Let’s start at the start. This is the first song from Eminem’s breakthrough album, and also the breakthrough single. Eminem wastes no time here. He knows he has good points to make, and he just wants to be heard: “Can I have the attention of the class for just one second?”
This track explores the major issue of the inequities of society, how some people have to struggle so hard to break out of their social positions (particularly in education) and the frustration that comes with this. This is at its most blatant when he says
The next line is even more telling: “I smacked him in the head with an eraser , chased him with a stapler and stapled his nuts to a stack of papers”. He is saying that in situations like the one above, some people feel so helpless (especially if they are feeling the brunt of racial or income inequities) that the only way they can see out of their predicament comes through violence.
There are numerous times throughout the track when he comes back to this – whether talking about the cause of this (“All my life I was very deprived”), the alienation he feels (“This kid needs to be locked away!”, "Since age twelve I’ve felt like I’m someone else". He even refers to himself as an “extraterrestrial”), the helplessness that comes with that (“Am I comin’ or goin’? I can barely decide”, “My brain’s dead weight, I’m trying to get my head straight”), which in turn leads to anger and violence (“I’m steamin’ mad”, “Hi kids! Do you like violence?”) and finally the message he has for other in the same situation:
In saying this Eminem offers an extremely poignant message. Although everything seems like it’s lost now, and there’s no way out of your situation, there are other ways to deal with it. He is saying don’t go off the rails, and stick to your goals.
In my opinion, with a sensitivity of modern issues like the one on display here, Eminem is a fantastic orator and the best spokesperson my generation can hope for.
