the game the black slim shady eminem diss lyrics meaning

The Game – The Black Slim Shady (Eminem Diss) | Lyrics Meaning Revealed

The Game has been talking a lot about how he feels like he is the best rapper alive and somehow this meant that he had to go up against Eminem. This alone proved that The Game believes Eminem is the best rapper alive. Regardless, The Game released a song titled “The Black Slim Shady” supposedly dissing Eminem.

California rapper The Game released his tenth studio album ‘DRILLMATIC – Mind vs. Heart’ on August 12, 2022. The 30-track long album follows his 2019 project ‘Born 2 Rap.’

In an interview, The Game expressed how he feels like he could take on Eminem in a Verzuz battle; “I like Eminem, he’s one of the fucking good MCs, great MCs. I used to think Eminem was better than me. He not. He not. He’s not. Ay, challenge it. It’s not drama!… Swizz [Beatz] and Timbaland know that it’s bigger than Verzuz. I’m not saying I want smoke with Eminem, I’m saying I want smoke with Eminem, him, and him, whoever.”

Before we get to the lyrics, let’s dissect the song title. The Game calls himself the black version of Slim Shady. Does The Game hope to be the black version of Eminem? One would only aspire to be someone who is better than themselves. The song title itself is a big L for The Game.

Listen to “The Black Slim Shady” by The Game

The Game “The Black Slim Shady” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review

Interlude

The Game hints at his arrival in 8 Mile, Detroit, where Eminem resides.

Intro

The Game taunts the G-Unit and Aftermath tags–homage?

Chorus

The Game somehow believes that calling himself the Black Slim Shady is a diss towards Eminem. He is reaching up on this one.

Verse 1

The Game talks about how sick he is in the head and how he will go at the jugular of anyone who goes against him.

But nothing about Eminem in the first verse.

Verse 2

In the second verse of the song, The Game seemingly goes at Dr Dre and references Eminem’s song “The Real Slim Shady” in which he raps “Dr Dre’s dead. He’s locked in my basement.”

And I’m so tired of orderin’ takeout, what’s beef?
Beef is when you tell the chef to bring them steaks out

Not entirely sure what the above lyric is doing in this song–it is an explanation of how a restaurant works?!

Moreover, The Game pays homage to R&B singer Lizzo, saying that he finds her attractive.

No other mention of Eminem in this diss track for Eminem.

Interlude 2

Several references to Eminem songs–“starter cap” and “stan” are both references to Eminem’s iconic song “Stan.”

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

The Game uses the narration of some random taxi driver to say that Eminem used to be good but he has fallen off recently. Em’s new music does not sit well with this taxi driver and this is The Game’s biggest affirmation that he is a better rapper than Eminem.

Verse 3

In the third verse, The Game finally starts to take some direct shots at Eminem.

So, oh, he goes platinum
And, oh, I’m on the ‘Math with him
He got all the Blackest friends
He wants to be African, me

Much like every other rapper who has gone against Eminem, The Game pulls out the race card. Somehow, The Game cannot make peace with the fact that Eminem does a better job at a craft that is predominantly run by Black artists.

So, oh, he goes platinum
And, oh, I’m on the ‘Math with him

The cadence with which The Game raps the above lyrics is a direct copy of “ope there goes gravity / ope there goes Rabbit” lyrics from “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.

In the next lines, The Game goes at 50 Cent, too–one of Eminem’s closest friends–also another Black artist. “Candy Shop” and “Magic Stick” are both songs by 50 Cent.

The Game next mentions DeAngelo Bailey, the antagonist of the “Brain Damage” song by Eminem. DeAngelo Bailey used to bully Eminem at school and oftentimes beat Eminem bloody. The Game advocates bullying.

And the biggest rapper in Detroit, that award is Sean Don

Sean Don is a moniker for Detroit-based rapper Big Sean. Eminem is the biggest rapper alive or dead, so The Game misses his mark by quite a bit.

I never heard you in a club, I never heard you in a bar
Eleven albums and ten never got played inside of my car

The Game says that he never listened to Eminem in his car even after putting out eleven albums in his career. He never heard Eminem music in a bar or a club. Very possible. However, Eminem constantly appears among the top 10 streamed artists even today.

The Game namedrops more songs and features of Eminem; “Renegade” with Jay-z and “The Soldier.”

You’re a Karen, call the cops, tell ’em it’s a Black man on your block
With a Glock and he got it cocked

Calling Eminem a Karen is as baseless as it comes. The Game says Eminem calls cops on Black men. However, in a previous line, The Game mentioned that Eminem surrounds himself with Black people and pretends to be Black himself. Pretty contradicting statements from The Game.

A kind reminder that Eminem rapped the below lyrics on the “Zeus” track from his 2020 album;

But I’ma always remind you that I came from poverty
Black people saved my life, from the Doc and Deshaun
And all that we want is racial equality
R.I.P. Laquan McDonald, Trayvon, and Breonna
Atatiana, Rayshard, and Dominique
Eric Garner and Rodney King
No, we can’t get along ’til these white motherf*ckin’ cops
Who keep murderin’ blacks are off the streets (off the streets)

Towards the latter part of verse 3, The Game, drags Eminem’s daughter, Hailie into the lyrics. It is common knowledge that mentioning Hailie’s name is a trigger factor for Eminem. It is clear that The Game wants to trigger Eminem to extract a response for clout.

In the last part of the verse, The Game says Eminem is not in the top 5 rappers for him and for other GOATs of the game like The Notorious BIG, Tupac, Andre 3000, and Nas.

But, also The Game;

Verse 4

In the fourth and final verse of “The Black Slim Shady,” The Game picks up the pace. But he has wasted so much time on this 10-minute track already.

He mentions “mom’s spaghetti,” another reference to Eminem’s iconic track “Lose Yourself.” Also, more Eminem song references such as “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” “Rap God,” and “Kim.” Further, The Game talks about how he walked 8 miles in 8 Mile, Detroit to get some M&Ms. Not sure which part of this is supposed to be the diss, but, again, references to Eminem’s song and movie by the name ‘8 Mile.’

The Game dug up some dirt about Eminem’s mother, Debbie, and stepfather, who apparently impregnated Debbie when she was 15 years old. Not sure how this is a diss at Eminem. However, there is a bar here; Little Debbie is a brand of cakes.

“Blistering cold” line is another reference to Eminem’s song “Stan.”

One rather clever bar was when The Game said “How ironic, an addict in a basement” claiming that Eminem is addicted to drugs. This is a lie. Eminem has been sober for 13+ years. However, ‘addict’ sounds like ‘attic’ which is the opposite of what a basement is.

Well, I was wrong. Nothing really got ramped up, except for more proof that Em’s discography is The Game’s rap bible.

Outro

Lastly, if everything fails, The Game directly invites Eminem to respond. He knows that it is good for business. The only song being mentioned on social media from The Game’s new album is “The Black Slim Shady” track. The Game is smart enough to know that mentioning Eminem’s name and Eminem responding to this diss/love track could be the last hurrah for his career.

The Game drops so many references to Eminem’s songs and lyrics it is pretty evident that The Game is a student of Eminem’s music.

One could very well argue that this is a homage to Eminem!

One cannot copy the styles, lyrics, and cadences of the artist they are going to diss. This is how you pay tribute–not diss.

Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.

One thought on “The Game – The Black Slim Shady (Eminem Diss) | Lyrics Meaning Revealed

  1. M&M is Eminem’s initial rap name (Marshall Mathers) he then changed the spelling to “Eminem” to avoid trademark issues with the Candy M & M..

    So Game words played M & M with Eminem since it was his initial name.
    Simply he’s trying to get Marshall Mathers

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