Published on 26, May 2023

Eminem's Vegan Awakening? Gaia's Eye’s “Lyrical Letter” Goes Viral On The Way to The Real Marshall Mathers

While both diss tracks and tribute songs both have a long history in the tradition of hip-hop, Eminem now finds himself in the sights of a more unique form of musical outreach. In a viral music video/lyrical letter that was inspired by one of Eminem’s most iconic songs, Stan (itself with an English language impact large enough to land it in Oxford and Miriam-Webster dictionaries), Toronto-based hip-hop artist Gaia’s Eye makes the case for Eminem to not just go vegan, but to start using his platform to speak up for the most bullied beings on the planet: animals.

While the idea may at first seem like it’s coming completely out of left field, if Eminem were to switch to a plant-based lifestyle he’d be joining a long list of ‘greens-minded’ rap stars. Starting with his friend and mentor Dr. Dre, and going all the way back to legends like KRS-One, The Wu Tang Clan, Dead Prez, Styles P and Jadakiss, the late Nipsey Hussle, A$AP Rocky, and Black Eyed Peas’ frontman Will.i.am. 

Eminem taking a socially conscious stance may surprise listeners more familiar with the “shock rap” lyrics that have garnered so much controversy over the years, but it certainly wouldn’t be out of the ordinary when looking at what The Real Marshall Mathers has been up to in recent years.

From donating approximately $180 million to help underprivileged youth in his hometown of Detroit, to placing his morals over his bank account by sacrificing a significant amount of his fanbase to speak out against former President Trump and racism at the BET Awards, it’s clear Eminem doesn’t just “talk the talk” on the social issues he holds close to heart, but is also not afraid to “put his money where his mouth is” so to speak.  In the tragic and moving song “Darkness” he also doesn’t shy away from taking a stance on mass shootings and gun issues that is sure to anger the more Republican-leaning portions of his fanbase.

But it is his metamorphosis on LGBT issues over the years that is perhaps the most pronounced, beginning with his transformative friendship with Elton John, to his famous cameo in Seth Rogen’s The Interview, to giving LGBT artist Young M.A. the first slot on his recent album, it’s clear Marshall Mathers the person is not entirely as ruthless and heartless as his famous evil alter ego, Slim Shady.

It’s an appeal to that compassion, and the ability to change one’s beliefs and actions that is at the core of Gaia’s Eye’s message to Eminem. He connects the dots from the vicious bullying that Marshall endured during his childhood, to the abuse endured by equally innocent and defenseless young animals in our modern food system:

“Cause there’s billions dying everyday

And ain’t no one defending them

Everybody knows it’s wrong

Yet we still pretending then

Dismembering them

Then will anyone remember them?

Imagine if they had a friend like Eminem

To vocalize all the screams suppressed

To turn these beings to flesh

Buried in our bodies’ depths

They really want me to believe 

These meals are blessed?

When we pay people to be demons to the defenseless…”

In a plain English “P.S.” at the end of the music video, which employs AI to feature a few quotes in the voice of Eminem himself, Gaia’s Eye crunches the numbers on what the consequences would be if Eminem inspired just 1% of his fans to switch to plant-based meats and protein sources. While the amount of land, fresh water, and Greenhouse Gas savings would be shockingly substantial, the statistic that stands out most is that just 1% of Eminem’s fans going vegan would save the lives of approximately 75 million animals per year.

While on a recent business trip to Detroit for his Animal Rights-dedicated company Vegan Brain Food, Gaia’s Eye (whose real name Gabriel Nicolau, but who goes by Gabriel Nadler, his original Jewish family name that had to be changed due to anti-Semitism in his father’s Romania) recently filmed a follow up video to reach the notoriously difficult-to-reach celebrity.  That 90 second Instagram Reel (which has reached over 100,000 people at publication) speaks directly to some of Eminem’s best friends and musical collaborators like Snoop Dogg, Denaun Porter and his vegan D-12 bandmate, Kuniva, in an effort to get them to help their friend Marshall to “live long and prosper”.

While it’s not known if Mathers himself has seen the music video yet (Eminem rarely gives interviews or speaks publicly outside of his music), he did recently add “Mom’s Spaghetti with vegan meatballs” (a direct quote from the spoken part at the end of Gaia’s Eye’s music video) to the menu of his new Detroit restaurant which is named after the famous line in “Lose Yourself”.  For a rapper notorious for his subliminal messaging, perhaps this is the first sign that The GOAT may be taking a hint from real-life goats, and giving plants a chance.