Eminem

Released: October 29, 2002

Songwriter: Luis Resto Eminem

Producer: Eminem

[Intro]
It's alright, it's okay
I'm gonna make it anyway
Gonna make it, can't give up now
I'ma make it somehow

[Verse 1]
Sometimes I just feel like quittin', I still might
Why do I put up this fight? Why do I still write?
Sometimes it's hard enough just dealin' with real life
Sometimes I wanna jump on stage and just kill mics
And show these people what my level of skill's like
But I'm still white, sometimes I just hate life
Somethin' ain't right, hit the brake lights
Case of the stage fright, drawin' a blank like
Da-duh-duh-da-da, it ain't my fault
Great big eyeballs, my insides crawl
And I clam up, I just slam shut
I just can't do it, my whole manhood's
Just been stripped, I have just been 'vict'd
So I must then get off the bus, then split
Man, fuck this shit, yo, I'm goin' the fuck home
World on my shoulders as I run back to this 8 Mile Road

[Chorus]
I'm a man, I'ma make a new plan
(It's alright, it's okay)
Time for me to just stand up and travel new land
(I'm gonna make it anyway)
Time for me to just take matters into my own hands
(Gonna make it, can't give up now)
Once I'm over these tracks, man, I'ma never look back
(I'ma make it somehow)
(8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm goin'
(It's alright, it's okay)
Sorry, Momma, I'm grown, I must travel alone
(I'm gonna make it anyway)
Ain't gon' follow no footsteps, I'm makin' my own
(Gonna make it, can't give up now)
Only way that I know how to escape from this 8 Mile Road
(I'ma make it somehow)

[Verse 2]
I'm walkin' these train tracks, tryna regain back
The spirit I had 'fore I go back to the same crap
To the same plant, in the same pants
Tryna chase rap, gotta move ASAP
And get a new plan, Momma's got a new man
Poor little baby sister, she don't understand
Sits in front of the TV, buries her nose in the pad
And just colors until the crayon gets dull in her hand
While she colors her big brother and mother and dad
Ain't no tellin' what really goes on in her little head
Wish I could be the daddy that neither one of us had
But I keep runnin' from somethin' I never wanted so bad
Sometimes I get upset, ‘cause I ain't blew up yet
It's like I grew up, but I ain't grow me two nuts yet
Don't gotta rep my step, don't got enough pep
The pressure's too much, man, I'm just tryna do what's best
And I try, sit alone and I cry
Yo, I won't tell no lie, not a moment goes by
That I don't pray to the sky, please, I'm beggin' you, God
Please don't let me be pigeonholed in no regular job
Yo, I hope you can hear me, homie, wherever you are
Yo, I'm tellin' you, dawg, I'm bailin' this trailer tomorrow
Tell my mother I love her, kiss baby sister goodbye
Say whenever you need me, baby, I'm never too far
But yo, I gotta get out there, the only way I know
And I'ma be back for you the second that I blow
On everything I own, I'll make it on my own
Off to work I go back to this 8 Mile Road

[Chorus]
I'm a man, gotta make a new plan
(It's alright, it's okay)
Time for me to just stand up and travel new land
(I'm gonna make it anyway)
Time for me to just take matters into my own hands
(Gonna make it, can't give up now)
Once I'm over these tracks, man, I'ma never look back
(I'ma make it somehow)
(8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm goin'
(It's alright, it's okay)
Sorry, Momma, I'm grown, I must travel alone
(I'm gonna make it anyway)
Ain't gon' follow no footsteps, I'm makin' my own
(Gonna make it, can't give up now)
Only way that I know how to escape from this 8 Mile Road
(I'ma make it somehow)

[Verse 3]
You gotta live it to feel it; you didn't, you wouldn't get it
Or see what the big deal is, why it was and it still is
To be walkin' this borderline of Detroit city limits
It's different, it's a certain significance, a certificate
Of authenticity, you'd never even see
But it's everything to me, it's my credibility
You never seen, heard, smelled or met a real MC
Who's incredible upon the same pedestal as me
But yet I'm still unsigned, havin' a rough time
Sit on the porch with all my friends and kick dumb rhymes
Go to work and serve MCs in the lunchline
But when it comes crunch time, where do my punchlines go?
Who must I show to bust my flow?
Where must I go? Who must I know?
Or am I just another crab in the bucket?
‘Cause I ain't havin' no luck with this little rabbit's foot, fuck it
Maybe I need a new outlet, I'm startin' to doubt shit
I'm feelin' a little skeptical who I hang out with
I look like a bum, yo, my clothes ain't about shit
At the Salvation Army, tryna salvage an outfit
And it's cold, tryna travel this road
Plus I feel like I'm always stuck in this battlin' mode
My defenses are so up, but one thing I don't want
Is pity from no one, this city is no fun
There is no sun, and it's so dark
Sometimes I feel like I'm just bein' pulled apart
From each one of my limbs, by each one of my friends
It's enough to just make me wanna jump out of my skin
Sometimes I feel like a robot, sometimes I just know not
What I'm doin', I just blow, my head is a stove top
I just explode, the kettle gets so hot
Sometimes my mouth just overloads the gas that I don't got
But I've learned, it's time for me to U-turn
Yo, it only takes one time for me to get burned
Ain't no fallin', no, next time I meet a new girl
I can no longer play stupid or be immature
I got every ingredient, all I need is the courage
Like I already got the beat, all I need is the words
Got the urge, suddenly it's a surge
Suddenly a new burst of energy has occurred
Time to show these Free World leaders the three and a third
I am no longer scared now, I'm free as a bird
Then I turn and cross over the median curb
Hit the 'burbs and all you see is a blur from 8 Mile Road

[Chorus]
I'm a man, gotta make a new plan
(It's alright, it's okay)
Time for me to just stand up and travel new land
(I'm gonna make it anyway)
Time for me to just take matters into my own hands
(Gonna make it, can't give up now)
Once I'm over these tracks, man, I'ma never look back
(I'ma make it somehow)
(8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm goin'
(It's alright, it's okay)
Sorry, Momma, I'm grown, I must travel alone
(I'm gonna make it anyway)
Ain't gon' follow no footsteps, I'm makin' my own
(Gonna make it, can't give up now)
Only way that I know how to escape from this 8 Mile Road
(I'ma make it somehow)

A legendary hip-hop icon who started as an underground battle rapper in Detroit, Marshall “Eminem” Bruce Mathers III (1972 – present) has developed a career full of controversy, wild swings, and some of the most noteworthy raps in the history of the genre.

Eminem has broken countless barriers, shifting and impacting the culture in several ways. In June 2017, “Stan” was added into the Oxford Dictionary, and in 2019, to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. He was the first rapper to win the Grammy Award for Best Album for three consecutive albums. “Rap God” set the Guinness World Record for most words in a song. He was also the first rapper to win an Oscar. His albums The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show became certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2011, making him one of the few artists to have more than one Diamond album. This has helped him become the highest selling hip-hop artist of all time. In January 2020, with his 11th studio album Music to Be Murdered By debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200, Eminem became the first artist in history to have 10 consecutive #1 debuts.

Produced and co-signed by Dr. Dre, Em had an unprecedented run of success from 1999 up until 2003, releasing three well-reviewed multi-platinum albums, stealing the show on countless collaborations, and even starred in a hit movie. However, it all came crashing down around 2004, when a string of problems ranging from drug dependence to depression to the tragic death of best friend Deshaun “Proof” Holton in 2006 led to a long hiatus from music and a pair of what were, by his own admission, sub-par albums.

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Unreleased Songs

From the album

8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (2002)

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8 MileEminem

Eminem

Unreleased Songs