Legacy (Eminem song)
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"Legacy" is a song by American rapper Eminem. It is the sixth track on his eighth studio album ''
The Marshall Mathers LP 2 ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on November 5, 2013 by Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. The album is Eminem's last to have the involvement of inde ...
'' (2013). The song discusses Eminem's dysfunctional childhood. The song was produced by American record producer
Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American music producer from Buffalo, New York. His range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with several prominent ar ...
and written by Eminem,
Polina Goudieva Polina, also known as Polina Gudieva, better known by her stage name Contessa, is an American-based, Russian-born singer-songwriter. She co-wrote and is featured on "Book of Love," her single with Felix Jaehn, which held the number one position on ...
, David Brook, and Emile Haynie. The song features additional vocals from Russian singer-songwriter Polina. "Legacy" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics upon the album's release. The song has since peaked at number 44 on the US ''Billboard''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
. "Legacy" became one of the official theme songs of
WrestleMania XXX WrestleMania XXX was the 30th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana and was the first WWE ...
.


Background and theme

The song primarily discusses Eminem's dysfunctional childhood upbringing in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. The theme of "Legacy" mirrors "
Lose Yourself "Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 motion picture '' 8 Mile''. The song was composed and produced by Eminem, longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers and Lui ...
" in explaining how important music was in directing the young Eminem's life. He cites Queens'
hardcore hip hop Hardcore hip hop (also hardcore rap) is a genre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Run-DMC, Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, it is generally ch ...
group
Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The ...
as an example of what he would listen to at the time. The song recounts how shy and awkward Eminem was as a child, even being shoved into a locker in school, and then details how he gained self-esteem and hope through rap. In the end, he discovers rapping is his legacy and that having his brain "wired differently" was worth it. Eminem has stated that he intended for the song to be "self-empowerment" for those whom nobody believed in. The song contains numerous football references, including
Brian Dawkins Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973) is an American former football safety who played 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Clemson and was drafted b ...
, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons,
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, the Body Bag Game, Dick Butkus, and
Brian Baldinger Brian David Baldinger (born January 7, 1959) is a former professional American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles. He covered Philadelphia Eagles pr ...
. Most notably, he mentions the Detroit Lions' 0–16 2008 season. Onyx's
Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay of ...
praised Eminem for mentioning the group. He also pointed out that it connected the two ''Marshall Mathers LP''s, as Onyx's Sticky Fingaz was featured on ''
The Marshall Mathers LP ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass ...
'' on the song "Remember Me?".


Composition

The start of "Legacy" was written during a session between singer-songwriter Polina and songwriter David Brook in New York City. A few months later, Polina visited Interscope executive Neil Jacobson, who, upon hearing the song, commanded her: "Don't play this for anyone. It's an Eminem record." The following week, Polina, and Brook joined Emile in the studio where he produced the song and then sent it to Eminem. Eminem wrote the rapped verses to the song, but left Polina's vocals untouched. The song's production and overall tone earned comparisons to Eminem's hit song " Stan". The rhyming words used in the song remain unchanged, as Eminem wanted to challenge himself.


Critical reception

"Legacy" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Andy Gill of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' highlighted "Legacy" as one of the album's best songs.
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
writing for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' said, " "Legacy" reprises the formula for ''The Marshall Mathers LP''-era hit "Stan" with introspective rhymes tied to a female vocal hook." Gabriel Alvarez of ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' stated, ""Legacy" is a unique entry in Eminem's catalog because it shows an emotional growth that Eminem didn't always seem capable of. He shoveled shit his entire life and often seemed unable to forgive his mother, his detractors, and ultimately himself for everything he had been through. Yet on "Legacy" he finally finds Eminem able to appreciate his great gift, even if it came at a great expense." Roman Cooper of
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...
credited "Legacy" for doing "a great job of carrying Em's wicked rhymes." Ryan Bassil of ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...
'' said, "Legacy" was, the perfect summation of an album that is both self-aware and introspective, but still brash and cleverly comedic." Melinda Newman of
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
gave the song a B− rating and said, "It’s as close as Eminem gets to a self-empowerment song." Josh Weiner of ''
The Tufts Daily ''The Tufts Daily'', known on campus as ''the Daily'', is the student newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The paper covers news, arts and sports both on campus and in the greater Boston area and allows members of th ...
'' stated, "Always renowned for his storytelling gifts, Eminem shows audiences what he’s made of with tracks like the introspective "Legacy". Matt Shinseki of '' Campus Times'' said, "Songs such as "Stronger Than I Was" and "Legacy" are unexpectedly profound reflections on how far Eminem has come from his troubled childhood in 8 Mile, Michigan. The lyrics in these tracks are reminiscent of some of his earliest work and are comforting for long-time fans that worry that Eminem may forget his roots." Jay Soul of RapReviews said, "Nobody can place himself within the psyche of bullied school kids like Marshall Mathers III, and "Legacy" provides a highlight - almost like the audio version of the "
No Love "No Love" is a song by American rapper Eminem, featuring fellow American rapper Lil Wayne, from Eminem's seventh studio album '' Recovery'' (2010). It was released as the third official single from the album. It impacted radio on October 5 ...
" video." Stephen Deusner of '' Paste'' stated, ""Legacy" seems like the most baffling anti-bullying anthem imaginable, at least until you realize it's about how you shouldn't bully Eminem." Christopher R. Weingarten of '' Spin'' compared "Legacy" to Eminem's previous more pop oriented album ''
Recovery Recovery or Recover may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Recovery'' (novel), a Star Wars e-book * Recovery Version, a translation of the Bible with footnotes published by Living Stream Ministry Film and television * ''Recovery'' (fil ...
'' and deemed it skippable. Mike Diver of '' Clash'' stated, "His ear for a great melody underpinning caustic wordplay remains in flashes, but it’s consistently overwhelmed by too many formulaic arrangements leaning on hooks from female vocalists. "Legacy" is a rudimentary rant balanced by a sweet contribution from Polina." Craig Jenkins of
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
said, ""Legacy" pulls all manner of cockamamie pronunciation gymnastics just so Eminem can end every line with the same rhyming syllables, and the song's decision to dispense with proper word accents and splay sentences haphazardly across the middle of lines makes for a flow that comes across overwrought and labored even as it plays Frankenstein with conventional word choice and rhyme patterns."


Chart performance


References

{{authority control 2013 songs Eminem songs Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Emile Haynie Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie Songs written by David Brook (songwriter)