Like Toy Soldiers

"Like Toy Soldiers" is a song by American rapper Eminem, from his fifth album Encore (2004). "Like Toy Soldiers" received positive reviews from music critics, and peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the United States, "Like Toy Soldiers" topped the charts in the United Kingdom and peaked within the top 10 of the charts in 12 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. The song samples "Toy Soldiers" by Martika. "Like Toy Soldiers" tells the story of Eminem's attempts to calm a violent community of rappers. Eminem speaks openly about problems with The Source magazine and its editor Benzino, as well as the situation between 50 Cent and Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc., which Eminem felt went far beyond the Jay Z vs. Nas feud. 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 & 50 Cent'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 then 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?". "Like Toy Soldiers" was later included on Eminem's compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits in 2005. Throughout his career, Eminem, at most, only alludes to Suge Knight, completing a line in this song, "my intentions were good, I went through my whole career without ever mentioning -." Styles P used the instrumental version in his song "Soldiers Song", in 2006. As a result of this song, Eminem refused to get himself involved in some of 50 Cent's later feuds, including Jadakiss, Fat Joe (both of whom he collaborated with in 2005), and The Game. Released on December 3, 2004, the song's video starts with two young boys, one who is white and one who is black, reading a book called "Toy Soldiers," which contains the lyrics of this song. It begins at the hospital where Eminem and other rappers are watching, in despair, the doctors trying to save D12 member Bugz (played by fellow D12 member Proof), who was killed in 1999. 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, which has a choir in which the black child and the white child from when Martika starts to sing. Cameo appearances in the video include 50 Cent, Luis Resto, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, and D12. Dead rappers include Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Big L, and Bugz are also shown in animation form 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.