The 2002 hit "Lose Yourself" is perhaps one of Eminem's most inspirational songs to date. However, the song's lyrics are actually about the fictional character Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr., whom Eminem happened to play in the 2002 movie "8 Mile," per Song Meanings + Facts. The song won an Oscar for best original song, making it the first hip-hop song to receive the honor. The song's lyrics highlight some of B-Rabbit's struggles as a white rapper as he goes against all odds to gain the respect of his fellow peers, with some similar parallel's to Eminem's own life, as he told Rolling Stone in 1999. "As soon as I grabbed the mike, I'd get booed," he said. "Once motherf***ers heard me rhyme, though, they'd shut up."
Explaining his own writing process, the rapper told Detroit Metro Times in 2009, "When I put it down on paper, and when I say it in the studio, it's always been therapy for me. You know? It's like this is what I'm feeling. This is what I wanna say. And this is how I'm gonna get it out. And, you know, you put it out there to the world and whoever listens, listens. And if nobody listens, that's fine too."
While "Lose Yourself" might be two decades old, the song has gotten a reboot of sorts and for this reason, too.
