LyriCritic: Just Lose It - Eminem

"Just Lose It" - Eminem

A LyriCritic Review

Let me just get one thing out of the way...

I don't hate this song. In fact, if I take it at face value, it's one of my favorite Eminem songs. It's ridiculous, but that's part of the fun. It has high energy, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's clear that Em is having fun himself.

But that's face value, and the saying goes that beauty is only skin deep.

The inside of this song makes me want to vomit...

First, a little background:

"Just Lose It" is the first single on the album Encore, which, despite selling well, is considered to be the beginning of Em's downfall as a lyricist and rapper. The lyrics of each song overall were less creative, the content was more dull, and it was just so different from what Eminem had grown popular from doing. Granted, a few of the songs are memorable for certain portions, but the album as a whole just doesn't stand out when compared to his previous works at the time. After Encore, Eminem began to decline faster and faster, becoming the subject of ridicule once he went on hiatus. I believe that "Just Lose It" along with the the album skits "Paul" and "Em Calls Paul" contributed mostly to what made him lose a lot of respect and notoriety with most of the hip-hop world and beyond.

At first glance, "Just Lose It" is an innocent song. This "first glance" lasts a few seconds, and then you realize the song's intent. At that point...You realize what you're in for...

Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down!Okay...Guess who's back?Back againShady's backTell a friendWhaaaaaaaa!Now everyone report to the dance floorTo the dance floor, to the dance floorNow everyone report to the dance floorAlright stop.....Pajama time

From the moment Eminem starts making noise, you recognize the beat as the opening notes of "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson.

Let that sink in for a second...

Eminem, one of hip-hop's most notorious artists, is making references to Michael Jackson around the time he was still the go-to guy for pedophile jokes. This is the same artist who, in a previous song, supported having sex with an under-aged teenager because "her bush has hair."

...I don't think I need to tell you where this one is headed.

Come here little kiddies, On my lapGuess who's back with a brand new rap?And I don't mean rap as in a new case of child molestation accusation

Hold on, lemme check the time-stamp on that one. Just a sec...

...Yep! It's under a minute. Folks, we're only 35 seconds into the song, and we've already insulted Michael Jackson twice times in less than two bars of rap. Eminem, I applaud you for such a feat. I would've waited until the chorus...

(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA)

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...The sounds of Lucifer's domain.

At this point, I've listened to the song multiple times already while writing this review and plotting what to say, and I still can't figure out why Em felt the need to include Pee-Wee Herman's laugh. Or why he felt the need to do it himself. Or what reminded a grown man of Pee-Wee Herman.

There are so many questions I have, and I'm sure the answers will be just as scary as what brought them about...

No worries, papa's got a brand new bag of toysWhat else could I possibly do to make noise?I done touched on everything, but little boys

See, what I think happened here, was Eminem was TRYING to make it look like Michael Jackson's legal trouble was all for attention. But when it ended up doing, was making me think Eminem just wants to make fun of Michael because...Who knows? Everybody else was doing it...

That's not a stab at MichaelThat's just a metaphor, I'm just psychoI go a little bit crazy sometimesI get a little bit out of control with my rhymes

Let's play a game...Out of these four lines, tell me which one tell the most bullshit lie. Ready? Go!

If you were able to pick just one, you're a better man than I. These two bars of verse either try to cover up the fact that Eminem is basically tea-bagging Michael Jackson while he lays face down in a pile of negative press, or are just Eminem saying words that rhyme and hoping people listening will be pleased with that.

If it's not a stab at Michael Jackson, why are you emulating Billie Jean's music? Why was there a Michael Jackson dancer in the opening scene? Why were the visual effects similar? Who else do you know that has had their hair catch on fire during a Pepsi ad? If you're not talking about Michael Jackson, who are you talking about? Janet?

It's not a metaphor either. A metaphor would be implying that an object is something else that is really isn't. "This song is a beautiful and respectable work of art" would be a metaphor. It's also a huge lie, but really, who's the bigger dick at this point?

Good God, dip, do a little slide
Bend down, touch your toes and just glide
Up the center of the dance floor
Like TP for my bunghole
And it's cool if you let one go
Nobody's gonna know, who'd hear it?
Give a little "poot poot", it's OK! [Fart Sound]
Oops my CD just skipped
And everyone just heard you let one rip

Eminem...Who did this to you?

You were once a controversial and talented musician that wrote thought provoking lyrics and put forth notions that really made people wonder about the different meanings of the subject.

Last time I checked, farting and Beavis the Butthead references weren't thought provoking OR controversial. They both just stink...

Now I'm gonna make you dance
It's your chance
Yeah boy shake that ass
Oops I mean girl girl girl girl
Girl you know you're my world
Alright now lose it
(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA)
Just lose it
(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA)
Go crazy
(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA)
Oh baby
(HA-HA)
Oh baby, baby
(HA-HA)

So...Eminem often gets genders confused? That's good to know, I guess. It would explain the horrible sounds he makes in between lines. It's obviously telling us he made a mistake and called a woman the wrong gender, and is now laughing at himself to make it seem like a joke, when inside, he's horrified.

Or he could just be saying words. Take your pick.

Well, it's Friday and it's my dayJust to party all the way to SundayMaybe 'til Monday, I dunno what dayEveryday's just a holidayCrusin' on the freewayFeelin' kinda breezyGot the top down, lettin' my hair blowI dunno where I'm goin'All I know is when I get thereSomeone's gonna "touch my body"

...I'm sorry, what? Could we rewind a bit? I seem to have missed the part where Eminem explains what anything in this song means.

Excuse me miss, I don't mean to sound like a jerk

Too late.

But I'm feelin' just a little stressed out from work
Could you punch me in the stomach and pull my hair?
Spit on me, maybe gouge my eyes out? (Yeah)

Today's Headline: Famous Rapper Eminem Supports "Gore" Fetish...Also seems to forget what he was talking about before the chorus!

Now, what's your name girl?
What's your sign?

My name? Well, I'm glad you asked. See, my name is the Law, and my sign is right out there on my squad car. You're under arrest for mass stupidity and not making any sense. You have the right to remain silent, and we encourage you to firmly exercise that right for the remaining time in the song. Please...

"Man, you must be up out your mind"DRE! (HA-HA)Beer Goggles! Blind!I'm just tryna unwind

First off, I knew he lost his mind about 12 bars back. Dr. Dre must be a little slow if he's just now figuring that out. Second...I still don't understand the laugh. At all. Stop it. Third...What?

It's Tuesday and I'm locked upI'm in jail and I don't know what happened

You wouldn't believe me if I told you, man...You just wouldn't.

They say I was running butt nakedDown the street screaming(HA-HA-HA-HA-HA)

I don't doubt it, after everything we've seen so far. You seem like the type to do just that.

Well I'm sorry, I don't rememberAll I know is this muchI'm not guilty

For some reason, I doubt everything you just said there.

They said, "Save it, boy we gotcha you on tapeyellin' at an old lady to 'Touch my body!'"

Truly the most despicable of criminal acts. You sir, have no right to subject an elderly woman to hip-hop privates! The very fact that you would implore her to make contact with said objects...For shame!

Now this is the part where the rap breaks down

FINALLY!

It gets real intense, no one makes a sound

DAMMIT!

Everything looks like it's 8 Mile nowThe beat comes back and everybody lose themselves

Correction: Everything does NOT look like 8 Mile. 8 Mile was a great movie. This? I'm not entirely convinced this isn't a product of eating pizza before bed. Oh, and I lost myself a while ago. In the time it took to get to this bit, I found myself again, came back to finish the review, and realized how much more I could be doing with my life.

See what you've done to me, Em? You made me have a realization.

Shame on you, sir.

Shame on you.

Snap back to realityLook it's B.Rabbit!Yo you signed me up to battle!?I'm a grown man!Chubba chubba chubba chubba chubba chubbieI don't have any lines to go right here so, chubba teletubbie!

Reality: Lie
B-Rabbit: Lie
Grown man: Debatable
Not having anything of worth to say: Absolute truth

Fella's (WHAT?!) Fella's (WHAT?!)Grab you left nut, make your right one jealous (what?)Black girlsWhite girlsSkinny girlsFat girlsTall girlsSmall girlsI'm callin' all girls

That was the night every female in the world let the call go to their answering machines.

Everyone report to the dance floorIt's your chance for a little romance orButt squeezin' it's the seasonJust go (HA-HA-HA-HA)It's so appeasin'

Jesus, is he STILL saying something? I stopped caring a while ago.

UmMmMmm touch my bodyUmMmMmm touch my bodyOoh boy just touch my bodyI mean girl just touch my body

Short answer? No.

Long Answer? ...No.

"Just Lose It" was fun to hear once. Usually, the first time you hear a song, you're just enjoying the music. The second time, you listen more closely. The third time, you analyze, and the fourth time? You make judgments. During this review, the song was on loop in the background, so I heard it around 20 times, I think. Maybe more, I don't know...

The funny thing is, while the song only made fun of Michael Jackson outright during the first verse, more people hated what Eminem was doing more than they thought it was funny. And remember, this is MICHAEL JACKSON. The guy everyone loved to make a joke about? Yeah, he was being defended by other rappers.

The controversy section of Wikipedia states: The music video for "Just Lose It" generated controversy by parodying singer Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984.^[1] A week after the release of "Just Lose It", Jackson called into the radio show of Steve Harvey to report his displeasure with the video. "I am very angry at Eminem's depiction of me in his video," Jackson said in the interview. "I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive." Jackson continued: "I've admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large."^[2] Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who "watched" the video and called it"kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit",^[3] and Steve Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back."^[3] The video was banned on the BET channel, after complaints from Benzino and others (but was later reinstated, as critics of the ban argued that Nelly's "Tip Drill" video could be seen. Both were only seen onBET: Uncut.) However MTV did not drop it, and the video became one of the most requested on the channel. 

If that wasn't enough, Eminem contacted 'Weird Al' Yankovic about the upcoming parody of "Lose Yourself" that Al was making. Weird Al says he was forced to stop production on the parody, which he has called "Couch Potato", because Eminem was worried that the song might "damage his image and reputation." Weird Al later stated in an interview, that "The irony of the 'Just Lost It' controversy isn't lost on me."

Eminem..."Couch Potato" doesn't even mention you. If anything, people would trace it back to the original, and that would HELP you. Being parodied by Weird Al RARELY has negative effects. It's mostly considered an honor.

There's not a lot left to say about the song, other than it was a shot and a miss for Em, and the hole he started digging with that song would prove to be the one he had the most trouble climbing out it.

It 2010, Eminem released his most recent studio album. Recovery is generally considered to be the album that brought Eminem back into the limelight, and proved that he still had a lot left to give.

Earlier on this year, Eminem announced that he was working on his next studio release. And given that I myself think he's past the days where songs like "Just Lose It" were all he could make, my hopes for his next release are high.

Don't let your fans down, Eminem. You might not be able to manage another recovery.

If you have a song you want me to review, send it in an email to rantsinrap@gmail.com and I'll be in touch.

Until next time...I'm the LyriCritic, and remember...If you question the lyrics, I probably will too.