Like Toy Soldiers
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"Like Toy Soldiers" is a song by American rapper
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, from his fifth album ''
Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...
'' (2004). The song received positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, and peaked at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Like Toy Soldiers" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in 12 countries, including Australia, Denmark, Germany, and New Zealand. The song samples the 1989 song "
Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...
" by
Martika Marta Marrero (born May 18, 1969), better known by her stage name Martika ( ), is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence as an actress, playing the role of Gloria in the television programme ''Kids Incorporated'' between 1984 ...
. It is the fourth single from the album. The song also appears on the '' Curtain Call: The Hits'' compilation released in 2005.


Content

The song finishes as Eminem offers a truce to his enemies. In addition, this song also reveals that Eminem had tried to stop
Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop rap, pop and contempo ...
's &
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
's feud, but lost it when he heard Ja Rule making fun of his daughter on a track called "Loose Change" – ("The Ja Shit, I tried to squash it, It was too late to stop it, There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it, I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it"). In the song "Loose Change", Ja Rule says Eminem claims his ex-wife is "a known slut" and his mother "a crackhead", and then asks him "so what's Hailie gonna be when she grows up?". As a result of this song, Eminem refused to get himself involved in some of 50 Cent's later feuds, including
Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...
,
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...
(both of whom he collaborated with in 2004), and The Game.


Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
highlighted the song. A positive overview came from J-23: ""Like Toy Soldiers" is among his best work here, from his production (complete with Martika sample), to his gripping recount, assessment and conclusion of the Benzino and Murder Inc beefs." ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' was also positive, calling it:
a public hand-wringing over the feuds that Em and 50 Cent have been drawn into, the consequences of these battles, and-- most importantly-- the toll they've taken, both physically and emotionally. The martial beat is a bit heavy-handed, but it's counterbalanced by the pleasantly surprising chorus' sample of Martika's "Toy Soldiers", perhaps a nod to either Kanye's helium-vocaled samples or the 00s trend toward trance-pop covers of 80s hits.
''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote a favorable review:
'Like Toy Soldiers’ is a case in point. The best track of this album, and probably any album this year, it should be appalling. It interpolates (by which we mean ‘steals’) the chorus to a long-forgotten ’80s power ballad by Martika, which would be a surefire route to disaster in anyone else’s hands. Instead, with its martial drumbeat, unashamedly vast-scale soft rock dynamics and that similarly monolithic chorus, it is perhaps hip-hop’s first genuine lighters-in-the-air stadium anthem. And yet it’s probably the most personal track on the album...as Em tries to draw a line under the various beefs he and his cohorts have been embroiled in. “Even though the battle was won/I feel like we lost it/I spent o much energyon it/Honestly I’m exhausted”, he admits. If the sheer volume and widescreen sweep of ‘Like Toy Soldiers’ is a cover for this exhaustion, then it sure works.
''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
Magazine'' described: "it's really mature, as when the Martika-sampling "Like Toy Soldiers" renounces battle rhyming and its deadly consequences." ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' noted: "A military drumbeat drives Like Toy Soldiers, in which Eminem offers an explanation for his beef with the Murder Inc. rap clique, The Source magazine and its rapper/owner Benzino, and his part in a dispute between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. He seems to wish none of it had ever happened, and he's ready to move on." RapReviews was less positive: "Continuing to wring out sympathy from his tear-soaked towel of a life, Eminem doubles-up with "Like Toy Soldiers," another self-produced, self-sorry introspection on the Slim Shady saga." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' was happy of sampling: "Like Toy Soldiers, about Ja Rule and Benzino, is similarly brilliant. Set to the album's one genuinely fantastic backing track, involving a military drumbeat and a sample from Martika's forgotten 1980s hit Toy Soldiers, its lyrics switch from truce-calling to belligerent indignation and back again, often in the space of one line." ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described:
" ikeToy Soldiers," scheduled to be the next single, recycles the 1980s pop hit by Martika so that Eminem can rehash his beefs with Ja Rule and the Source. But the vitriol is mainly gone, and he sounds sad and clear-eyed, ending the rhyme by proposing a truce: "It's not a plea that I'm coppin'/I'm just willing to be the bigger man/If y'all can uietpoppin'/Off at the jaws ith the knockin'/'Cause frankly I'm sick of talkin'/I'm not gonna let someone else's coffin/Rest on my conscience."
''
Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
'', however, is a bit negative: "perhaps you don’t mind that Em ruins maybe the best musical moment on the record, the Martika interpolation of “Like Toy Soldiers”, just so he can recapitulate ad nauseum '' ic' the details of his pitiful n-word controversy (and somehow indirectly blame Afrocentrism for his youthful idiocy)." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' was very critical of the song: "Instead of addressing other matters that extend beyond his immediate universe, he wastes time attacking his sworn enemies at ''The Source'' n both 'Like Toy Soldiers' and 'Yellow Brick Road'" ''
The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston Phoenix'', '' ...
'' called it a "self-knowing anti-anthem". ''
SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'', however, seemed to put the song in a different light: "On 'Like Toy Soldiers,' over a stirring, '
Jesus Walks "Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album ''The College Dropout'' (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus ...
'-style loop of Martika's doleful '80s hit, Eminem brings light, not heat, to a couple years' worth of beefs, from 50 Cent's feud with the Murder Inc. crew to Em's conflict with rapper Benzino and ''The Source''s edit staff, stating his case while resisting the urge to pour gas on any fires."


Music video

Released on December 3, 2004, the song's video starts with two young boys in a living room. Out of boredom the boy who lives there grabs a book called "Toy Soldiers" and says "I got this book, my dad gave it to me." As they open it up, the song's lyrics are on the page and the camera zooms into the book which quickly brings us into the action of the video. It begins at the hospital where Eminem and his circle are watching, in despair, as doctors are trying to save D12 member Bugz (played by fellow D12 member
Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...
). Eminem is then seen in a series of scenes rapping the song in a deserted alleyway, before the video goes through a series of scenes showing the various feuds mentioned in the song. They include seeing the news, rappers battling in studios, and street encounters. Near the end, Eminem stands shocked seeing the shooting of Bugz. It switches back to the hospital, where Bugz dies, and finishes at his funeral where a multi-ethnic choir of children start to sing. Cameo appearances in the video include
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
, Luis Resto,
Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...
,
Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He signed with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records, an imprint of Interscope Records in 2000 to release his first two albums, ''Cheers'' (2003) and '' Second Round's on Me' ...
, and D12. Deceased rappers including
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
,
The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...
,
Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Big L became known among underground hip-hop fans for his f ...
, and Bugz are also shown via animation at the end of the music video to show the fatal consequences of rap wars. In a case of life imitating art, Proof himself was shot and killed on April 11, 2006, after an altercation broke out at a nightclub in Detroit, Michigan. "In the year after
roof A roof (: roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of tempera ...
died," Eminem said in his memoir ''The Way I Am'', "I would stare at the ceiling and think about that video. Did karma cause that to happen in real life? Did I? You always want to point the finger at somebody else when something like that happens, you know?"


Track listing

;Notes * signifies an additional producer.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

* List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s


References


External links


Official song video
{{Authority control 2004 songs 2005 singles Eminem songs Contemporary R&B ballads European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Eminem Songs about violence Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Luis Resto (musician) Songs written by Martika Songs written by Michael Margules UK singles chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland Hip-hop feuds