Jay-Z – Renegade (ft. Eminem)
Of all of the great songs on The Blueprint, this might just be my favorite (followed closely by H.O.V.A. and Takeover). However, Jay is not the star of this track. His first verse is solid, if a little uninspired:
Motherfuckers - say that I’m foolish, I only talk about jewels
Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it
See, I’m influenced by the ghetto you ruined
The same dude you gave nothing, I made something doing
He continues on in the same I’m-from-the-ghetto vein, and it begins to sound almost self-pitying rather than vengeful. Then Eminem comes in, and the sheer force of his delivery turns the song on his head – indeed, AllHipHop ranked it in its top 20 verses of all time.
Since I’m in a position to talk to these kids and they listen
I ain’t no politician but I’ll kick it with ‘em a minute
Cause see they call me a menace, and if the shoe fits I’ll wear it
But if it don’t, then y’all’ll swallow the truth – grin and bear it!
There are no mentions of his wife or his daughter here, no endorsement of any ludicrous behavior, nothing at all except an absolutely scathing attack on the critics and parents who, in the absence of Marilyn Manson, were portraying Em as a violent junkie bent on leaking sewage into the delicate ears of children everywhere:
Maybe it’s hatred I spew, maybe it’s food for the spirit
Maybe it’s beautiful music I made for you to just cherish
But I’m debated disputed hated and viewed in America
as a motherfuckin’ drug addict - like you didn’t experiment?Now now, that’s when you start to stare at who’s in the mirror
and see yourself as a kid again, and you get embarrassed
And I got nothin’ to do but make you look stupid as parents
You fuckin do-gooders - too bad you couldn’t do good at marriage!
So. Fucking. Brilliant. Gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. Nas, during his feud with Jay, said “Eminem murdered you on your own shit”.
He might have a point.
