Twenty years. It’s been more than two decades, and people still take sides like it’s a high school cafeteria fight. When you look up eminem mariah carey songs, you aren't just looking for a playlist. You’re looking for a crime scene. It is the messiest, most enduring "he-said, she-said" in the history of the music industry.
The timeline is a wreck. Eminem says they dated for six months in 2001. Mariah says they met for a drink and he got obsessed. Somewhere in the middle of that disagreement, we got some of the most scathing, high-charting diss tracks ever recorded.
Honestly, it’s kinda fascinating how two people with such massive egos—and I say that with respect for their talent—couldn't just let a rumor die. Instead, they weaponized the Billboard charts.
The First Shot: When Marshall Mathers Named Names
Before the full-blown war, there were just mentions. You’ve got to remember the context of 2002. Eminem was at his absolute peak. He was the "Rap God" before he even claimed the title. On The Eminem Show, he dropped a line on the track "Superman" that basically ignited the fuse.
He asked, "What you tryin' to be? My new wife? / What, you Mariah?" It was a throwaway line for most, but for Carey, it was a public claim of intimacy she wasn't ready to acknowledge. Or, as she maintains to this day, a claim that was fundamentally untrue.
Then came "When the Music Stops." He wasn't subtle. He mentioned her again, and the gossip magazines went absolutely wild. At the time, Mariah was coming off the back of Glitter and some very public personal struggles. The last thing she needed was the world’s most aggressive rapper claiming he’d been in her private life.
But Eminem didn't stop at lyrics. During his Anger Management tour, he actually played voicemails. He told the crowd they were from Mariah. You could hear a woman’s voice—sounding a lot like the "Butterfly" singer—saying things like "Why won't you see me?" and "I heard you were with her."
Was it her? Mariah’s camp said no. Eminem’s camp said yes. The fans? They just bought more records.
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The Butterfly Stings Back with Clown and Caution
Most people think "Obsessed" was the first time Mariah responded. That is a massive misconception. She actually started swinging back as early as 2003 on her Charmbracelet album.
The song is called "Clown." It is a mid-tempo, moody R&B track where she basically calls him a "puppet" who "should've never intimated we were lovers." It’s actually a pretty sophisticated diss if you listen to the lyrics. She whispers through the whole thing, mocking his tough-guy persona. She asks him why he has to lie and why he’s so obsessed with her image.
It didn't have the radio play of a Slim Shady single, so it flew under the radar for the general public. But Eminem heard it.
He responded on the "Green Lantern" mixtapes and eventually with "Jimmy Crack Corn," where he kept the narrative alive. This wasn't just about music anymore. It was about legacy. Eminem’s brand was built on "brutal honesty." If people thought he was lying about Mariah, his whole "I’m the only one who tells the truth" schtick would start to crumble.
The Nuclear Option: The Warning vs. Obsessed
- That was the year the world actually stopped to watch.
Mariah released "Obsessed." The music video is legendary for all the wrong reasons—or the right ones, depending on who you ask. She dressed up as a "stalker" who looked exactly like Eminem. Hoodie, goatee, baggy sweats, the whole thing. The lyrics were a direct shot: "Finally found a girl that you couldn't impress / Last man on the earth, still couldn't get this."
It was a smash hit. It was catchy. It was everywhere.
And then Eminem did what Eminem does. He didn't release a radio-friendly pop song. He released "The Warning."
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This is arguably one of the most vicious diss tracks in history because it wasn't a "song" in the traditional sense. It was a 3-minute threat set to a beat. He didn't even bother with a chorus. He just rapped.
In "The Warning," he gets incredibly specific. He mentions dates. He mentions what was on the nightstand. He threatens to release more intimate photos and tapes if she doesn't shut up. He even takes a shot at her then-husband, Nick Cannon.
Why This Feud Felt Different
Usually, celebrity beefs are manufactured. This one felt uncomfortably real.
- The Power Dynamic: You had a pop princess versus a rap villain.
- The Evidence: The existence of those alleged voicemails added a layer of "true crime" to the music.
- The Gender Politics: A lot of people criticized Eminem for being a bully, while others criticized Mariah for trying to "gaslight" a guy she actually dated.
Nick Cannon eventually got involved, trying to defend his wife's honor, which mostly just resulted in Eminem mocking him too. It became a three-way circus that lasted years.
Sorting Through the Eminem Mariah Carey Songs Discography
If you’re trying to track the history through the music, you have to look at these specific tracks in order. It’s the only way the story makes sense.
- Superman (2002): The first mention. Low stakes, high impact.
- When the Music Stops (2002): The confirmation that he wasn't just joking.
- Clown (2003): Mariah’s first real attempt to shut down the narrative.
- Jimmy Crack Corn (2006): Eminem doubling down on the claims.
- Bagpipes from Baghdad (2009): The song that triggered "Obsessed." Eminem goes after Mariah and Nick Cannon together.
- Obsessed (2009): The peak of the feud. The video that launched a thousand memes.
- The Warning (2009): The final, brutal word from Shady.
After "The Warning," things mostly went quiet. Mariah stopped mentioning him. Eminem moved on to other targets. But the impact on their respective legacies is still there. For Eminem, it solidified his reputation as someone you simply do not cross. For Mariah, it showed a "tougher" side to her persona that helped her navigate the transition into being a veteran icon.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Beef
A lot of folks think this was a one-sided attack by Eminem. It really wasn't. Mariah is a master of the "sub-diss." She’s been doing it her whole career. If you look at the liner notes and the music video choices, she was poking the bear just as much as he was biting her head off.
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Also, the "voicemails." To this day, we don't have definitive proof they were real. Technology in the early 2000s wasn't what it is now. Audio could be manipulated, but the snippets Eminem played were incredibly convincing to the fans of that era.
There's also the theory that they did date, but it was so brief and so disastrous that they both remember it differently. Maybe for Eminem, it was a six-month "relationship." Maybe for Mariah, it was two weeks of "mistakes." Memory is a funny thing when egos are involved.
Moving Beyond the Drama
Today, the eminem mariah carey songs serve as a time capsule. They represent an era of the music industry where artists didn't just post a "Notes app" apology or a cryptic tweet. They went into the studio and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to tell someone else to go away.
If you're listening to these tracks today, look for the nuances. Listen to the production on "The Warning"—it’s sparse because the lyrics are meant to be the focus. Watch the "Obsessed" video again and look for the specific ways Mariah mimics Eminem’s mannerisms. It’s a masterclass in petty.
How to Analyze the Music Yourself
If you want to really get into the weeds of this pop-culture moment, here is how you should approach it:
- Check the release dates. The context of what was happening in their personal lives at the time (Mariah's marriage, Eminem's sobriety) changes how you hear the lyrics.
- Ignore the "stans." If you ask an Eminem fan, he won. If you ask a Mariah fan, she won. The truth is usually that they both got a lot of publicity and a few hit records out of it.
- Look at the credits. Notice who produced these tracks. Dr. Dre and The-Dream were behind some of these, showing that the industry's heaviest hitters were picking sides in the background.
The feud has mostly faded into "did you know?" trivia, but the songs remain. They are some of the most aggressive, creative, and bizarre artifacts of 2000s celebrity culture. Whether they actually dated or not almost doesn't matter anymore. The music they made while hating each other is better than most songs people make while they're in love.
To get the full picture, start with "Superman" and end with "The Warning." Don't just look for the insults; look for the storytelling. Even in a diss track, these two are some of the best songwriters to ever do it. You’ll see the patterns of how a rumor turns into a lyric, and how a lyric turns into a career-defining moment. Just don't expect a reconciliation album anytime soon. That ship hasn't just sailed; it's been torpedoed.