Eminem released ‘Not Afraid’ as part of his seventh album ‘Recovery’ on 29th April 2010. It won several awards like MTV awards for ‘Best Male Video’, ‘Best Hip Hop Video’ and Grammy award for ‘Best Rap Solo Performance’.
Song Review and Meaning
Alright guys, so this song by Eminem is rather complicated in the message that Eminem really wants to convey to his fans. It is evident that he is not afraid to take a stand and wants people to join him.
The question is who he is taking a stand against. What is he really fighting for? I know these questions are somewhat stupid to be thinking about regarding a song that was released more than 10 years ago. But, I was wondering as to what the song is really about.
The message in the lyrics is pretty direct yet is complicated to understand what Eminem aims to tell the people.
Eminem is taking a dig at someone or something particular. It could be the media or the general public when he tries to get out his message.
I mean this is what I understand when he uses the words ‘sting’ and ‘causing mayhem’ etc. Its like he has a very clear message for the audience that is listening to him and he wants people like the media who control his message to stay out of it.
So, Eminem is going totally naked with his feelings regarding who he aims to be and has clear intentions of going headstrong in that direction. He is fighting inner demons and trying to break free from his problems.
It could be about his dr*g addictions that he had in the past which he overcame. He might be calling other people who have the same problem and is telling them that he is with them and aims to help them.
I am not so sure though that this is exactly what he is talking about. There are definitely a lot of other elements in the video that suggest there is a lot more than just overcoming dr*g addiction.
Eminem is trapped inside a room and breaks out of it. He then follows a path with mirrors around him and he is looking at his reflection which becomes distorted. He ends up falling from the edge of the road and is able to bounce back and fly to a rooftop.
A lot of people think ‘Not Afraid’ was a dark song and based on escaping the system. From the looks of it, it may seem like Eminem was trying to get rid of a system that he felt trapped in and was calling out to other people that were in the same position as him.
There are some esoteric elements in the song which hint that there is more than what meets the eye. There are several messages throughout the song which are not that clear to decode.
Other than that, he references the Relapse album and the accents that people didn’t like. He told his fans that he won’t go back to his old ways.
Eminem has 3 personalities: Eminem(rapper), Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers. Now, he might be telling his fans that he is giving up the identity of Slim Shady the one behind ‘Relapse’ album and doesn’t want to let his fans down.
Personally, I like the song. It has a lot of emotion and energy behind it. Lyrically we all know that Eminem is incredibly skillful and his lyrics have never been at question(apart from being profane). Let me know what you guys think about the song and what comes to your mind when you listen to it.
Peace and take care. Bye.
