Well, that was a lot.
Not only did The Game include an Eminem diss track on his new album, Drillmatic: Heart Vs. Mind, but the “How We Do” rapper also took shots at Dr. Dre and 50 Cent—then made it 10 minutes long.
According to Complex, the song “The Black Slim Shady” features The Game in an Uber with a driver who is supposed to be the younger brother from Eminem’s 2000 hit, “Stan.”
“Crazy story behind it, my brother Stan, rest in peace...he gave me this hat 22 years ago,” the driver says during a short interlude. “Eminem, he used to be like this rap god. Man, me and my brother praised him back when I was little. I don’t really like any of his new stuff.”
Throughout the song, the “Hate It or Love It” artist attacks Eminem’s writing skills, his former success and the claims the he appropriated Black culture. While all these things might be true, they get lost in the repetitive nature of the track.
I assumed there had to be something more than the usual rap beef behind a 10-minute diss track, but as it turns out, this really just comes down to Game thinking he’s better than Em. Back in March, during an interview on Drink Champs, he confidently said he’s a better rapper than the Oscar-winner, claiming he would win a Verzuz battle. He then posted a follow up on Instagram reasserting his belief.
“When y’all say Eminem is better and all that, I see it, I see it. I feel you,” Game wrote. “And you know what? If you feel like Eminem is better than me, that’s your opinion. But it’s a lot of people that feel like I’m better than Eminem, and that’s they opinion. Me personally, is Eminem better than me? Nah, he not, bro.”
Sure, ok, that’s nothing new in the hip-hop world, but bringing his daughter Hailie Jade into whatever he’s trying to do here crosses a line. At one point Game drops the line, “I could 40 Glocc you, unarmed/ Drop the world on your head with one arm/ Dear Slim, Hailie’s with me and she’s unharmed—for now.” This is followed by a female voice saying, “Dad, I’m really scared.”
Based on the way he talks about Saweetie and Lizzo on the song, the “ol’ English” rapper hasn’t moved beyond childish, disrespectful words when it comes to women.
Look, I’m clearly not the audience for The Game’s music, and definitely not for this song, but if his point is just to pick a fight with Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, who’ve all evolved their careers in the last 20 years, then mission accomplished, I guess.
I just don’t know how many people are going to sit through 10 minutes of him making the same tired jokes over and over.