Leaked Track of Eminem’s ‘What If I Was Gay’ Features New Ending Verse

A new version of Joyner Lucas’ track with Eminem’s “What if I was Gay?” has surfaced with a reworked ending.

Originally part if Lucas’ ADHD, Rolling Stone said at the time:

To Joyner and Eminem’s credit, it seems the pair likely knew never to release “What If I Was Gay.” However, they were victims of an unfortunate leak this week, and the internet did what the internet does: listened to a leaked studio demo. As you might predict based on the title alone, the five-minute track is an underbaked and misguided attempt for the two rappers. In its capacity as an unofficial successor to “Stan” — emotional man questions some aspect of his life, said man cries out for help that never comes, and he commits suicide in a last-minute plot twist delivered by a different narrator — is a failure to capture 20-year old lightning in the world’s most structurally unsound bottle.

The first two verses feature Joyner playing a character questioning their sexuality. No matter how well-meaning the intent is, the hackneyed lyrics sound exactly like what would happen if a straight man tried to describe what he thinks the gay experience is like over a beat that would have been left on 808s & Heartbreak‘s cutting room floor:

But on the real, what if I told you that I was brave?
I grew up different than I was raised
But still, what if I told you I’m out of place? Wait
What if I told you that I was gay?

But it’s Eminem’s part that genuinely sends the song off the rails. From the moment Em asks, “What if I told you I’m homophobic?” it’s clear nothing good will come of this verse. The Detroit rapper plays the best friend to Joyner’s character but, since it’s Eminem, he can’t help but drop a line like, “I’m white, but I’m gettin’ mixed feelings like Logic.” As the story unfolds, Em’s character transitions from arguing about genetic flaws in chromosomes to asking God for help. The verse ends with a final twist that’s supposed to be revelatory but instead rings with a sad hollowness: “What if I’m a hypocrite who is afraid to just face truth / What if I told you I’m gay too?”

That lyric is presented like it’s a bombshell. The man who spent the entirety of his career dropping homophobic slurs, but also performing at The Grammys with Elton John just rapped, “What if I told you I’m gay, too?” 20 years ago, the moment would’ve likely been seen as revolutionary. In 2019,  its intentions are easy to parse. Eminem built the foundation of his career on shock and awe, but for the latter half of his career Mathers’ singular power to say the unexpected has waned, and relied on going to increasing lengths to recapture that spark.

The new version of the track presenting a slightly different verse from Eminem and another plot twist in the verse’s ending. What is still not there is the hook that Skylar Grey recorded for the song.

Listen to Joyner Lucas — “What If I Was Gay” [Alternate] feat. Eminem below: