Eminem is acutely aware of his privilege as a white man in America — and a wealthy celebrity at that. Shortly after former Minnesota police officer was arrested for the murder of George Floyd, Slim Shady resurrected an overlooked track from 2017’s Revival called “Untouchable” and turned it into a call-to-action on Twitter.
“Speak up,” he wrote alongside the Revival cover art. “#untouchable.” He also shared a smart link to the song.
Speak up #untouchable https://t.co/GxxfjwlFd0 pic.twitter.com/6TgtZ3Voon
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) May 29, 2020
The roughly six-minute song — which is broken into two parts — tackles the topic of police brutality and condemns the American police force for their handling of minorities.
“Black boy, black boy, we don’t get your culture and we don’t care what our government’s done to fuck you over, man,” Em raps in part. “Don’t tell us your attitude’s a result of that/Balderdash, where’d you get the chip on your shoulder at?/Why you kicking that soda can?/Pull your pants up, we ’bout to roll up and/Throw your ass in the van cuffed/You don’t have to know our plans or what our intentions are.
“Our cards are close to our chest, you better show your hands/And put our minds more at ease/Or get shot in the thyroid, comply or die, boy/We’re fightin’ a crime war, here come the swine/Tryna clean up the streets from all these minorities.”
Hip Hop Demands Justice For George Floyd As Nationwide Riots Erupt
Floyd was killed on Monday (May 25) after Chauvin put his kneed on Floyd’s neck for roughly four minutes. He was ultimately pronounced dead at the Hennepin County Medical Center. In the wake of his death, protests and riots have erupted all over the country.
Eminem joins Ice-T, Common, Ice Cube, T.I., Chuck D, Snoop Dogg and many other Hip Hop artists who have clearly had enough.
Revisit “Untouchable” below and keep scrolling for the lyrics Genius.