Eminem

A fellow blogger commented on my two minute post yesterday about Eminem. Her statement was, "I actually think he taps into popular culture in a really interesting way" and I have to say, I totally agree. I have a little input about it too. 


Eminem came onto the rap circuit when I was just starting to become a rebellious teen, even though I wasn't that rebellious. Here was this rapper who was saying things that were totally un-PC. He was saying things that no one else would dare say, and he was making money doing it. 


I still like Em because he doesn't only rap about gang like things, making money, or some of the other things that are popular in rap lyrics. He talks about emotions. He was says things that he really means, not just what he thinks people want to hear. 


One of my all time favorite Eminem songs is Sing for the Moment. 


"These ideas are nightmares for white parents Whose worst fear is a child with dyed hair and who likes earrings Like whatever they say has no bearing Its so scary in a house that allows no swearing To see him walking around with his headphones blaring."

Doesn't that pull you in? The music hits hard and is accompanied by Aerosmith, which really only makes it better. It's the really raw emotion throughout the rest of the song that makes me see exactly what he's saying, feel like I'm part of it. In other songs like Mockingbird, a song spoken directly to his daughter, I see the humanity in him that a large part of society likes to pretend isn't there. He is real, he has a daughter and is doing what he is good at to provide for her even when doing that is taking him away from her. That's real and makes an impression on me.

He also raps about things that no one else will touch, like Michael Jackson and sex tapes. Some really ludicrous stuff, I'll admit. But it takes courage to put that kind of stuff out there and say the words that nearly everyone around you is thinking and whispering about, but no one will say. 


Mostly, I can say that popular culture, like me, likes shock value; likes hearing things that no one else is saying or doing. We like hearing wild and crazy things, the drama draws us in. We're human, right? But really for me, it's the really truthful lyrics, the raw words and emotions that create a picture in my mind, and his courage to call people out and say the things he wants to say instead of holding them in. Mostly the latter.


If you see me on a bad day, you can guess that I'll be listening to some really loud Eminem. There's a little insight about me, in case you didn't know. Music is great therapy, and listening to someone say the things I wish I could is even better for me