I need a doctor

by Lon on February 23, 2011

If you saw the 2011 53rd annual Grammys you may have caught a debut performance of I Need A Doctor in a medley with Rihanna, Eminem, Dr Dre, & Skylar Grey. “I need a doctor” is Dr. Dre’s single, but Eminem does the bulk of the lyrical work, while Skylar Gray does the chorus and Dre closes out the last few verses

A few things we can all learn from Eminem

Honor those who’ve made you who you are. Eminem is by far a bigger superstar than Dr. Dre is these days and yet Eminem makes this a tribute song to Dr. Dre. He raps about how he’d be nothing without Dre, who risked his career and believed in him when no one else did.

Giving credit where it’s due is rare these days. We all want to be self-made heroes, but the reality is that for many of us there were others who paved the way ahead of us.

Tell stories that are true of your life. This is typical with Eminem – openly declaring his own failure, neglect as a parent, and addictions is trademark with him. Despite admitting to being a physically abusive husband, his transparency earns him grace amid his flaws.

In “I need a doctor’, Eminem shares of how Dr. Dre seems to be struggling, possibly due to the loss of his son. He brings up Dr. Dre becoming indecisive, second guessing himself, having lost his way. It’s easy to sing and talk about ideas and concepts; revealing truth and brokenness is a whole other story.

Draw humanity out of people. The very best line of the entire song is when Eminem screams out “I demand you remember who you are“.

This statement is loaded, and I doubt many of us have ever uttered a phrase like this to another person. Eminem comes from a place of power and yet he cries in desperation for this broken ‘doctor’ to bring him back to life.

What would it look like if we actively drew the beauty out of others?

I’d like to insist on others being all they can be, but I’m afraid the only way I could say it with integrity is if I were trying as well. I could use a doctor…