Like Toy Soldiers: A Rapper's Critique of the Hip-Hop Community

A previous blog post discussed Eminem’s role within the hip-hop industry and how a white male became one of the most influential artists in music today. In the beginning of his career he portrayed the image of the dominant male both sexually and psychically, but it has been his most recent albums that we have seen a shift within his lyrics and context. As we saw in Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, his protégé 50 Cent, called out Ja Rule for not being ‘hip-hop’. It was this confrontation that led me to Eminem and his music and one of his songs in particular, “Like Toy Soldiers”. When this song was released in 2005, it laid in the wake of the aftermath of the long heated battles of Dr.Dre vs. Suge Knight and 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule. Eminem mentions both fueds within his lyrics, portraying these disagreements as something that should never have happened.

The lyrics of the song depict an industry and environment that is a mirror image of the problems mentioned within Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. The song begins with a sample taken from the 1989’s song “Toy Soldiers” and the title theme of the 1972 film The Hot Rock. I find the film selection interesting because this 1972 film depicted the lives of men running away from the police all in attempt to steal a gem from a museum. One of these men had just been released back from jail when he began his newest criminal adventure. This continuous life of crime and violence has been repeatedly been seen and heard throughout the lyrics and videos of hip-hop artists since the late 1980s. Eminem stands up to this violence and places himself in a vulnerable position that would constitute him to not be a man by definitions set by hip-hop standards. The first lines of the first verse read as follow:

I'm supposed to be the soldier who never blows his composure

Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders

I ain't never supposed to show it, my crew ain't supposed to know it

Even if it means goin' toe to toe with a Benzino it don't matter

I'd never drag them in battles that I can handle unless I absolutely have to

I'm supposed to set an example

I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em

Eminem is acknowledging the fact that he is a leader not only to his friends, but to his fans and followers as well. He also, in my opinion, states what every male hip-hop artist, black male, or any male in general believes in the stereotypical role of a man. That a ‘true man’ does not show his emotions to anyone only showing his strength, even to the people closest to him. The last line of the excerpt leads into Eminem speaking about 50 Cent and Ja Rule’s public battle; stating that he tried to stop it and that it has gone to levels that it should never have reached. He makes inferences about the role of loyalty within the gansta hip-hop community at the onset of an altercation. He states that he has never once mentioned the rappers who had crossed Dre and how he never would because that is a situation he has no part in.

And I'm so caught in it I almost feel I'm the one who caused it

This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, it's not why I got in it

That was never my object for someone to get killed

Why would I wanna destroy something I help build

It wasn't my intentions, my intentions was good

I went through my whole career without ever mentionin' Suge

And that was just out of respect for not runnin' my mouth

And talkin' about something that I knew nothing about

Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef

I found this song very interesting due to the complete honesty within the lyrics regarding him and the hip-hop community he identifies himself with. He calls out the issues that spark tragedy and violence within the music and questions if these feuds are even necessary. As I researched this song I found that they classified it as conscious hip-hop due, to its message that strays away from the traditional messages found in most of today’s top hip-hop songs. With that idea in mind I wanted to see where this ranked against other hip-hop songs of 2005 within America as well as Europe. It was interesting to see that within Europe “Like Toy Soldiers” peaked at #1, while America’s charts showed a completely different evaluation and #34 was the highest position the song obtained. Could Eminem’s critique of hip-hop be receiving a backlash of support from the hip-hop fans and community? “Disco Inferno” and “Candy Shop” songs whose videos were reportedly almost pornographic by some journalists topped “Like Toy Soldiers” on American charts. When comparing the societies of Europe and the US, I couldn’t help but wonder if the violence depicted in the media and American’s social acceptance of this hip-hop community had anything to do with the support of this song. Did Americans and the American gangsta hip-hop community not want to hear this protest against the previously accepted norms?