“Not Afraid” – Eminem

Have you ever listened to rap music? If not, there may be some reasons behind your answer. You may feel rap music is like just throwing words at you with a melody that doesn’t give any sense. But I’m sure you will not feel the same after you read this article.  This may change your opinion on looking at music from a different angle, not only considering the melody. Not afraid, a masterpiece by Eminem, a famous rapper who was considered the king of modern rap music. This song was considered as a song that prevented many from attempting suicide and encouraged many people all around the world to heal themselves from what they were going through.  In this song, the artist reveals his own story and shares the bitter experiences he was going through in his life and what he is doing to get rid of those bitter memories. One should not care about other’s opinions when he or she has confidence in what he or she’s doing. This has been a major issue for recovery in most of the people in modern society. The artist clearly emphasizes this while throwing his own words harshly in this song.

“When I say I’m a do somethin’ I do it

I don’t give a damn what you think”

If someone needs to be successful it’s not granted on a bed of roses. There may be rough and thorny paths. But if he or she has the courage and dedication towards it he or she will succeed. The same applies in the process of recovering. Eminem states that he too had that attitude when he was getting recovered. He mentions that he’ll be unstoppable. This gives a sign of courage to the people who are recovering to be unstoppable in their process of healing.

“It’s gassed up, if it thinks it’s stoppin’ me

I’mma be what I set out to be, without a doubt undoubtedly”

Being left over by his mother and father and being a recovering addict who has suffered an overdose in 2007, the artist tries to give a great message through his lyrics. There’s a proverb “If there’s a will, there’s a way”, the artist proves this through his own life reminding this his audience that they have a way to overcome anything in their life. He emphasizes this throughout his song as most of these events related to his own life. The phrase repeated phrase “I’m not afraid.” shows how he’s confident in his music skills although he was rejected and refused by the industry. He also has used highly offensive language in this song. This reflects that the past he was going through and how cruel the world had he has been treated by the world.

Every pain needs a healing. This healing may be attained through many ways. The artist has chosen music as best recovery tool for his life. He recommends his fans also to try it out as well.

“If you’re tryin’ to get out

Just follow me

I’ll get you there”

 Humans have limits for everything in their lives. So as the pain. There’s an amount one can bear the pain in their lives. There should be an ending to all the problems in life. The writer expresses that it’s not suicides or getting out of the problems you face. It’s facing them with an optimistic mindset that leads us to overcome them and be normal again as once they were. This is well explained through the following verses.

              “I’m breaking out of this cage

                I’m standing up, I’mma face my demons

                I’m manning up, I’mma hold my ground

                I’ve had enough, now I’m so fed up

                Time to put my life back together right now”

In the final few lines, the artists he tells to follow his path and find a way to get themselves healed by music as he believes music can heal and recover each and soul that has been broken and fell apart. According to the lyrics, people are not alone there’s always beside them. Although this song had some harsh expressions that criticize the world badly for not treating to help people to recover.

Generally, when considering the song, it gives a motivation to people to be strong, positive and find their path to heal themselves once they’re broken. That gives us a clue that the type of music whether it is classical, jazz, rock, hi pop, or rap it doesn’t matter. What matters is the lyrics of a song and how it can impact a person’s life.

By Rtr. Izad Ijaz

Image credits: