by egirl » Jan 24th, '05, 20:49
Sway: There's some real beef you address on the album, particularly "Like Toy Soldiers." You break down the whole saga of the war of words between your camp, Ja Rule, the Inc. Records and The Source.
Eminem: "Toy Soldiers" is about walking away from the beef. Just like, "Look, I'm done. This is the last thing I've got to say, let me get this off my chest, and from our side, we're walking away from it. You guys can keep saying what you want to say and keep attacking us. Do your thing. If that's what you feel, if you want to spend all your energy and place it into one person instead of focusing on yourself, then do that." But that's my way of saying I'm turning my back on it.
Sway: In the song, you also say that you and Dre actually sat down with 50 before you signed him and told him he didn't have to respond to Ja.
Eminem: Yeah, we did. We sat down with 50 and we asked about the beef between him and Ja and he said everything was cool from his end. One of the things Dre said that stuck in my mind: "We don't want to buy a problem." You know, we're not really looking to start no beef. We're usually not the beef-starters, despite the little stabs taken at pop singers and all that stuff. That's not real beef; that's ha-ha-ha funny.
" 'Toy Soldiers' is about walking away from the beef. Just like, 'Look, I'm done. This is the last thing I've got to say' "...
Sway: On "Like Toy Soldiers," you talk about how your crew is so tight that you picked up 50's initial beef with Ja, and 50 picked up your beef with The Source.
Eminem: I got my beef over here, 50's got his beef with Ja. All of a sudden it seemed like everyone who hates us is teaming up. So then we started inheriting each other's beef. 50 inherited mine, so now he can't be on the cover of The Source magazine 'cause I got this beef over here. He's being attacked by Ja. Ja is saying things about me, then all of a sudden comes out and says a line about my daughter