“Not only is Eminem accepted as a supremely skillfull practitioner of rap, many say he is the salvation of an art form that they say has been corrupted by a focus on Bentleys, yachts, and Cristal Champagne” (144). I think this is one of the reasons that teenagers across the country praised Eminem for “keeping it real”. Born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Eminem took the beginning of the 21st century by storm and became the number one selling rapper in the country; Quite a feat for a 30 year old white guy from a suburb of Detroit. Mathers doesn’t rap about all the money he has to spend on Ferraris and Patron or walk around with a blinged out grill on his teeth. He raps about his life and his feelings very skillfully and a way that many can relate to. “You don’t see him wearing thousand-pound gold chains encrusted with ice,” 17 year old, Manuary Reyes, said of Eminem. “He’s always dressed regular in sweats like us. The sweats might cost more, but he ain’t frontin’. He’s not rapping about clothes, cars, and jewelry like all those other rappers. He’s rapping about life-you know, stuff that we go through out here. Some of it’s a goof. But some of it’s real, and it sounds like it comes from the heart, you know. A lot of us can relate to that” (144).
“Eminem is better than the best. In his own way, he is the best lyricist, alliterator and enunciator out there in hip-hop music. In terms of rapping about the pain that other disenfranchised people feel, there is no one better at their game than Eminem” (145). Eminem is what I would describe as raw. He goes there, he says exactly what is on his mind and it usually has a hard edge to it. He uses his lyrics very skillfully and uses words to alleviate the pain that he and his fans feel. Mathers divulges a lot of personal information in his songs. His album, The Eminem Show, describes his depressing childhood with a brutal parent and the hatred he has for his mother for not being loving or supportive. He pledges to never do that to his own daughter, Halie. You could say he has angry appeal and the fact that Dr. Dre was his mentor gave him credibility from the get go, but it was his unique touch that made him what he is. “It’s the kind of music that makes you stop and say, ‘Is this dude for real?’; He’s not like everybody else” (147). Lastly, teenagers love that Eminem is controversial. It almost seems that his albums have become even more controversial as time goes on. Many elected officials and public figures have had bad things to say about the rapper, describing him as “vulgar, degenerate, homophobic, antisocial, misogynistic and ‘noise and mind pollution’” (146). What they need to understand is that that’s what teenagers love about him. Everybody loves a rebel, especially adolescents.
I agree that Eminem is one of the better rappers and lyricists out there today, but he cannot even compare to the greats of Sugar Hill Gang, or Run DMC, the original flow-masters of yesteryear. These guys were so talented with words that they could tell entire stories in songs without ever using profanity. Sugar Hill Gang rapped about Lois Lane and Superman in “Rapper’s Delight” and it was one of their biggest songs. Hip-hip artists back then relied more on the story of the verse and the rhythm of the music than the shock value of the language. I understand that offensive language is something that has become synonymous with rap and hip-hip, but that has not always been the case. Many rappers use profanity and suggestive themes in their work nowadays to gain shock value and draw in the crowds that will see anyone that is not being held down by the censors (read: teenagers). This is not a new trend, it has been going strong for some time, from the early days of Snoop Dogg, Biggy, 2Pac, and N.W.A., to the current scene with 50 Cent, Eminem, Lil Jon and others. I am not trying to say that any of these artists that I have mentioned are less skilled than another; it is just a different time with different artists and different fans. Each artist has a niche that has been carved out of the musical world for him or her to fill, and for the most part, each of them is doing a good job.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell what types of people are liked, when it comes to music. there is the sound some music makes, that draw in people, there is the lyrics that draw in the people, then there is artist themselves. Eminem is a combination of all of those. In his music, he has great sounds, since he is a great lyricist the words are phenomenal, and he puts himself into his music. it is because of these qualities that I feel why everyone loves him.
ReplyDeleteAlexis, I liked your Blog. God knows I completely agree with you that Eminem or Marshall Bruce Mathers III is a great artist. There is something though I really didn’t like about your blog. I felt like I was reading the book again. There I no problem with that, but you usually have a great point in your blogs. I could feel how you feel in your previous blogs. In this one I felt like you were just citing the book the whole time. I’m not saying it was bad, but that I like your previous ones a whole lot better. You wrote more from yourself rather than using the book for most of what you said.