By a certain age, it’s no longer acceptable to do certain things. For example, when you were 10, your teacher told you to stop picking your nose because “You’re a big boy now!” And when you’re 25, it’s probably a good idea to stop posting tweets about how hammered you got at Tigerland last night.
And when you’re 42, it’s definitely time to stop rapping about violently attacking and assaulting women, Eminem.
Earlier this month, audio snippets from Eminem’s upcoming “Shady XV” compilation surfaced online and rightfully caused an outpour of concern over the rapper’s abrasive lyrics.
First, Eminem released a freestyle video to promote the new “Slim Shady”-themed album. In the nearly 20 minute long video, Eminem’s rap includes a gross lyric that somehow ties Ray and Janay Rice and Lana Del Rey together.
The rapper, always known for his supreme technical abilities, says, “I may fight for gay rights, especially if they dyke is more of a knockout than Janay Rice / Play nice, bitch I’ll punch Lana Del Ray in the face twice like Ray Rice / in broad daylight / in plain sight of elevator surveillance / ‘til the head is bangin’ on the railin’ / then celebrate with the Ravens.”
Try saying that ten times in a row. Or actually, don’t. Because that’s disgusting.
In a song called “Vegas,” he directs his wrath toward fellow hip-hop star, Iggy Azalea. Unfortunately, Eminem doesn’t call out Iggy for her cultural appropriation and rap style that has often been described as “vocal blackface.” Instead, he threatens to rape her.
He raps, “So, what’s it gon’ be?/ Put that shit away, Iggy/ You gon’ blow that rape whistle on me.”
After the “Vegas” track surfaced, Iggy Azalea promptly took her opinions to Twitter, saying she was bored of “old men threatening young women as entertainment.” She even added that her 14-year-old brother was “the biggest Eminem fan,” which is the real problem here.
When I was in middle and high school, every white guy I knew listened to or even idolized Eminem. For some reason, these dudes liked Eminem’s “Is he screaming or is he rapping?” technique. But did they like his violent lyrics as well?
As I look back on some of the more profane lyrics to the rapper’s previous hits, such as “My Name Is” or “Without Me,” I can almost understand the reasoning behind them.
Before Eminem, white rappers were mostly seen as jokes. Vanilla Ice and the Beastie Boys weren’t meant to rival “serious” black rappers like GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan or Kool G Rap. But Eminem wanted to be taken seriously and wanted to be a threat to the music industry’s status quo.
As his crazy alter ego Slim Shady, Eminem said some pretty disgusting things, but it got him the attention he needed. Over a decade later, the rapper is the second best-selling male musician of the Nielsen Soundscan era, has had ten albums reach number one on the Billboard 200 and was declared The King of Hip-Hop by Rolling Stone magazine.
So, what’s with the shock tactics?
Eminem’s fanbase is diverse, but I worry about the young people that listen to his music.
This is different than Nicki Minaj rapping about her own voluptuous behind in “Anaconda” — or any of her singles. It’s her butt, and she has the freedom to talk about it all she wants.
But this is a 42-year-old man casually rapping about beating and raping women. If a 42-year-old anonymous man were to send Lana Del Rey or Iggy Azalea fan mail with his lyrics in it, I’m sure their bodyguards would be all over it.
It’s no surprise that the Slim Shady generation grew up to make those awful “Cool Story Babe, Now Make Me a Sandwich” t-shirts and casually threaten rape on 4chan.
So, Eminem, next time you think you want to make a “clever” rhyme about assaulting Ariana Grande or choking Katy Perry, think of the
children!
SidneyRose Reynen is a 19-year-old film and media arts sophomore from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ sidneyrose_TDR.