Verified archive entry

The Warning

By Eminem · Targeting Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon

The Warning is a diss track by Eminem targeting Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.

Released2009

Annotated10

ExplicitYes

Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

01
[Intro: Eminem]
02
Only reason I dissed you in the first place
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Is 'cause you denied seeing me, now I'm pissed off
04
[Verse 1: Eminem]
05
Sit back, homie, relax, in fact, grab a six pack
06
Kick back while I kick facts, yeah, Dre, sick track
07
Perfect way to get back, wanna hear something wick-wack?
08
I got the same exact tat that's on Nick's back
Block noteMakes the confrontation explicit
TargetNick Cannon
MeaningWhat it means: In “I got the same exact tat that's on Nick's back,” Eminem addresses Nick Cannon directly and makes the situation described in the quoted line the point of confrontation. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. Naming or plainly addressing Nick Cannon removes the safety of a subliminal and makes the quoted claim something the target can either answer or leave standing.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
09
I'm obsessed now, oh gee
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Is that supposed to be me in the video with the goatee?
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Wow Mariah, didn't expect you to go balls out
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Bitch, shut the fuck up 'fore I put all them phone calls out
Block noteUses gendered or sexual humiliation
TargetMariah Carey
MeaningWhat it means: In “Wow Mariah, didn't expect you to go balls out,” Eminem uses gendered or sexual language to question Mariah Carey's masculinity or humiliate the target in front of the audience. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. The tactic tries to trigger an emotional reply and damage Mariah Carey's public image, even though the framing itself can reproduce homophobic or sexist stereotypes.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
13
You made to my house when you was wildin' out before Nick
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When you was on my dick and give you something to smile about
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How many times you fly to my house, still tryin' to count
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Better shut your lyin' mouth if you don't want Nick findin' out
Block noteUses gendered or sexual humiliation
TargetNick Cannon
MeaningWhat it means: In “When you was on my dick and give you something to smile about,” Eminem uses gendered or sexual language to question Nick Cannon's masculinity or humiliate the target in front of the audience. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. The tactic tries to trigger an emotional reply and damage Nick Cannon's public image, even though the framing itself can reproduce homophobic or sexist stereotypes.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
17
You probably think 'cause it's been so long
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If I had something on you I woulda did it by now
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Oh, on the contrary, Mary Poppins, I'm mixin' our studio session down
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And sendin' it to masterin' to make it loud
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Enough dirt on you to murder you
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This is what the fuck I do; Mariah it ever occur to you
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That I still have pictures? However you prefer to do
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And that goes for Nick too, faggot, you think I'm scurred of you?
Block noteUses gendered or sexual humiliation
TargetMariah Carey
MeaningWhat it means: In “And that goes for Nick too, faggot, you think I'm scurred of you?,” Eminem uses gendered or sexual language to question Mariah Carey's masculinity or humiliate the target in front of the audience. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. The tactic tries to trigger an emotional reply and damage Mariah Carey's public image, even though the framing itself can reproduce homophobic or sexist stereotypes.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
25
You're gonna ruin my career, you better get one
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Like I'ma sit and fight with you over some slut bitch cunt
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That made me put up with her psycho ass over six months
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And only spread her legs to let me hit once, yeah
Block noteUses career results as evidence
TargetMariah Carey
MeaningWhat it means: In “You're gonna ruin my career, you better get one,” Eminem turns releases, sales, label standing, or career momentum into a public measurement of Mariah Carey's position. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. The artist invokes an external scoreboard so listeners can compare Mariah Carey's claims with visible results, making status something that can be disproved rather than merely debated.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
29
What you gonna say, I'm lucky? Tell the public that I was so ugly
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That you fuckin' had to be drunk to fuck me?
31
Second base, what the fuck you tell Nick, Pumpkin?
32
The second week we were dry humpin', that's gotta count for somethin'
Block noteTurns the target into a visual punchline
TargetNick Cannon
MeaningWhat it means: In “What you gonna say, I'm lucky? Tell the public that I was so ugly,” Eminem reduces Nick Cannon to an exaggerated physical caricature instead of engaging the target's preferred public image. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. A visual insult is easy for an audience to remember and repeat; the goal is to make ridicule of Nick Cannon travel beyond the song itself.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
33
Listen, girly, surely you don't want me to talk about how I nutted early
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'Cause I ejaculated prematurely
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And bust all over your belly and you almost started hurling
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And said I was gross, go get a towel, your stomach's curling
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Or maybe you do
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But if I'm embarrassin' me, I'm embarrassin' you and don't you dare say it isn't true
39
As long as that song's gettin' airplay, I'm dissin' you
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I'm a hair away from gettin' carried away and gettin' sued
41
I was gonna stop at sixteen, that was thirty-two
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This is thirty-four bars, we ain't even third of the way through
43
Damn Slim, Mariah played you, Mariah who?
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Oh did I say "whore," Nick? I meant a liar too (Ha)
Block noteUses a pointed question as an accusation
TargetMariah Carey
MeaningWhat it means: In “Damn Slim, Mariah played you, Mariah who?,” Eminem puts Mariah Carey's conduct on trial through a question that is meant as a challenge, not a neutral request for information. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. The question shifts the burden onto Mariah Carey: any answer must accept the premise raised in the lyric or explain why that premise is false.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
45
Like I've been goin' off on you all this time
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For no reason, girl, you out your alcoholic mind
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Check your wine cellar, look at the amounts of all the wine
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Like I fuckin' sit around and think about you all the time
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I just think this shit is funny when I pounce you on a rhyme
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But fuck it, now I'm 'bout to draw the line
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And for you to cross it, that's a mountain that I doubt you wanna climb
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I can describe areas of your house you wouldn't find
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On an episode of Cribs, a blow below the ribs
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If I hear another word so don't go openin' your jibs
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'Cause every time you do it's like an overload of fibs
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I ain't sayin' this shit again, ho, you know what it is
Block noteTreats the target's persona as fabricated
TargetMariah Carey
MeaningWhat it means: In “'Cause every time you do it's like an overload of fibs,” Eminem says Mariah Carey's public story or image is false rather than a reliable account of who the target is. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. Once the persona is presented as invented, the boasts and accusations built on it become easier for listeners to dismiss.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
57
It's a warning shot, 'fore I blow up your whole spot
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Call my bluff and I'll release every fuckin' thing I got
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Includin' the voicemails right before you flipped your top
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When me and Luis were tryin' to stick two CDs in the same slot
Block noteImagines the battle as physical destruction
TargetMariah Carey
MeaningWhat it means: In “It's a warning shot, 'fore I blow up your whole spot,” Eminem converts lyrical defeat into death, shooting, burial, or bodily harm directed at Mariah Carey. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. The violent image makes the response sound final: instead of proposing an endless exchange, the artist depicts Mariah Carey as unable to return for another round.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
61
[Interlude: Mariah Carey]
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Slim Shady, artful dodger
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Slim Shady, artful dodger
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[Verse 2: Eminem & Mariah Carey]
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(I love you) I love you, too
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Let me whisper sweet nothings into your ear, boo
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Now what you say? (It's nothing) Yeah, so what I'll do
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Is refresh your memory when you said (I want you)
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Now should I keep goin' or should we call truce?
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(You think you're cute, right?) You bet your sweet ass I do
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(I'm Mary Poppins, baby) And I'm Superman, ooh
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(Mary P; Slim Shady) Comin' at you
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So if you'll still be my (Baby girl)
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Then I'll still be your (Superhero)
75
(Oh and Em?) Yeah, I'm right here
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(You like this) Nope, not anymore, dear
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It cuts like a (Knife) when I tell you get a (Life)
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But I'm movin' on with mine, Nick, is that your (Wife)
79
Well tell her to shut her mouth then I'll leave her alone
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If she don't (Stick to the script) then I'ma just keep goin'
Block noteMakes the feud personal through family
TargetNick Cannon
MeaningWhat it means: In “But I'm movin' on with mine, Nick, is that your (Wife),” Eminem brings a relative or family boundary into the exchange with Nick Cannon, moving the dispute beyond music and into private life. Why it was said: The record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs. Family references explain why the conflict feels personal: they raise the emotional cost for Nick Cannon and make the line more consequential than a routine comparison of rap skill.
ContextThe record is part of Eminem's public dispute with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon over competing accounts of an alleged relationship and later response songs.
81
Damn
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[Outro: Mariah Carey]
83
I see Mary Ann, Mary Ann's saying cut the tape
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Cut the tape, knife