Eminem’s new song discusses an important topic. Celebrities shouldn’t be worshipped.
In the single, Walk on Water, the Rap God tells his audience he is not Jesus, and he has insecurities just like the average person.
The song begins with Beyoncé singing the chorus, “I walk on water, but I ain’t no Jesus, I walk on water, but only when it freezes”.
The chorus refers to the god-like status some fans give their favourite musical artist.
Eminem opens with, “Why, are expectations so high? Is it the bar I set?” The song seems to talk about Eminem’s decline in fame.
Relapse, released in 2009, was Eminem’s second-least sold album, and his comeback since Encore, released in 2004. Eminem returned sober and without his bleached hair.
This new image wasn’t as popular and he seems to refer to this in Walk on Water.
In the post-chorus, Beyoncé sings “I don’t think you should believe in me the way that you do, ‘cause I’m terrified to let you down.”
Whether musicians choose to or not, people look up to them.
Some, are seen as role models and as a result they face constant pressure to not only be a good person but keep their audience satisfied regarding the music they release.
In the third verse, Eminem raps, “…but the only one who’s looking down on me now’s Deshaun.” This is a reference to his late friend, Detroit rapper, Deshaun “Proof” Porter, who was killed in a gunfight in 2006.
At his first live performance of the song, Eminem looked up and pointed to the sky, honouring his best friend.
The rapper opened the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA’s) this year, and received the Best Hip-Hop reward.
When given the award, Eminem said what everyone was thinking, “I’m not really sure how I got this because I haven’t had an album out in a few years.”
His last album, the Marshall Mathers LP 2, was released four years ago, and Walk on Water is his first single of the year.
To wrap the song up, Eminem jumps in after Beyoncé’s chorus. He raps about his famous song, Stan, which has been turned into slang – meaning a highly obsessive fan.
The instrumental is broken up by scratching turntables and he boasts “…but as long as I got a mic, I’m god-like, so me and you are not alike,” finishing with, “B—h, I wrote Stan.”
This is used to wrap up his vulnerability shown in this song. He discusses his insecurities about his “decline”, and he uses this line to show that he still has his confidence and deserves respect for his music.
Walk on Water is Eminem’s first single from his upcoming album, Revival, which is the end of a trilogy of albums for Eminem, starting with Recovery, then Relapse. Eminem recently announced Revival will be released Dec. 15.
