Asshole - Intellectual

In continuing the reference from the previous line, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson would slide down the Bat Pole and then proceed to become their alter egos, Batman and Robin. Eminem is returning to his Slim Shady persona.

This also alludes to his lyric off of “Infinite:”

To get your brain relaxing, the zany acting maniac in action
A brainiac in fact son, you mainly lack attraction

His success seemingly happened in the blink of an eye. His first major album, The Slim Shady LP, was released in February 1999 and sold 3 million records by that year’s end.

He started to hate the fame. He explains it best on tracks such as The Way I Am and Careful What You Wish For.

This resulted in him getting a lot of fans, but he also had some haters (not necessarily just rappers), and they are on his “shit list” (ICP got a mention later on in the song).

On July 20, 2012, A mass shooting occurred inside of a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. A gunman, dressed in tactical clothing, set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. The sole suspect, James Eagan Holmes, was arrested outside the cinema minutes later.

Em is is literally stating the whole world is so messed up, you can’t even go do every day tasks without being wary of danger around. And, of course, by making light of this incident, he is being an asshole.

Besides the two references to Batman villains in the previous line, “goddamn” is delivered to sound like “Gotham”.

It was never Em’s intent to get impressionable children to listen to him and attempt to mimic what his alter ego Slim Shady does. He used Slim Shady as a means of venting his frustrations with life and had no idea his angry lyrics would reach the ears of 1000 people, let alone 3 million. The Slim Shady LP was an unexpected success.

In fact, he actively discouraged it on his LP with his song “Role Model”.

Wordplay here on safe, safes are secure lockboxes, a vault is similar to a huge safe.
Also he mentions that he and love are a bad combination in the previous line, which cannot open a safe, so in terms of love he is uncrackable.

Holy mackerel is a commonly used line that originates from the 1920s-60s sitcom Amos ‘n’ Andy. It’s also what Robin says to Batman, fitting in with all the other batman references in this song.

The “biggest jerk” is also used to transition into the next line, as mechanical bulls jerk roughly back and forth.

You also “jerk” your rod when attempting to land a fish (mackerel).

This whole verse is basically one long diss at ICP, and their much laughed at track Miracles, where they more or less equate everything that happens in life to being a miracle, and magical. Like rainbows, and magnets.

A bit of wordplay; revolting is meant to be a comment on the severity and manner in which Em includes people and groups within his songs; he’s saying that the inclusion should be the focus and not the manner in which it is said.

This is also coupled with the idea of “life stinks” in the next line, with revolting being a comment on the hardships of life (something even Hellen Keller knows despite lacking two major senses.)

Ever since I was 13 I learned how to sew and sewed shut my whole bootyhole
Cause I ain’t took no shit since I looked down to my nuts and saw my first pubic grow

Eminem has constantly thought of himself as the Robin of Hip-Hop (Without Me video, Business, Gatman & Robin) and Dr. Dre as Batman. This is him sliding down the Batpole to the bat cave, which leads into the next line of how he’s changing back into his older self – Slim Shady.

In the music video for Without Me, Shady dresses as Robin.

…that you’re just an asshole.

In previous lines Em states that he is a reflection of white America. In effect, he directly addresses white America and says that everyone knows white Americans are assholes. He’s referencing his 2002 song “White America” in which he confronted white parents for their hypocrisy in attacking him rather than all controversial rappers because all they cared about was rap’s effect on white kids.

In the CD version of the song, the song stops here. In the digital version, the hook repeats at the end of the song; in the context of the last lines of the last verse, Skylar Grey is now addressing white America in general, rather than just Eminem.

Em calls himself a pessimist, but when he’s at his best, he becomes an optimist. There’s wordplay here referencing one of the Transformers, Optimus Prime.

Wordplay on “rude off” ~ “rudolf”, followed by “fear not my DEER”, thus effecting a reference to Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Em may also be comparing himself to Rudolph. In many ways he was the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer of the rap game when he came up, being white and blonde with crazy ridiculous and rude lyrics, but he was dope and in the end no one could deny that, he achieved great success and fame. He ended up achieving all the goals he had when he was coming up.

So not only can he not “knock being rude off,” he can’t “knock being Rudolph,” because Rudolph comes out on top in the end.

Manny Pacquiao, a professional boxer, is the first and only eight-division world champion. He lost his WBO welterweight belt to Timothy Bradley on June 9, 2012. After 12 rounds, Timothy won with a very controversial split decision.

Eminem’s saying it’s going to be difficult to take his belt as the greatest rapper, even if you think you got it, it’s actually still his.

Eminem is throwing back to a lyric from his 1999 hit single “My Name Is”.

This guy at White Castle asked for my autograph
So I signed it: “Dear Dave, thanks for the support, asshole!”

Fun fact: Dr. Dre, the producer, wrote that line on a CD for the Slim Shady LP back in 1999, as a thank-you note to Marshall after all the success they accomplished together. Considering that this throwback comes directly after Skylar’s hook, it may show Em’s similar sentiments towards her.

Retarded people usually wear helmets because they are very unintelligent and therefore prone to injury.

There is wordplay here because “special” is a more socially acceptable way of saying retarded.

Eminem subtly alludes to The Joker and The Riddler, who are two of Batman’s foes. This ties into the subsequent lines where he refers to Batman.

That “compliment” is a good way to get your ass socked in the mouth
Dissing Em in the slightest (like Asher Roth did) will result in them getting their teeth kicked in. This is probably a way of him giving Asher a verbal warning, rather than dissing him.
Backhanding a donkey – a good way to get your ass socked in the mouth
Donkeys, like Em, are stubborn animals. If you slap them on the ass, they will kick you in the face with their powerful hind legs, as seen in the image above.
Double Entendre Time
Backhanding a donkey = getting your ass socked in the mouth
Donkey and ass are synonymous, thus punching a donkey is literally the equivalent of socking an ass.

We see a similar rhyming scheme on the Despicable freestyle.

I’m so bad I can bitch-slap
A back-handed compliment
Jackass eat a donkey dick

49ers (the football team) got their name from the 49ers, who mined gold in San Francisco in 1849. Here, Em plays on the words miner (a person who literally digs for gold) and minor (as in underage).

So, she’s been digging for gold (mining), since she was a minor (underage). Sounds like a trifling friend indeed.

In addition, during the actual 1849 gold rush, they had children (minors) working in the gold mines (being miners), so the line actually works out both ways – the female aspect & the historical aspect.

Clever homonym with knock ‘em out and not come out, especially since the two are opposites.

With respect to the metaphorical boxing ring, this line could have two meanings:

Not come out into the ring
The more obvious message – give your ALL or NOTHING.
Not come out from the ring
A more morbid interpretation – fight till you DIE or WIN once you step into the boxing match. Rings a bell (pun intended) to the old Spartan saying “With it or on it!”, referring to the shields given to departing warriors. Either they return with his shield (victorious), or upon it (dead), but never without it.

Gastric banding is a minimally invasive weight loss procedure. Lap bands shrink the stomach causing a person to experience a premature ‘full’ feeling while eating. Em manipulates this concept via a metaphor. He iterates the fact that other rappers simply aren’t as motivated as he is–they aren’t as hungry.

He paints a vivid picture here: a dog is chasing another one, attempting to reach the other’s rear end with his nose (get a scent).

Get a scent doubles as:

get a cent
You can’t get a ‘cent’ because his ‘spare’ (as in spare change) time is already ‘spent’.
get ascent
As in ascent up the social status ladder.

Both fit in with the gold digger comment, wherein women chase after Em for both money and fame.

A reference to LL Cool J’s hit song “Momma Said Knock You Out”

Gotta go in that ring and knock them out means making a new album in order to clear all the haters and competitor rappers.

Moreover, Manny Pacquiao’s mother was known for showing her support to the extent that it caught the attention of PH media. Thus, it is actually a nice link from Pacquiao to LL Cool J.

Bath salts is the type of drug that in recent times has affected many and in particular have hit the Global news stage.

Someone under the influence of bath salts!

Eminem’s career has revolved largely around “shock rap” – rap designed to provoke emotions that are otherwise buried in the depths of consciousness.

Eminem has been greatly criticized for disrespecting homosexuals and women in general; he integrated slight irony in the fact that he fulfills an asshole which only deepens his presumed disrespect for homosexuals. Em feels like an asshole was his role that which he needed to fulfill, and he foreshadows this on “My Name Is”.

I don’t give a fuck
God sent me to piss the world off

When Eminem talks about how the world was in need of a villain, he is talking about the need for a scapegoat. The horrific incidents that the our civilization has endured such as The Columbine High School Massacre often made a hole in the general responsibility of all people; Eminem filled that hole. He was an easy target because of his profane lyrical verses.

Gwen Stefani gained fame as a member of the ska, alternative band No Doubt. She ended up leaving the band in 2004 to make a pop album causing many to say she was “selling out”.

Dual reference:

He was trying to leave no doubt in everyone’s minds that he would be famous (continued in the next line)
Leaving No Doubt– which as mentioned– was the band that Gwen Stefani was a member of and left.

Ironically Eminem has since collaborated with Gwen Stefani on his 2015 Southpaw soundtrack song “Kings Never Die.”

Here, Em plays on the saying, “Is the cup half full or half empty?” Instead of water, however, Em’s cup is half full/empty of longevity and liveliness.

If his metaphorical cup is smaller than his glass, we can conclude that he transitionned his “needs” to a smaller container/more easily statisfied state of mind, that has now runneth over/fulfilled its needs.

This phrase has been used numerous types in music from Truck North to T.I. and Hov. It’s not even the first time Em has used the line.