This is probably my favorite Em song and his best storytelling track. Even though songs like Kim, 97 Bonnie & Clyde, Stan are greater (though Brain Damage and As The World Turns are close) and have a more ambitious concept, the simplicity of its concept gives it tremendous replay value to me. It almost feels like a throwback to 92 G Rap in Live and Let Die and is highly reminiscent to Train Robbery.
The samples are gr8 and I’m a huge fan of sampled hooks as long they aren’t lazy (ala Puffy) and something about recycling old art in a different context works well, plus sampling is Hip Hop’s lifeblood. One of my favorite sampled hooks in Hip Hop next to madness in Deltron 3030 as it’s strangely catchy and encapsulates the mood of the song in a gloomy manner and shows us through the eyes of Marshall as he’s very jaded with life and almost a zombie, with how numb he is to his surroundings.
That reminds me, I always felt like this was a spiritual sequel to Rock Bottom almost. After he’s done moping, he takes action via a robbery/burglary. I would have loved for this to make SSLP even though at times it feels to dark.
Though that’s one of the main reasons I love it is cause of how it feels like a hodge podge of SSLP-MMLP Eminem, it has hints of rock bottom (with how introspective it feels) yet is one of his darkest songs pre MMLP-era.
Hurry up with the cash bitch, I got a ride waiting
Shot a man twice in the back when he tried escaping
This bitch tried escaping the jack, grabbed her by the throat
It's murder she wrote, you barely heard a word
As she choked, it wasn't nothing for her to be smoked
Then I slammed her on her back 'til her vertebrae broke
Some of the darkest lines of his career, as there’s no traces of humor in it whatsoever and shows how dispensable life is to him. It really is a perfect blend of fiction and reality as I have no doubt Eminem during this period in his life most likely didn’t give one shit about people around him and just viewed them as nuisances in his way.
It’s still however has some tongue in cheek lines though, that’s more prevalent in the second verse and the closing bars of the 2nd verse pretty much shows him satiring people scapegoating media for their actions.
Oh and the beat’s pretty cool, was never a HUGE fan of Em’s beats but it’s catchy as hell.