to rap. Other than that, I’m a f*****g s***bag. I’m worthless. Or this is what I’ve been told.
Therefore, why be a king when you can be God?
Conclusion: Rap God Meaning
There are too many words plays in the song. I apologize for not being able to cover every single one of them. What do you think is the meaning behind the lyrics of the song “Rap God” by Eminem? Is this song the pinnacle of the rapper’s career? Can we really call him God? Let us know in the comments below. In the meantime, watch the official music video of “Rap God” which is embedded below:
Read the meaning behind the lyrics of “Rap God” by Eminem on Genius in detail.
