Foolish Pride Lyrics

[Intro: Eminem & Manix]
Yo man, yo Marsh, man
Yo, you've been kickin' all this shit about yourself
What of the homies, man?

Oh, you want one about the posse? Alright

[Chorus: Eminem]
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride

[Verse: Eminem]
Well, foolish pride has a lot of things to say
You got foolish pride, like you got tooth decay
But tooth decay is another problem
So let's take this ole foolish pride problem and solve it
Now, when I talk about foolish pride
I mean blacks and whites taking different sides
When blacks and whites take different sides
Unity never happens
, and we will subside
We will subside and hatred will release
And everything will just crush that peace
But when we crush that peace, you see we start hatin' each other
But remember, you are my brother
And you are my sister, just like I'm a mister
I seen a black girlfriend and I kissed her
I kissed her, I placed it on her cheek
And she didn't come back till next week
Now it was next week and she was back again
Wanting to kiss a white kid
So she was my girlfriend, we started going out
But that's okay because we were black and white
Blacks and whites sometimes mix
But black girls only want your money 'cause they're dumb chicks
So I'ma say like this
Don't date a black girl, take it as a diss
If you want, but if you don't
I'ma tell you like this, I surely won't
Never date a black girl because blacks only want your money

And that shit ain't funny
So I'ma say, "Look, honey
Why do you do this?
You know, you step up to me like you a Brutus
Then you try to grab my spinach
Because it's green and that's cash

So get outta here, 'cause I don't need your ass"
I said that before
But that's okay because, like I said, you're a whore
Black girls and white girls just don't mix
Because black girls are dumb and white girls are good chicks
White girls are good, I like white girls
I like white girls all over the world
White girls are fine and they blow my mind
And that's why I'm here now telling you this rhyme
'Cause black girls, I really don't like
We don't mix, it's like riding a bike
When you're peddling hard, uphill both ways
You know it's kinda hard and that's why I say to you
I'm giving you a little advice
Don't date a black girl, if you do it once, you won't do it twice
You won't ever do it again because they'll take your money
And that ain't funny, so I'ma say, "Look, honey"
I've already said that before
But like I said again, you're nothing but a big whore
So when Mike catch on the bass line
That's okay 'cause we will not just waste time
I'll get straight to the point, black girls are bitches
That's why I'ma tell you, you better pull up your britches
'Cause all that cash is making your ass drag
From the boyfriend you ganked and that's pretty bad
I mean, that's pretty sad when you're dating a black guy
And then you turn around and fuck another big black guy
Now that's pretty wrong, but you're just ganking
But that's okay because you need a god damn spanking
From me, the funky M&M
I'm busting rhymes and I'm swallowing phlegm
I'm busting a freestyle just like this
I say, "swallowing phlegm" and Howard gets pissed
But when Howard gets pissed, that's okay
Because he leaves and he doesn't show up for two more days
So I'll just worry about that problem when I come to it
I'll cross that bridge when I come to it
'Cause— I forgot the chorus
But that's okay 'cause y'all saying, "Bust a rhyme for us"
So I'ma bust another rhyme about this black girl
She turned out to be a fuckin' wack girl
A wack girl, because black girls ain't funny
All they want is your goddamn money
They take you for everything you've got
And then you stand with a bunch of snot in your hand
So I'ma kick it to you just like this
How does the chorus go? I forgot
But that's okay, 'cause I'ma tell you in stride
I'ma say, "Ole foolish pride"
[Chorus: Eminem]
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Ole foolish pride, oh, oh, oh
Date a white girl, 'cause they got the raw hide

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About

Genius Annotation

Recorded in spring of 1990, “Foolish Pride” was unearthed by The Source magazine in late 2003 along with “So Many Styles.” DJ Butter Fingers had put the two tracks onto a compilation tape which fell into the hands of his colleague, Aaron Nieman. Nieman then handed it to Ronald Bolos who sold the tracks to The Source.

Both songs were presented to the public in an effort to portray Eminem as a racist, motivated by the fact Eminem had an ongoing beef with The Source owners Ray Benzino and Dave Mays, that started in 2002 when they decided not to give a 5 out of 5 mics rating to the highly acclaimed The Eminem Show.

On November 18, 2003 they held a press conference where they played snippets of the two tracks and later put those snippets on a CD that they included with the February issue of the magazine, released in early January 2004.

Eminem responded:

The tape they played today was something I made out of anger, stupidity and frustration when I was a teenager. I’d just broken up with my girlfriend, who was African-American, and I reacted like the angry, stupid kid I was. I hope people will take it for the foolishness that it was, not for what somebody is trying to make it into today.

Eminem notably also addressed the circumstances that led to this song in 2004’s “Yellow Brick Road.” The song was labelled “Oh Foolish Pride” on the CD coming with the magazine, but it was referenced to as “Ole Foolish Pride” in the booklet lyrics for “Yellow Brick Road.”

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Eminem say about "Foolish Pride"?
Genius Answer

In his book The Way I Am (p. 185) Eminem reiterated that the song was made when he was a kid, it was about a girl who broke his heart, it was never intended to be heard by anyone, and if he had meant the word the way some people said he did, he would have to be “the most ass-backward racist ever.”

Did Eminem ever apologise for this song?
Genius Answer

Yes, he did. He did this on the Encore song ‘'Yellow Brick Road’'. He apologizes by saying “But I’ve heard people say they heard the tape and it ain’t that bad
But it was; I singled out a whole race
And for that I apologize, I was wrong
‘Cause no matter what color a girl is, she’s still a ho”

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