Eminem: A Social Commentator
In an interview given to Musik Magazine in 2000, Eminem comments some of his lyrics:
'Please Lord, this boy needs Jesus/Help this child, help him destroy these demons/Please send me a brand new car and a prostitute while my wife is sick in the hospital'. What I'm trying to say is we've got all these preachers going 'Jesus, Jesus! And then they're molesting kids. I'm taking stabs at crooked muthafuckers in the system. (Eminem)
Believe it or not, but Eminem feels concern for kids. He is a denonciator of our society's hypocrisy. Some people don't like it when the truth gets exposed like this. But in the end only truth matters. Eminem's words will shock you, stab you, pull away your old fashioned way of thinking : he is a commentator of our society's deseases and should be taken seriously, because he does his job very well. Between his funny and dark humored lines, Eminem has something serious to say. The theme of the perverted priest also appears in the « Role Model » video where you can see the priest caressing a young boy's knee.
Parents, you should be more worried for your kids being abused by priest than by Eminem's so called « bad influence ». Eminem won't rape your kids?
How many paedophiles priests have tried to abuse young children? How many scandals involving young kids the Vatican has been confronted to? How many scandals the Vatican is currently trying to hide?
If you check out this website, you will find out that there is an alarming number of sex affairs involving priests and children:
http://www.licatholic.com/news.htm
I've been confronted to Christian fanatics from different tendencies and I noticed that they all has something in common. While considering themselves as "saints" and calling people who didn't belong to their organizations "sinners", they were in fact perfect hypocrits. They were playing two different roles and were acting like two different persons whether they were at Church of at home. At Chuch, they were trying to hide their own dirty behavior. At home, they were swearing, disrespecting their wifes and children, hiding some dirty magazines and tapes. And of course, they considered themselves as "saved by Jesus" while other people were (you guessed it) lost.
What an hypocritical behavior!
Eminem fights against such hypocrisy. He describes things the way they are. He also expressed against Bill Clinton's hypocrisy:
« When someone says kids look up to me, I'm like 'Our president smokes weed and is getting his dick sucked and is fucking lying about it. So don't tell me shit. I'm not the fucking president. I'm a rapper and I don't want to be a role model'. I'll tell a kid, 'Look up to me as someone who's come from nothing and now has everything. Don't look up to me for being violent and doing drugs. Don't be like me.' »
Eminem's got a clear message for kids (and also for adults). Look at things the way they are. Don't try to escape from reality. Look at it in its entire uglyness and try to learn a lesson from it.
To the kids, he clearly wants to say that he's not their role model, but that they can learn from his story. Eminem encourages a lot of kids who come from poor social classes. He has shown the that they can « make it » if they are determined to.
He is not the fool some parents want to make of him. He never encourages them to be violent nor to take drugs.
I do teach English and German at public schools. I am an Eminem biographer and a freelance music journalist.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting
More Music Information:
Related Articles
Right-Hand Techniques for New Age Piano
Recently, I had a student ask me to offer some techniques for using the right hand. Usually, it's the left hand that causes the most difficulty but I had to think about it because up till then, I really did not have any "techniques" for the right hand.
Creating Caverns - an Improvisation Exercise
In a recent post to my Yahoo group, I mentioned that I created the piece "Caverns" using one chord. I'd like to explain how I accomplished this.
Music Licensing
Music licensing can be a very confusing subject. My intent with this article is to give you enough details on what music licensing is and what are your rights to use music in advertising and / or video productions.
Piano Music - How to Begin and End a Piece
How do you begin a piece of music? That's a question I'm often asked. The answer I usually give is that you begin as soon as you start playing - that is, if you're trying to "compose" something, the piece begins the moment it has energy and is something you want to capture.
You Cant Force Play
A student once asked me; "How come sometimes the music comes freely while other times, I feel blocked and can't play?"A perfectly valid question and one that many students of improvisation ask. You see, the problem is that many think they should be able to just sit down at the piano and play anytime anywhere.
If Seals Can Sing, Why Cant You?
It sounds like a side show, doesn't it? It does to me. But it's true; researchers have discovered that some varieties of seals really do sing.
Guitar Facts: A Glossary of Terms
It is said that the forerunner of the guitar, the lute, was created by the Greek god, Apollo. In India, it is believed that the sitar, another stringed instrument from which the guitar is descended, is sacred to the goddess Saraswati.
1959 Stratocaster Vintage Guitars
Mid 1959 Stratocaster vintage guitars have a slabrosewood fingerboard with white "clay" positiondots. The fingerboard radius of this Fender guitaris 7.
How To Find The Right Guitar Teacher
Finding a good teacher is not always easy, at any level. At the beginner level it is important to get on the right foot and as an intermediate player you need to know that your teacher really knows his or her stuff if you want to move forward.
Patriotic Music: Surprising Secrets About Those Flag-Waving Sounds
Whether played by a marching band, an orchestra, or a rock group, there are patriotic tunes that everyone in America finds familiar, exciting and uplifting. But how much do you know about how these songs were created? And what do you know about the people who wrote them?There are some surprising facts behind all of this glorious music.
Is Rhapsody Music Downloads Service Getting A Good Rhap?
Rhapsody music, from RealNetworks is one of several reputable legal digital services for legal music downloads. In order to download online music or hear songs from them you have to pay for them first.
What is Guitar Tablature and Can I Find It Online?
The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments and the online guitar community probably the most popular of its kind. There are thousands of guitarists connected via online communities sharing guitar tabs, tips and stories and there are many of websites dedicated to sharing guitar music, tablature and even guitar lessons.
Why You Cant Play Piano
It's really not your fault. You see, you've been taught that in order to play piano you need to first learn how to read music, and second, play other peoples music.
Music Mini Course: Learn The Basics Of Reading Music On A Keyboard Instrument
Welcome to the wonderful world of music. As you begin reading this Music Mini Course it is fun to realize that you are also participating in a very important cultural aspect from around the world which has been going on for centuries.
Piano Lessons Can be Fun!
There are essentially two ways to learn piano - note reading or chords. For those who want to spend years learning how to play other peoples music, note reading is the way to go.
Acoustic Or Electronic Drums - What Is Your Choice?
A debate rages on in the drumming world! You might think that the debate centers on brands of drums, or different styles of drums. However, you would be wrong.
The Downfall Of The #1 Southern Gospel Station
Back in the 90's we had a local Southern Gospel station (I can't remember the name. You'll see why if you keep reading).
Closet Monsters London Spicoluk
Way back in November I found myself at the Casby Awards after party trying to socialize with whomever I came across. One person who I chatted with that night was a guy named London Spicoluk, from the band Closet Monster.
Dance Musics Most Popular and Enduring Theme: The Declaration of Independence
It all started with Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in 1979, perhaps the biggest fluke in popular music history. To follow up her hit "Never Can Say Goodbye", Gloria's label issued a song called "Substitute".
Music Licensing: The Cold Cash Facts About Money for your Music
Where music meets licensing, there's money to be made. How much money? "I have synched quite a few thousand songs into productions over the years," states Peter Jansson of Janssongs, Inc.