It’s a quiet night, the sky is pitch black, the stars are shining brightly. All of a sudden, a brand spanking new Firebird shoots across the dark pavement blaring the songs of a bleach-blond, Platinum status recording artist: Eminem.
The nighttime silence is broken with a string of cuss words that would make even the most hardened rapper blush. This sudden onslaught of obscenities can often be echoed with the “yeahs” and “nays” of teenagers all over the planet.
The controversy regarding Eminem began with the rapper’s second album, “The Slim Shady LP” back in ’99. Many were alarmed by the violent content, profanity and sexual references the album embodied. Although Eminem’s explosive sales (1.7 million copies of the Marshall Mathers LP were sold in the first week) were due primarily to teenage buyers, not all teens are so fond of “rap’s baddest boy.”
“I think Eminem is a great performer, but his lyrics are demeaning and disrespectful,” says senior Elizabath Figura. Other seniors agreed with her. Nicole Juskiw finds Eminem’s lyrics to be “offending,” while Brian Kohler dubs them “obsessively vulgar and disgusting.”
The 27 year old rapper views the content on his albums in a different light. “A lot of my rhymes are just to get chuckles out of people. Anyone with half a brain is going to be able to tell when I’m joking and when I’m serious,” he told the Associated Press in the February 1999 issue of Teen People. At least one survey suggests he is right.
In the October 2000 issue of the same publication,a poll involving 13,000 teens revealed that 57 percent considered Eminem’s lyrics to be “just entertainment” and not worthy of the uproar many critics have created.
Several WHS students also believe that the media has placed too much importance upon lyrical content that is created for listener pleasure only. “I think Eminem is a great and that he gets a lot of flak for what he says..he just uses it as a way of venting,” says Jenny Duttinger, a junior. And venting is exactly how Eminem defends his music. “I feel like my music is therapy, because once I sit down and write, I get everything off my chest,” Em told MTV (quoted in Teen People 10/00).
While this may seem harmless, organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation fear that Eminem’s music, some of which they see as gay bashing, may instill prejudice in the minds of youth and encourage gay hatred. They do believe, however, that Eminem has the legal right to rap about the topics of his choice (Teen People 10/00).
Beth Gwara, a sophomore agrees. “I like a lot of his music and think he has the constitutional right to say whatever he wants.” While he does have the right, many are concerned with the fact that it may not be responsible of Eminem to set a hateful example to listeners. Eminem told The Fader (summer 2000) “my responsibility is not to them [youth]. I’m not a babysitter.”
Will the debates ever end? Kim Calitri, a sophomore, believes they can. “If people don’t like him, then they don’t have to listen to him.” Music listeners will have to judge whether that is the best solution. Meanwhile, Eminen is enjoying his career. He told Newsweek in May: “I feel like I’m on top of the world. I did right for my daughter.”