The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Legacy

Eminem

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

155

Internal

Multi

287

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

[Pre-Chorus: Polina & (Eminem)]

And if you fall, I'll get you there

I'll be your savior from (Yeah) all the wars

That are fought inside^✦ your world

Please have faith in my words

[Chorus: Polina]

‘Cause this is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ yeah

This is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ yeah

There's^✦ no guarantee^✦

It's not up to me, we can only^✦ see

This is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ legacy^✦

[Verse 2: Eminem]

I used^✦ to be the type of kid that would always^✦ think the sky's fallin'^✦

Why am I so differently^✦ wired^✦ in my noggin?^✦

‘Cause sporadic as my thoughts come, it's mind-bogglin'

‘Cause I obsess on everything in my mind, small shit

Bothers me, but not my father,^✦ he said sayonara

Then split, but I don’t give a shit

I'm fine long as there's^✦ batteries in my Walkman

Nothing is the matter^✦ with me

Shit, look on the bright side, at least I ain't walkin'^✦

I bike ride through the neighborhood of my apartment

Complex on a ten-speed which I've acquired^✦ parts that

I find in the garbage,^✦ a frame then put tires^✦ on it

Headphones on, look straight ahead if kids try and start shit

But if this is all there is for me life offers

Why bother^✦ even^✦ tryin' to put up a fight? It's nonsense^✦

But I think a light bulb just lit up in my conscience^✦

What about^✦ them rhymes^✦ I've been jottin'?^✦

They are kind of giving^✦ me confidence^✦

Instead of tryin' to escape^✦ through my comics

Why don't I just blast a little something like Onyx?

To put me in the mood to wanna^✦ fight and write songs that

Say what I wanna^✦ say to the kid that said that I eye-balled him

Grab hold of my balls, like, "That's right, fight's on, bitch!"

Who woulda^✦ knew, from the moment I turned^✦ the mic on, that

I could be iconic^✦ in my conquest?

That's word to Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called^✦ Quest

[Chorus: Polina]

This is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ yeah

There's^✦ no guarantee^✦

It's not up to me, we can only^✦ see

This is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ legacy^✦

[Verse 3: Eminem]

I used^✦ to be the type of kid that would always^✦ think the sky's fallin'^✦

Now I think the fact that I'm differently^✦ wired's awesome

‘Cause if I wasn't, I wouldn't be able to work words like this

And connect lines^✦ like crosswords

And use my enemy's^✦ words as strength

To try and draw from, and get inspired^✦ off 'em

‘Cause all my life I was told and taught I am not shit

By you wack fuckin'^✦ giant sacks of lyin' dog shit

Now you shut up, bitch, I am talkin'^✦

Thought I was full of horseshit

And now you fuckin'^✦ worship the ground on which I am walkin'^✦

Me against the world, so what? I'm Brian Dawkins

Versus^✦ the whole 0-16 Lions offense^✦

So bring on the Giants, Falcons, and Miami Dolphins

It's the body^✦ bag game, bitch, I'm supplyin' coffins

‘Cause you dicks butt kiss, bunch of Brian Baldingers

You're gon' die a ball-licker, I've been diabolical

With this dialogue since '99 Rawkus^✦

You don't respect the legacy^✦ I leave behind,^✦ y'all can

Suck a dick; the day you beat me, pigs'll fly out my ass

In a flyin' saucer^✦ full of Italian sausage^✦

The most high exaltin' and I ain't haltin'^✦

'Til I die of exhaustion, inhale^✦ my exhaust fumes^✦

The best part about^✦ me is I am not you

I'm me, and I'm the Fire Marshall, and this is my—

[Chorus: Polina]

This is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ yeah

There's^✦ no guarantee^✦

It's not up to me, we can only^✦ see

This is my legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ legacy,^✦ legacy^✦

Technical Breakdown

7.7

Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm7.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity8.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control7.0

Performance and control

Computed Score7.74

Production

— Emile Haynie

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

The verse demonstrates Eminem's ability to transition from introspective narrative to rhythmic wordplay, using complex internal rhyme schemes to anchor a vulnerable coming-of-age story.

B+

9.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

7.5

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

6.5

Wordplay

Delivery

Multisyllabic internal rhymingAssonance-heavy cadencesEnjambment for rhythmic drive

Rhyme Architecture: The verse utilizes dense, multisyllabic internal clusters (e.g., 'noggin/bogglin/small shit/father/sayonara') that cascade into end-rhyme lockouts, building a rhythmic tension that mirrors the speaker's internal anxiety.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"‘Cause I obsess on everything in my mind, small shit / Bothers me, but not my father"

① The speaker is preoccupied with minor, trivial anxieties.② A pivot to the literal abandonment by his father, contrasting the weight of minor thoughts against the lack of weight placed on his father's exit.

"Complex on a ten-speed"

① Refers to the physical ten-speed bicycle he built from garbage parts.② Refers to his psychological 'complex' (mental state) being complex or layered, mirroring the state of his childhood development.

Exceptional technical density in the multisyllabic rhyme schemes

Strong narrative cohesion that aligns with the song's themes

Effective use of syncopation to maintain flow during complex multis

Occasional reliance on simpler 'shit/bit/it' rhyme filler

Wordplay is more focused on narrative progression than high-level subtextual double entendres

Legacy

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

Technical Breakdown

Production

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