Jan 12, 2026 at 4:41 PM That first gap is more like it but Just Lose It >>>... Houdini?? And here I thought I'd long outgrown getting triggered by different Eminem opinions LOL.
Jan 12, 2026 at 5:10 PM I mean Just Lose It and Not Afraid are both the equal level of s--- which is why they’re together. But can’t stand Houdini. Horrible boring sample. Awful repetitive hook. And I really hate modern nasally Eminem hippity hoppity bobbity flow especially on Houdini. I’d take lazy druggy flow over that any day tbh. Never liked Houdini since the first time I heard it.
Jan 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM Like Toy Soldiers is the weirdest single. A boring song about beefs a casual listener has no clue about. Why the h--- was that a single? Or why was that a song at all?
Jan 12, 2026 at 5:57 PM Naturally I set the bar much lower for modern Eminem, but I still like his energy in Houdini and a lot of the flows, which make the nasally, atrophied voice just tolerable. An appreciable step up from 90% of his rapping in the past decade+, though no doubt it would have benefited a lot from the "AI" filter. The line "I've spent so much energy on [the Ja Rule beef] honestly I'm exhausted" might explain why Encore was so s---. Yet that song was one of the few classics on the album. But to your question, in an alternate universe where he didn't wade too much into beefs with manlet rappers and Encore was his 4th classic, Like Toy Soldiers wouldn't have existed.
Jan 12, 2026 at 6:01 PM I think it kinda works. The Martika sample, the “soldier-esque” drum rolls (that he based his flow around by trying to land his syllables on the snares), used to love watching the music video as a little kid. Then again, he shouldn’t have spent the entire previous year in this “beef”. Probably one of the main reasons he became such a paranoid junkie, which then affected his career permanently. I like the beat though. And the chorus.
Jan 12, 2026 at 6:04 PM oh right that’s true, he said he memorized the drum loop so he could make sure every word hit. i remember being fascinated by that
Jan 12, 2026 at 6:12 PM It’s funny how Just lose it is just rambling nonsense and it became a hit. Lmfao
Jan 12, 2026 at 6:23 PM "funny" to giggly little cheerleader stans maybe. "sad" is the word I'd use. He should have become a laughing stock after that song and kicked and hit with s--- every time he rapped until he got his act together.
