Eminem has dropped a surprise 13-track album, but its arrival isn’t the only surprise. On Kamikaze’s opening track “The Ringer,” the rapper alleges that he was paid a visit by the United States Secret Service after his anti-Trump freestyles at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2017. And not, he senses, of their own volition:
But I know at least he’s heard it / ‘Cause Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service / To meet in person to see if I really think of hurtin’ him / Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists
Eminem also implied Trump put the Secret Service onto him because his verses were making him “a wee bit nervous” but that the president was too afraid to answer him with words, “’cause he knows that he will lyrically get murdered.” While there’s no doubt Eminem would destroy Trump in a rap battle, it’s unlikely Trump—a man known for having “the best words”—held his tongue for fear of getting lyrically owned. While the president has so far chosen not to respond to Eminem, his son has tried to get involved in the rap beef, tweeting last year “#WillTheRealLoserPleaseStandUp.” Good one, Junior.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Secret Service has paid attention to an Eminem lyric. Back in 2003, there was a Secret Service probe into his song “We Are American,” in which he rapped: “Fuck money, I don’t rap for dead presidents. I’d rather see the president [dead].” The official release censored the word “dead,” but a leaked uncensored version prompted a routine investigation into the potential threat against George W. Bush.
Eminem also added that he would show more sympathy for his Trump-supporting fans if he could redo his BET cypher, in which he rapped “any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his, I’m drawing in the sand a line, you either for or against.” On “The Ringer” he added:
But if I could go back I’d at least reword it / And say I empathize with the people this evil serpent / Sold the dream to that he’s deserted
