"The Warning" is a hip-hop diss song written and performed by American rapper Eminem and produced by Dr. Dre as part of an ongoing conflict with singer Mariah Carey.
As a result, Eminem recorded a number of songs in which he rapped about the singer in a negative light, angered by her not admitting to seeing him.
Eminem's sixth studio album Relapse (2009) featured a song entitled "Bagpipes from Baghdad", containing insulting comments about the singer and her then-husband Nick Cannon.
Cannon responded to that song with his "I'm a Slick Rick", and challenged Eminem to a boxing match for charity which never took place.
[3] "Clown"'s lyrics were described as "languidly sinister" by Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe, and read: "I should've left it at 'I like your music too'...You should never have intimated we were lovers / When you know very well we never even touched each other.
"[3] In 2005, during concerts on the rapper's Anger Management Tour, he began playing voice-mails and recordings that were reportedly left by Carey.
"[5] After the song's release, Cannon went on his website, defending Carey and expressing his disgust at the rapper's comments: I felt sorry for him because he must really be stuck in the past.
"[7] After Carey premiered "Obsessed" on June 16, 2009, the media frenzied and began speculating the song was targeting Eminem, due to its lyrics and overall message.
[10] Produced by Dr. Dre,[11] "The Warning" is a mid-tempo track that is almost entirely made up of soft piano keys playing in the background, a consistent drum beat, and occasional strings every few seconds.
[12] The song's lyrics allude to his supposed relationship with Mariah Carey, the music video for "Obsessed", and pictures and proof he claims to have of the couple.
"[10] Eminem continues describing a near-sexual encounter with the singer, threatening to release voice-mails and pictures he still has in his possession.
[15] He also later proposed a boxing match between himself and Eminem for charity, even setting up a Facebook page to promote the idea; however, the event never took place.
"[17] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly however, stated that there is only one "clever" line aimed at Cannon, and that "everything else is just so predictable coming from Em[inem] at this point."