About This Episode.
This entry is a special edition of Eminem's most underrated songs series. This week we will be breaking down and comparing Drips and Maxine through multiple categories. The winner will be decided in the comments, and the results will be posted in next week's edition of Eminem's most underrated songs. The songs are located to the beat section of this post.
Story
The story of Maxine is a morality tale, and it is actually pretty cleverly constructed. It starts with Denaun calling Maxine and Maxine attempting to seduce him. Then the song pauses and gives us background on who Maxine is. Eminem tells us that Maxine is a crack fiend who sleeps around and has STI's and a sugar daddy who sleeps around with hookers. On top of that, Maxine has her face done. He then informs the listener that she will sleep with you if you press the issue, but she will also try and charge you for it, and if you do not have condoms, you will surely get something from her. He leaves off by saying that he will have no sympathy for you if you don't listen and sleep with her anyway.
We learn from Denaun that Maxine has three kids, but she is club hopping every night, and she says she wants to be with Denaun but shows zero signs of cutting off her rotation of guys.
In the last verse, we get an interaction with Maxine from another Rapper named 3. He picks up Maxine, and it goes precisely as Eminem told us it would in the first verse. 3 hits on her, she disses him, but then he presses the issue, and she apologizes, and they exchange numbers talk over the phone she then invites 3 back to her place. Then just before the act, Maxine reveals that she has AIDS, just like Eminem warned us about in the first verse. 3 leaves her, and we cut back to the phone call between Denaun and Maxine.
Denaun seems to be playing into Maxine's seductions, asking her for oral sex, but then she asks him to pay her to do it just as Eminem warned she would in the first verse. That is when Denaun tells her that he heard she had AIDS. Maxine tries to play it off, asking where he heard that bullshit from. However, Denaun reveals it was his friend whom he trusts who told him. Maxine reveals that if she has it, then so does his friend. However, we know they did not sleep together. At this point, Denaun decides Maxine only wants money and does not care whom she hurts, so he decides not to mess with Maxine, and the track ends.
Drips is an interesting story. As far as I can tell, Drips is a fictionalized account of Eminem's personal relationship with Kim and her infidelity. It can be looked at as a sequel to Maxine, in my opinion. Maxine is an example of a girl everyone knew about, but Drips is a random/wife.
The song starts with Obie and Em, and Obie is not doing well, and when Em asked him about it, Obie tells him a story about Denise from the cleaners. Obie says she was beautiful, and they had a great date and fantastic sex, but he did not wear protection, and she mysteriously disappeared in the morning, leaving him with an STI.
Eminem fills in some blanks because apparently, Denise is his girl Who has been sleeping around while he was away on tour. Eminem and Denise are fighting. She wants a divorce, and she is pregnant but not newly pregnant like she is having the baby in a month. Denise tells Eminem the baby is his, but Eminem finds out it is not. If that was not bad enough, Eminem finds out that Denise slept with his friend Obie and now both Obie and Eminem have gotten an STI from her.
Lyrics
"I know this crack fiend Maxine who needs a vaccine
She tests positive but tells you that her act's clean "- Eminem
This is a dope stream of rhymes Crack fiend-Maxine-vaccine-act clean. Also, the double Entre on act. Maxine says she is clean but has tested positive, and she says she has her act together but is still having risky sex and engaging in other risky behaviors.
"Sizin' up the figure, while my shit gettin' bigger
Debatin on a fuck or do I want to be her nigga?"-Obie Trice
This one has a nice Rhyme "Sizin up the figure-shit-gettin bigger-do i want to be her nigga" Also, the way he pronounces the last word makes it fit seamlessly even though looking at it, you would not think it would work. This line is concise and expressive. Obie is saying she was so attractive and things were going so well that Obie was ready to be her guy instead of making this a one-time thing.
"So I went for my protection, took off my clothes and started flexingAs she went for my midsection"-3
I like the Rhyme of Protection- flexing-midsection. Also, this a creative and concise way to tell the story. It shows off some of 3's character and advances the story seamlessly.
"what's she shovin' me for? (Bitch!) Doesn't she love me no more?
Wasn't she huggin' me four minutes ago at the door"-Eminem
This line really shows off the core of em's entire verse. Eminem is angry, confused, and completely caught off guard with everything hitting him at the moment. Basically, Em thought they were good and in love, but now everything has changed, and he does not fully understand it.
"If you mistook her sadly, on her reputation
You're in jeopardization, if you ain't got no preparation"- Eminem
Dope rhyme Reputation -jeopardization- preparation. Also, these two lines are a microcosm of the entire song. Maxine is bad news, and if you ignore all warnings and proceed ahead without caution, you are in jeopardy.
"What would you do if she was tellin' you she wants a divorce?
She's havin' another baby in a month and it's yours"-Eminem
I like this lyric because it just piles on The circumstances in rapid succession like imagine you are about to get divorced, but before you can even contemplate that, your soon to be ex-wife tells you she is having a baby, and she says it is yours. That is a lot. Also, Em does a good job drawing the listener in and putting them in his shoes to understand his mental state during this verse.
"Looking provocative, she'll let you knock it if
You press the issue and get undressed to kiss you
If you match the price, otherwise she won't look at you twice"
The rhymes in this one are pretty smooth. Provocative-knock it if and press the issue-undressed to kiss you and match the price/Otherwise(near rhyme)-look at you twice. This lyric is good storytelling by em concisely telling us she charges for sex while also quickly communicating that is all she cares about because, without money, she will not look at you twice.
"Now the plot is thickenin' worse
‘Cause you feel like you've been stickin' your fuckin' dick in a hearse"
I like the transition of now the plot is thickening worse. Also, it is a very creative way of describing being scared that you contracted an STI. Sticking your dick in a hearse cause your actions could result in your death. This could also be a reach, but it sounds like hers when you hear Eminem say hearse. Maybe there is a second meaning that she has actually been fucking him all this time by infecting him.
"But when you catch the lice, or get the urgency
To go to the emergency cause it burns to pee
Don't bring your germs to me, cause I ain't trying to hear it"
Nice rhymes here Urgency-Emergency-burns to pee-germs to me. Also, a nice finish to the verse where Em is being persuasive, saying not if, but when you get infected from messing with Maxine, do not come to me cause I warned you.
"When you see her, you gon' bend her fuckin' neck back, yo
'Cause you love her, you never would expect that blow"-Eminem
This lyric illustrates the song's complex emotion of being so angry at someone while still loving them and being completely blindsided and hurt by their deep betrayal.
Beat
Drips has a really fun infectious bounce on it. It also has some interesting instrumentation. It has some Shady violins, and this cool rising strum sound like bumm bUMM BUMMM x3 its a really interesting beat.
Maxine, on the other hand, has a really cool and smooth feel. A simple snare and a repeating sound effect that rings over the track like a calming bell.
Who wins?
You decide in comments below. Based on these three Categories who won?
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