Verified archive entry

Can-I-Bitch

By Eminem · Targeting Canibus

Can-I-Bitch is a diss track by Eminem targeting Canibus. The track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record.

Released2003

Annotated3

ExplicitYes

Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

01
[Intro]
02
(I, I wanna grow up too)
03
"Uncle Marshall, will you tell us a bedtime story?"
04
Here we go
05
[Verse 1]
06
Now, once upon a time not long ago
07
There was a little rapper about to blow
08
But his album came, and it was not good
09
I think it went lead or double copper-wood
10
So these silly little fans, they were misled
11
By a nerdy Internet computer hip-hop head
12
"Me and you, Clef, we're gonna make some cash"
13
"Grab this silver paint and let's paint my ass"
14
Hey, mister, would you care to bear witness to
15
The ass-whippin' I'm about to administer
16
To this ass-kissin' little vaginal blister?
17
Stanibus, little Marshall Mathers' sister
18
And in this corner, we have the "Mr
19
Not-Havin'-It," it's the Mad, sinister
20
Dr. Evil, with his bag of tricks for
21
This little antagonistic faggot
22
Dick-sucking ex-LL Cool J fan from Windsor
23
I'm 'bout to murder little Kenny-Fag-Kaniff-sta
24
You're bastard, I ain't wanna have to diss ya
25
Canibus, where the fuck you at? I miss ya
Block notePressures the target to answer
TargetCanibus
MeaningWhat it means: In “You're bastard, I ain't wanna have to diss ya,” Eminem treats Canibus' response, delay, or silence as part of the contest rather than a neutral choice. Why it was said: The track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record. By defining silence as concession, the line tries to control the timetable of the feud and force Canibus into replying on the artist's terms.
ContextThe track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record.
26
[Chorus]
27
Canibitch, oh, Canibitch
28
Wherefore art thou, Canibitch?
29
Please, tell me what happened with
30
That style that you were rappin' with?
31
Canibitch, oh, Canibitch
32
Are you from Los Angeles
33
New York, or just a janitor
34
From Canada? Oh, Canibitch
35
[Verse 2]
36
Now, at first, I ain't really understand this shit
37
Picture me, for a second, and imagine it
38
Chillin' in the Bat Mansion, relaxin', when
39
All of a sudden some bullshit comes across the scanners, it's
40
Canibitch, on some 'Stan Lives' shit
41
It creeped me out at first; man, this is sick
42
But me, bein' just as sick, this conflict
43
Gets my dick harder than arithmetic
44
And I know how you jealous ones envy
45
I shoulda knew better from the first few letters you sent me
46
The first two letters, you were tellin' me shit like
47
You respect me, like any other regular MC
48
The third letter, you asked how come I ain't return
49
None of the messages at Shady Records you left me
50
The fourth letter: "Slim, you're really startin' to upset me"
51
The fifth letter told me you were comin' to get me
52
The sixth letter, there's a bomb threat on our building
53
This crazy motherfucker's really tryna kill me
54
So I went back and read the first few letters that said
55
Some shit about a message you left
56
Oh shit, that's not a "E", that's an "A"
57
This dude wants to leave me a 'massage,' he's gay
58
Right away, I'm on the phone with Dr. Dre
59
"We got a bogey," "Marshall, I'm on the way"
60
[Chorus]
61
Canibitch, oh, Canibitch
62
Wherefore art thou, Canibitch?
63
Please, tell me what happened with
64
That style that you were rappin' with?
65
Canibitch, oh, Canibitch
66
Are you from Los Angeles
67
New York, or just a janitor
68
From Canada? Oh, Canibitch
69
[Verse 3]
70
So, in two seconds flat, Dre's at my crib
71
Only thing is, we both know where this kid lives
72
And neither one of us have Canadian citizenship
73
"Shit, oh, Dre, wait a minute, that's it
74
All we gotta do is use a bit of turbo-boost
75
We can fly over the border" "Let's Go", phoosh
76
So we're off to Toronto and we're gainin' speed
77
(Pff, "Uh") "What was that? Oh, Jermaine Dupri"
78
"Fuck it," keep goin', no time to waste
79
"Wait, back up, hit him one more time, in case"
80
"Okay," fuck, now he's draggin' under the car
81
"Oh well, only thirty more thousand miles"
82
Meanwhile, me and Dre are tryna conversate
83
Just tryna find a reason for the constant hate
84
And tryna figure out what happened to 'Germaine Propane'
85
"He couldn't have fell off that hard" Ain't no way
86
What happened to the way you was rappin'
87
When you was scandalous?
88
That Canibus turned into a television evangelist
89
Plus, he raps with his regular voice
90
(Puf, puf, puf, puf) "What was that?" "Pet Shop Boys"
91
So, we pull up to the bridge where he last was spotted
92
His corpse was still movin', but his ass was rotted
93
And he kinda smelled a little like Courtney Love
94
I figured if I stick him with a fork, he's done
95
So I stabbed him twice, kept jabbin'—Christ
96
He won't die, this guy's like a battered wife
97
He's like Kim: he keeps comin' back for more
98
But he won't fight back, I cracked his jaw
99
Hold up, 'Bis, quit foldin' up
100
Punch me in the chest, make my shoulders touch
101
Do something, at least one punchline
Block noteMakes the confrontation explicit
TargetCanibus
MeaningWhat it means: In “Hold up, 'Bis, quit foldin' up,” Eminem addresses Canibus directly and makes the situation described in the quoted line the point of confrontation. Why it was said: The track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record. Naming or plainly addressing Canibus removes the safety of a subliminal and makes the quoted claim something the target can either answer or leave standing.
ContextThe track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record.
102
Come on, 'til the meter reads nine, nine, nine-
103
Ty nine percent of my fans are blond
104
'Bis, come on, answer me, man, respond
105
Tell me 'bout the sun, rain, moon and stars
Block notePressures the target to answer
TargetCanibus
MeaningWhat it means: In “'Bis, come on, answer me, man, respond,” Eminem treats Canibus' response, delay, or silence as part of the contest rather than a neutral choice. Why it was said: The track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record. By defining silence as concession, the line tries to control the timetable of the feud and force Canibus into replying on the artist's terms.
ContextThe track is part of the long-running exchange between Eminem and Canibus, rooted in competitive claims and earlier references on record.
106
Intergalactical metaphors from Mars
107
Raw to the floor, raw like Reservoir Dogs
108
Bite another line from Redman's song
109
Suddenly, the stub of a dead man's arm
110
From a midget reaches out from under the car
111
It's J.D., this motherfucker won't die, neither
112
Dre starts sprayin' him with cans of ether
113
We swamped the bitch and then stomped the bitch again
114
"Compton" "Detroit, bitch, talk some shit again"
115
"Stomp him" "Switch feet" "Stomp him" "Switch again"
116
"Dre, all right, he's dead, dog, quit kickin' him
117
I think Stanibus jumped off the bridge again" ("Ahh")
118
"Damn," "He disappeared, yo, he's gone, he did it again"
119
[Chorus]
120
Canibitch, oh, Canibitch
121
Wherefore art thou, Canibitch?
122
Please, tell me what happened with
123
That style that you were rappin' with?
124
Canibitch, oh, Canibitch
125
Are you from Los Angeles
126
New York, or just a janitor
127
From Canada? Oh, Canibitch