"Lose Yourself" by Evan Gribben

It was a late Sunday night and I was doing homework for all of my classes. I was listening to the Flo-Rida Radio on Pandora and I was getting sleepier every second. Then a song I’ve never heard before came on. And as the song played, I went from being sleepy and tired to being wide awake and suddenly very motivated to finish all of my homework! Because of that song, I finish my homework in less than 30 minutes. After I finished my homework, I went back to the radio’s song history to find out what the song was. And the song was “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, a.k.a. Eminem, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 17, 1972. Eminem had three younger siblings: a brother named Nathan, a half-sister named Sarah, and a half-brother named Michael. Eminem had a rough time as a child. He started out with his father leaving his life as an infant, and had to be raised by his abusive alcoholic mother. Then when starteds in school he would change schools 2-3 times a year, causing him to be an outcast. At the age of 14, he was introduced to rap music when his uncle Ronnie started showing him rap videos. His biggest influences were The Beastie Boys,  Redman, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, etc.  He entered the Detroit rap scene and became a fierce competitor in Detroit’s underground Rap Battle Ring. In 1997 when Eminem was 25 years old, he independently released the album “The Slim Shady EP” which was discovered by the legendary rapper Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre was so impressed with Eminem’s rapping that he signed him to his Interscope record label. After two years of working together, Eminem released “The Slim Shady LP”. The album became an instant hit and sold over 3 million copies. The song “Lose Yourself” was originally made for the soundtrack of the movie “8 Mile”, but thanks to the movie, he won awards for things such as Best Rap Song, Favorite International Artist, Best Original Song, and more.

Using loaded language and lhyme, “Lose Yourself” conveys the theme that you should never give up and try your hardest at every opportunity that you get, because you may only get that chance once.

In the song “Lose Yourself”, Eminem uses loaded language to convey the theme that you should never give up and always try your hardest for every opportunity that you get because you may only get that change once. For example, in the chorus when he says:

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment,

You own it, you better never let it go,

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow,

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime. (“Lose” 27-31)

With this piece of the text Eminem uses the phrase “Do not miss your chance to blow” which is short for “do not miss your chance to blow people’s minds,” to convey a motivational attitude towards living his life. This reveals the theme by saying that he better own the moment because it’s a rare opportunity that he may not get again.

Eminem also uses rhyme to convey the theme. For example, in the third verse he raps:

I was playin’ in the beginnin’, the moods all changed,

I been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage,

But I kept rhymin’ and stepwritin’ the next cipher,

Best believe somebody's payin’ the Pied Piper. (“Lose” 60-63)

By rhyming “But I kept rhymin’ and stepwritin’ the next cipher” with “Best believe somebody’s payin’ the Pied Piper” Eminem is connecting his raps with the fictional character the pied piper because he’s saying that his raps were so good that they entranced the listeners, just as the Pied Piper’s music didThis reveals the theme because even though all of this bad stuff happened to him, he still never gave up and tried his hardest.

In my opinion, the strongest part of “Lose Yourself” is the anecdotes that he used to help prove the message. While other artists may make up stories to put in their lyrics, Eminem uses his own personal real-life stories for his lyrics. Like in the first verse, when the text says “But he’s broke, he’s so stoked that he mows, when he goes back to his mobile home.” (“Lose” 22-23). This strengthens the song because people have more of an emotional connection towards real events than fake ones.

But there is also a weak part to the song, and the weakest part about it is the chorus. In the song, Eminem plays the chorus too many times, which causes it to be repetitive. For example, when the chorus says, “You better lose yourself in the music, you own it, you better never let it go, You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, This opportunity comes once in a lifetime”. (Lose” 27-31).It’s a good message, but after playing it 6 time in 1 song, it starts to get boring.

“Lose Yourself” is an inspirational song that shows the message that you should never give up and try your hardest for every opportunity that you get because you may only get that chance once. This connects to my life because I remember that whenever I was having a hard time doing something, my dad would tell me not to give up and try my hardest. I would recommend that people follow this advice because if they do, it could help them be more successful in life.