Customer Reviews

Like Toy Soldiers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I know there are a lot of people who didn't like this song when it came out but I did like it because it was what I have come to term as a "smart-to-the-heart" rap song.

It's got explicit lyrics, and the video is quite violent, showing the death of a vibrant young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Despite the use of strong language in the lyrics this song has such poignancy about it, especially the way that it is sung by Eminem along with the wonderful backing chorus of the children of all races who are standing there at the young man's funeral, clad in choir garb singing "Like Toy Soldiers..." over and over again in a haunting serenade.

It is a catchy tune, the video is well made and Eminem as usual gives it is all. It obvious he is a man torn in two, he wants to be good father to his daughter but he also wants to look out for his crew in a world death is only a gunshot away.

Another intelligent song from a surprisingly intelligent young man who can touch the hearts of his audience whilst shocking them to the core at the same time.

Excellent.

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.

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.

beat good
lyrics good
but was this based on something that happened to him like the death of someone in his clan or even Dr. Dre

I dont know anything bout dr dre so i dont know if he is dead or not

...and hand over the production duties to Dre. Or anybody else, for that matter. All of Eminem's beats sound EXACTLY alike: anemic melodies, too much snare patter - it's becoming way too redundant, to the point where you start singing "Lose Yourself" whenever you hear an Eminem beat. Eminem also seems to get a bit lazy when it comes to the hooks, sometimes sampling the ENTIRE thing directly from another song, which happens to be the case in "Like Toy Soldiers".

Only thing different about the beat in Like Toy Soldiers is the tired drum-march beat, which works okay with the context of the song, and the sampled hook, but it doesn't really sound any good. Em's lyrics are fine here (that means they're not as f'ed up as usual) - in this track he touches on his beef with Benzino, 50 Cent's old beef with Ja Rule, etc.

Eminem tries to pull out one of his trademark melodramatic tracks here, but he's done it before so many times, and the production is so weak that you can't help but overlook this single.

This song is not the worst with a good beat which is probably the only good element of the song, it is like a drum beat for this song.

The lyrics ain't tight or interesting he just asks for peace and then attacks Ja and Murder inc. (lyrically).

I don't know what happened to his lyrics, he used to be a tight rapper with funny lyrics but know he just raps with his boy 50 (who sucks) and all those.

The chorus is just wack and has an annoying voice to it. Also the video is gay and instead of this you should buy some quality rap like rakim, canibus, Talib kweli which has better lyrics and is better.

N Thats all I have 2 say about that SHIT

This is one of the two good beats I have heard him make with the Cross being the other one but he is a the worst producer of all time he sounds like a Imitation of the Neptunes let alone Dre.Then kis lyrics come on and are completely contradictory and hypicritical.I don't think I have hated many this bad lyrically it is complete hypocricy.He wants peace then he attacks Ja Rule.These fools looked bad in those whole battle and prooved they will loose to Nas when they battle him.Where is that Eminem that was a Freestyle champ at.