I’m really late on this song, but I wanted to say something about it anyway. It’s obvious Eminem hasn’t had as much to say since his comeback in 2009 with Relapse – while there’s still plenty of emotive storytelling and personal struggles in his music, there’s also a lot of ‘rapping for rapping’s sake’ songs as well, which wasn’t as prevalent in his early work.
‘Guts Over Fear’, however, is one of the few tracks he’s made since his comeback that is absolutely on par with his SSLP-Eminem Show work. Rarely have we seen an artist so vulnerable and self-aware as Em is on this track, which finds the legend discussing his place in the music world, unsure of himself and his future. I can’t think of another artist who has so openly expressed his fears of repeating himself and who acknowledges that his peak is gone, and now he’s just in it for fun, like Guts Over Fear does. This is a man at peace with himself and his demons, who’s mined every emotion he possibly can at this point, and who is now happy that he’s left a great legacy and impact on the world. It’s fucking brave on a whole other level, because everything he’s saying here is everything people have been saying about him for years now – many artists live in a self-imposed bubble, but he knows, maybe better than anyone, where his shortcomings lie and how to turn them into strengths.
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