Great Song, but......
da-DK-krew | 03/03/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is probably the best song on the Encore album, it is socially-engaged and lyrically brilliant. The beat might feel a bit unoriginal since the people in the Shady Camp have exploited the "soldier" theme a bit excessively (both musically and in lyrical content). Nonetheless, if there are 3 songs on Encore worth you time, this is surely one of them.
On the other hand, all Eminem singles are a waste of money in the sense that they have nothing to back the main song, no remix, no b-side, nothing of interest. As you can plainly see in this case, you get Just Lose It as a B-side, which is hilarious since Just Lose It was the first single on its own. Eminem has a number of recent ureleased songs which circulate the net in low quality, he definitely should consider putting them on future singles or else they will remain so blatantly unattractive to buy."
An insight into rap
J. Gozney | UK | 05/23/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Eminem has excelled himself with this track. He has successfully released a song appealing to the world of rap to walk away from the 50 Cent/Ja Rule beef (which is basically an ongoing fight between rap artists, and sometimes gets so out of hand that it includes record companies). 50 Cent is Eminem's protege and releases his music, so although Eminem has a vested interest in this particular feud, his words reach further than this one conflict.
If you listen to rap just for the beat then you won't be disappointed, but if you hear more than just that in the songs then the the lyrics preach a great message. The rap world has has lost enough "soldiers" to quote Eminem, and if this dispute between Ja and 50 Cent escalates further, then one of them will probably end up dead. That is no overstatement (50 Cent was stabbed by Lorenzo, who owns Murder Inc., the same record company who produces Ja Rule's music, and was shot 9 times in 2000).
This song has been heard and will continue to be heard by millions, spreading the message far and wide. The clever use of the children constrasting starkly with the reality of the warfare he raps about is genius. A violent and moving video accompanies it ennuciating his lyrics.
A fantastic track, and listen carefully to the words - it is worth taking something away from this."