01.03.2001

Ironic genius?

Eminem is an artist who has garnered massive mainstream success. His last album, the Marshall Mathers LP, has sold eight million records, mainly due to his lyrics, which deal with controversial subjects such as underage sex, drug use, rape and violence.

The liberal press is split: is Eminem a disturbed homophobe or a troubled ironic genius? One side argues that Eminem is a violent homophobic misogynist who perpetuates and legitimises these views in society and actually promotes them to 'our children'. Take these lyrics from the song 'Criminal' from the Marshall Mathers LP:

"My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/

That'll stab you in the head/

Whether you're a fag or lez/

Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest/

Pants or dress - hate fags? The answer's 'yes'/

Homophobic?/ Nah, you're just heterophobic/

The opposing argument is that Eminem is a voice for the disillusioned young, white male of America. A genius with a level of wit and irony to rival the likes of Oscar Wilde.

Both of these arguments are overly simplistic. However, no middle ground is to be found in the mass media. Bourgeois liberals do not know what to think. Though his gay-bashing lyrics spit in the face of their views, they feel they ought to be on the side of free speech and against censorship. This is why Eminem has become such an issue - it is not all hype. He offends and confuses the politically correct.

It has to be recognised that though Eminem is perceived to be an overnight sensation, who exploded into public consciousness after his number one hit single 'My name is', this is simply not true. Eminem had been slogging around the underground hip-hop scene for years before gaining fame.

It was only after he started rapping as his 'evil' alter ego, 'Slim Shady', with the release of his Slim Shady EP, that he started to receive attention and got signed by Dr Dre, a veteran of the hip-hop scene. This is important because, although Eminem had the musical integrity and a good reputation from the underground rap community, there is no way that he would have achieved the success he has if his lyrical content had not changed.

It also has to be acknowledged that Eminem's lyrics are nothing exceptional in comparison to many of his contemporaries. A fellow white rapper, Cage, has made a career of talking about subjects even more depraved than Eminem. (Cage spent a number of his teenage years in mental institutions - compared to Cage, Eminem is normal.) It is in fact widely acknowledged that Eminem simply copied Cage's 'style' from a few years previously.

Homophobic language is nearly as widespread as misogynistic language in the hip-hop scene. Two examples of this are the lines, "Homos won't fit in", to be found on the track 'Dangerous' off OC's second album Jewelz, released in 1997; and "That's unnatural/like love between faggots", from 'The deer hunter', a song off the Jedi Mind Tricks album Violent by design, released last year.

This sort of language is endemic in the underground hip-hop movement that spawned Eminem. His lyrics are only an issue in that the mainstream bourgeois press pays little attention to the underground hip-hop scene. It is hard to be outraged at something if you are not aware it exists.

There are other questions to be asked. Would Eminem have received such bad publicity if he were not a hip-hop artist? The likes of Steely Dan have recorded songs in which the narrator has an affair with an underage girl, and Johnny Cash and Nick Cave have both recorded songs in which they kill their girlfriends. Why haven't they been attacked in the press?

Also, if Eminem had been black, would he have gained such massive success? And would he have had so much support from the 'ironic genius' side of the equation? Hip-hop artists have been attacked in the past for being homophobic. Until Eminem, the 'ironic' argument had never surfaced. Was it because previous offenders had been black, and a black person could never be that clever (note the sarcasm here)?

The answers to these questions reveal the hypocritical, racist nature of the media. It is all right for a white person or a country artist to say these things, but not a black person or a hip-hop artist. These 'liberals' are in fact not very liberal at all.

What of my personal views on Eminem? Personally I do not buy into the 'ironic' theory. On the subject of gays, I do believe Eminem is homophobic. There is a culture of homophobia in both the hip-hop scene and the inner-city areas where Eminem grew up. As attitudes are shaped through social conditioning, it is not surprising that he shares the views of his peers. When some liberals came to his defence in the press to say that he was some kind of genius with a talent for irony, I believe he simply took this notion on board as a weapon to attack his detractors.

On the other hand, I do accept that Eminem simply does say some things to 'piss people off' and spark controversy: i.e., sell more records. Though not a genius, he is no idiot. Knowing sex and violence sells, he is taking this as his mantra to make money.

Eminem's talent is unquestionable. However, some of his lyrics should be condemned, but not to the extent of calling for his songs to be banned, etc. That is simply political correctness gone mad.

We may not like the content, but it has to be acknowledged that a large proportion of our class shares his views. This should be addressed, but his right to free speech should not be compromised.

This debate has further shown the hypocritical nature of the British press. They should be attacked as much as Eminem.

Tom Pearson