One of the many hats I wear is Music Therapist at a psychiatric hospital. Each week, I feature a musical artist for lyric discussion. We explore the artist’s personal story and music to glean lessons that support their recovery.

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the song “Kamikaze” by Eminem. It has a boundless, relentless energy that is infectious. Is it possible to transform negative energy into positive energy? I think so.

This song is Eminem’s reaction to the critics that panned his last album. He’s making a ruthless comeback in this song. It’s explosive! All that hype energy - I love it. He’s back with a vengeance and taking everyone with him. There’s a lot of variety in how he expresses the excitement musically: build-up verses, big beat drops, a capella rapping, rapping that cleverly eludes to doubling its rhythm, and verses with slight melodic turns at the end of phrases. Love him or hate him - Eminem is an extraordinary wordsmith. I think emotions are often closely related. Pissed off energy can easily transmute into excitement or empowerment. Aggression can flip to joy.

What’s one way you’ve transformed negative energy?