Issue #1,Week of November 1st.
Eminem: Fact or Fiction
One of hip-hop's most controversial artists in recent memory is Marshal "Eminem"Mathers. For better or worse Eminem has struck a chord with mainstream American society. Eminem's lyrical content can be at times both comical and harshly crude, but what makes the teen and young American demographic embrace him like he was a long lost friend? Due to the lack of public role models the younger generation tends to look at what it can relate to. Most kids can't relate to their parents or anyone in a position of authority, so they tend to identify with their favorite musician or actor. In an age where heroes and role models are almost no existent; Eminem represents a sort of Anti-hero. In some cases some people identify with him because he is saying everything that they have always wanted to but were to afraid to say it. Which can turn into a no win situation for Eminem. The kids that listen to Eminem albums and go out and harsh or make fun of someone ,they always have the age old finger pointing philosophy once they get in trouble for it. Where as there only line of defense is that they heard what they said on an Eminem album. While their parents aren't strong enough to accept the blame for their children and learn from it then move on. They need a scape goat to blame the their child anti-social or immoral behavior on. For the past year that scape goat has been Marshal Mathers. I in no way, shape or form am condoning Eminem's lyrical content. The fact of the matter is that he does come off as offensive to certain communities. Many self proclaimed music experts make the bold statement that Eminem's music breads hatred toward the homosexual community at large. Anti-Rap activist C. Dolores Tucker recently called Eminem the re-incarnation of Tupac Shakur. Eminem's music falls on the lines of artistic freedom of expression and his music is protected by his first amendment right to free speech. The first amendment clearly states that an individual is free to express themselves without interference or restraint from the government . For the government to get involved it must provide substantial justification to the Supreme Court for interfering with said parties freedom of speech and expression . The government can't just tell Eminem what to write or what not to write, but in case of if they had solid evidence that Eminem's material did cause violence or breach peace, then they could regulate his material.
Does Eminem'smusical product go to far? Does he push already sensative issues past the issues past their boiling points? The answer to those questions fall upon the listener's bility to decode fact from fiction. A normal mind would easily know that 99.9% of this man's material falls upon the realm of fantasy or fiction to be exact. Soicety as a hold has a bad habit of wanting to destroy what it has already created. So instead of sitting down with Marshal Mathers and opening up a chain of communication they decide to do protest, run him down for what he has said on his material, and further alienate both sides from each other. There is no question in my mind that some of Eminem's material ,if not a large portion of it is offensive and inappropriate. Hip-Hop artist have been fighting the battle for free speech since the beginning of the 90's.In a similar situation to this Luke Skywalker and his group the 2 Live Crew encountered the same situation when they were taken to court, and in some cases arrested because many people thought that their music was immoral, abusive towards woman and most of all detrimental to the listener. Once the court case was done a jury of their peers brought back a verdict of not guilty. The jury agreed with Luke Campbell, they thought that his lyrics although vast inappropriate were comical. I would go the same route to describe an Eminem album.
Many parents have forgotten their child to you adulthoods, they listen to bands like the Sex Pistols, and even at on time the King himself Elvis Presley's music was deemed obsene by parents of the young people that his music reached when he first hit the scene. The bottom line is that the listener should threat an Eminem album as if he or she were going to the movies and watching a film. After one finishes watching a movie they don't debate whether it was obsene of offensive to someone, they usually just think on whether they liked it or not. After pondering whether the film was good or not one usual starts to think whether or not the product was worth their money. I would suggest the same be done to an Eminem album or any product of music. I would take anything Eminem says on a song or album with the slightest gain of salt. To avoid all this conflict and instead of starting more of it, the listener or those that don't like the material can always reach for the off switch, and easily a problem is solved
Artist of the Day archive.
November 6,2000
Jay-Z, Roc-A-Fella artist and CEO.
Roc-A-Fella Records CEO/Co-Founder Shawn Carter who is better known all over the word by his rap alias Jay-Z, has been putting it done in the hip-hop game for the better part of the 90's and is showing little or no signs of falling off at all.Jay-Z has numerous hit singles, and multi-platinum albums under his belt, and with the recent release of his new album "The Dynasty: La Familia 2000," he is poised to take his hip-hop crown back. With a successful solo career and label, a successful clothing line, and with movies next, Shawn Carter can't be stopped and that's why he is the Empire's first Artist of the day.
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