“One of Us” is a haunting duet between Eminem and Ava Max that explores the extremes of obsession, heartbreak, and emotional chaos in a relationship gone off the rails. Ava Max sings the mournful hook about love’s one-sided sacrifices, while Eminem delivers a psychodramatic monologue that spirals into graphic violence and psychological breakdown.

Chorus (Ava Max):

“One of us would die / One of us would risk it all / One of us won’t even call / One of us could say goodbye — Never…”

Ava Max’s vocals form the emotional backbone of the song — a desperate cry from someone stuck in a love where only one person is truly invested. The repeated “One of us” emphasizes imbalance — in love, pain, and consequences. She represents heartbreak. He represents destruction.

Eminem’s Verses – A Descent into Madness:

From the start, Em paints a picture of contradiction — love as both pleasure and punishment:

“She cheats and I catch her like the common cold / Last time I broke her collar which is intolerable…”
“The sex is phenomenal / Though we’re an unlikely pair like two different Nike Airs…”

Eminem is fully aware of the dysfunction. The relationship is toxic — cheating, violence, humiliation — yet he’s addicted. He’s self-aware enough to mock it, but not strong enough to leave. The lines about being “under her thumbnail” and “under her spell” speak to obsession and psychological imprisonment.

Then, he dives deeper:

“Break up, make up like Maybelline / Now she’s all made up like make believe / Probably why she’s so fake to me…”

Here he accuses her of emotional manipulation, playing into the “fake” narrative while staying chained to her spell. The line between love and hate begins to blur dangerously.

Final Verse – Murderous Fantasy or Metaphor?:

The most disturbing part of the song comes in the final verse, where the metaphor of heartbreak becomes a violent horror fantasy:

“Strip her naked and take her keys / I’ve been planning this day for weeks…”
“As I stab I’m laughing / So much for witchcraft and magic…”
“Watch her f**king die right in front of my eyes…”

It’s a vivid, chilling depiction — but whether it’s a real act or a psychotic hallucination is left intentionally unclear. This could be Eminem acting out his mental chaos in fantasy — a metaphorical “murder” of the relationship. But the line:

“In hindsight, think I just wanted to see what her insides look like…”
suggests it might be literal in his mind, or even worse — he doesn’t care.

The ending references his previous album Music To Be Murdered By:

“Now wake up to be murdered by like…”
A self-aware twist on waking from a nightmare… or waking into one.

Analysis:

“One of Us” is the dark mirror of love songs. It’s raw, obsessive, unstable — not meant to glorify violence but to expose the madness that can live beneath broken love. Eminem, true to his Slim Shady persona, uses horrorcore storytelling to explore the darkest recesses of the human heart, while Ava Max provides the tragic, human side of the tale.

This isn’t a love song. It’s a warning.