eminem killer remix

Eminem – Killer (Remix) Ft. Jack Harlow & Cordae | Lyrics Meaning & Song Review

Eminem dropped a sudden remix of a track from his last album ‘Music To Be Murdered By: Side B’ from 2020. More surprisingly, Eminem enlists two of the younger-generation rappers Jack Harlow and Cordae as partners of crime in the remix of “Killer.”

Eminem returns from a stellar year in 2020 with two back-to-back albums; ‘Music To Be Murdered By‘ and ‘Side B‘ of the same project. “Killer” is a track from the latter project, and the remix contains brand new verses by all three artists. The “Killer (Remix)” released on May 28, 2021.

This is the first time Eminem has collaborated with either Jack Harlow or Cordae. The highlight of the song is when Eminem says that he has no beef with Snoop Dogg after Snoop Dogg seemingly underplayed Eminem’s success as an artist by saying that Eminem would not be who he is without Dr. Dre.

Another important bit of the song is when Eminem reminisces about his friend Proof. Eminem seems to bear the cross for Proof’s death after being shot dead in 2006 by one Mario Etheridge.

Jack Harlow Tweeted about working with Eminem; “Thank you @Eminem This is some real bucket list sh*t right here…something I fantasized about as a kid.”

Cordae Tweeted that there are more collaborations with Eminem to come yet; “S/O the Goat @Eminem we got more otw too.”

Listen to “Killer (Remix)” by Eminem, Jack Harlow, & Cordae

“Killer (Remix)” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review

Verse 1

Jack Harlow goes first and he starts with a nod to none other than Eminem himself. He says how he pretended to be like Eminem, wearing a beanie hat and headphones around his neck. However, now his phone is always vibrating from all the deals that flow his way. He really made it. Now, all the ladies want to be his baby, just like how Ronnie Spector (of the girl group Ronnetts) sang on “Be My Baby” from 1963.

The classic B-Rabbit look with beanie hat and headphones from ‘8 Mile’ movie (Image: spotern.com)

Soon after, Harlow pays further homage to Eminem singing “I’m on a song with my idol.” This might also be one aspect for him to consider that he “made it” in the industry.

Aside from this dream collaboration, further proof of his success are all his diamond jewelry and Louis Vuitton accessories. He also adds that a Bimmer (slang for BMW cars) is on the way to his collection.

Jack Harlow also jokingly sings that he is no “Twitch streamer.” Twitch.tv is a platform popularized by gamers live streaming their gameplays for millions of people around the world. Jack might be implying that he is not playing games when it comes to his career or this collab. Or, fans speculate that it could be a shot at rapper Logic, who retired from music and started streaming on Twitch as a full-time career.

Jack Harlow finishes his verse with “Same kid just a bit sleeker,” a symbolic of wealth and good health.

Verse 2

Cordae jumps on the second verse of “Killer (Remix).” Cordae uses this spotlight with Eminem to flex on his lyricism and rapping to the peak. He drops in some clever bars and rhyming schemes to top it all.

Cordae talks about how he came from nothing to being one of the most influential hip-hop artists in the game right now. If you want proof of this, listen to this song. Cordae is on the radar of Eminem.

A whole generation of geniuses I’m influencin’

One notable line from Cordae’s verse is when he says he has no affiliations with shallow women who only have money on their minds. However, he words this in a clever way to reference the $24 million diamond that Lil Uzi Vert got implanted on his forehead.

He also reminds everybody that his 4-track EP ‘Just Until…’ is on the way shortly.

Verse 3

Eminem goes last, and he goes hard.

The start of the verse is just the perfect pairing to the title of the song “Killer.” Eminem says his verses are as harsh as they come. Sometimes they are as good as life sentences given by judges in court cases. This is true as Eminem has been responsible for the murder of some careers of artists who have dared to go against him! With these lines, he also nods to his album ‘Music To Be Murdered By,’ a true testament to Eminem’s genius.

Eminem says his rap style is called ‘guillotine’ because is decapitates rappers who are bold enough to stand up to him. Fully studio-produced or freestyled on the spot, it does not matter for Eminem. He is still confident about his ability to take on any rapper with the mic and lyrics.

A little bit of mockery from Eminem towards Lil Wayne as he says that he goes harder than ‘Carter III,’ the most infamous album by Lil Wayne. ‘Carter III’ is the sixth studio album Lil Wayne released in 2008. The album also got a spot reserved on Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time’ list. Most would consider these times to be Lil Wayne’s peak as the rest of the Carter album series did not live up to its legacy. However, Eminem still outselling and outperforming his old self to date.

Eminem also namedrops Cardi B and compliments her body, and nods to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body” single. Building upon the “body-odi” rhyme that is present in the song by Megan Thee Stallion, Eminem name drops John Gotti, an American mob boss of the Gambino family. Gotti is responsible for many dead bodies during his reign!

One of the most notable lines in Eminem’s verse is when he talks about the death of his childhood friend Proof.

Only L that I ever took was when I lost Proof (Yeah)

It is interesting and saddening to see that Eminem still blames himself for the death of Proof although Eminem had nothing to do with it. Eminem most likely took on the responsibility to protect his friends, and in this specific instance, he failed. Eminem raps about gang violence in his iconic track “Toy Soldiers” from 2004. Ironically enough, in the music video for “Toy Soldiers,” Proof plays the role of another rapper (Bugz) who gets shot dead on the streets. This was just two years before Proof got shot in a similar fashion in 2006.

Eminem follows this by mentioning that the only time he got sued was by his own mother–one for the records! Eminem did not have the best of relationships with his mother, Debbie Mathers, due to her addiction problems. In 1999, Debbie Mathers filed a lawsuit against Eminem for a value of $11 million for defamation, a recurring theme from Eminem’s earlier works highlighted in songs such as “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” “My Mom,” and “My Name Is.” However, the judge involved ruled out that she was only owed $1,600 from Eminem. However, in 2013, Eminem did apologize to his mother in the song “Headlights,” admitting that she made the best out of the worst situation.

Just called Snoop and I talked to him (What?), we all cool (Yeah)
Dre, me and the Dogg good, Doc, we got you

These lines talk about the ‘alleged’ feud between Eminem and Snoop Dogg that sparked and fizzled out in 2020 itself. In an interview, Snoop Dogg seemingly downplayed Eminem’s success by saying that Eminem is not is his top 10 rappers list and also that Eminem would be nobody without Dr. Dre’s influence on him. Eminem addressed this on the track “Zeus” from ‘Music To Be Murdered By’ album saying that he is used to people talking nonsense about him, but he did not expect it from someone from his own camp referring to the comments by Snoop Dogg. Although the ‘alleged feud‘ was mostly one-sided, it died out sooner than it started. And in “Killer (Remix),” Eminem clarifies the situation; “we all cool.” Dr. Dre has been a mentor of both Eminem and Snoop Dogg, and Eminem confirms that Dre’s children will not fight each other! Massive respects all around!

Another clever-clever line by Eminem is “East side ’til I die. I will rep ’til the end like a chameleon.” He says that he will represent East-side Detroit till he dies. ‘Rep’ is short for ‘represent’ and ‘rep till the end’ is a clever wordplay for ‘reptilian followed by dropping the animal chameleon which is a reptilian. More importantly, a chameleon is able to change its skin color to camouflage with its surroundings. Eminem, himself, has gone through decades of changes in rap and hip hop and still stays relevant. If 2021 demands BOPs, here is “Killer” with an extreme head-banger.

Pushing at half a century, a lot of people has used Eminem’s age to mock him. So, Eminem casually sings “Twenty more years, I could probably go for” and “‘Til the day me and the grim reap meet, I’m ten toes down ’til I’m six feet deep” he will continue to rap. At some point, Em’s haters have to stop bringing up this point because it has been proven mute and irrelevant than their careers!

Eminem is a cold-blooded killer and age is just a number!

Eminem doesn’t have to release any more music. He certainly didn’t have to write and produce a new verse for a remix of his own track from a year ago, but he still did. If haters want inspiration and dedication to the game, play Eminem on repeat!

Let us hear what you have to say about this remix and collaboration in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.

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