I'll grant that Eminem has talent as a rapper. Musically, "The Eminem Show" is brilliant. Lyrically, Eminem may be able to sling rhymes with a creative verve that is rare in any songwriter. I always appreciate originality and abhor triteness. On these counts, I tip my hat to Slim Shady.
But that is as far as I can go in praising this decrepit and mentally unbalanced person. The genius of a musician does not excuse record companies from inflicting this garbage on society. "The Eminem Show" is full of violence, especially violence against women, and demonstrates not an ounce of empathy for any other soul on the planet. Marshall Mathers may very well be the biggest narcissist to ever hit the big time.
Consider "Hailie's Song," a lyric purportedly dedicated to his daughter, but full of venom, in which he pretty much places himself at the center of the universe.
This boulder on my shoulder gets heavy and harder to hold
And this load is like the weight of the world
And I think my neck is breaking should I just give up,
Or try to live up to these expectations?
The chief object of Eminem's rage in "Hailie's Song" is Hallie's mother. Eminem's enemy list, however, would make Nixon jealous. His persecutors include his mother, father, parents of his fans, his fans, lawyers, cops, any other women he's ever met, other entertainers, critics, journalists... the list seems endless. The only blameless person seems to be Eminem himself.
Narcissism is a noxious mental disease that leads people to grandiose delusions. Narcissism must be fed. It can be fed by fame and adoration, or it can be fed by violence and notoriety. Eminem has a love-hate relationship with fame, but digs the hell out of violence. Gun shots and talk of whacking some bitch or a record executive or two are the subplot to the entire show.
But not to worry, Eminem tells us. This is just rap. He's just an entertainer. He's not trying to inspire imitators. As he raps in another narcissistic tale, "Without Me:"
They say music can alter moods and talk to you
But can it load a gun for you and cock it too?
In other words, Eminem doesn't kill people. People kill people. If a fan buys a gun, shoots somebody, only the fan is to blame. We are each masters of our own fate.
Article comments
1 - heijens
man you are full off crap, haven't you anything else to do with your free time then start bullshitting about other poeple???
"This boulder on my shoulder gets heavy and harder to hold
And this load is like the weight of the world
And I think my neck is breaking should I just give up,
Or try to live up to these expectations?"
Don't you ever feel like it's to much, like you can't handle some things in your life, I do. He has millions of eyes on him, a lot of people would like to see him failing and there are big expectations, each record has to be great and better as the previous.
"There's no mountain i can't climb
There's no tower too high,
No plane that i can't learn how to fly"
this lyric is good because it makes me feel very confedent of myself, I think a lot of kinds feel that way, it's a big support in my life. So if you don't feel or understand his music don't start bullshitting about him.
2 - Eric Olsen
That's cool, but remember spelling counts
3 - Al Barger
Howard, I appreciate your concern. I've gotten to hear my 8 and 13 year old nieces singing Eminem in harmony. Even his less provocative material sounds pretty bad to me in that context.
On the other hand, your concerns may not be quite so pressing. For one thing, way the biggest influence in a child's development is going to be his home life, not movies and records.
Also, you may be underestimating the ability of children to grasp the basic idea of artistic detachment. Even most 10 year olds would grasp that the songs are fiction, and that you wouldn't really want to be Slim Shady. Indeed, Marshall Mathers ain't Eminem, let alone Slim Shady. You might be surprised how much of this the young audience picks up.
4 - felix
what are you talking about???! Eminem,a narcissistic? God damn if it wasn't for him, so many kids would lack confidence and self-esteem. Don't you undrestand that self-respect and pride are very different from narcissism? Maaaan, let us feel good about ourselves for christ'sake.
PRIDE:CONFIDENCE:CONVICTION:SELF-RESPECT
5 - tj
you don't understand what you are talking about
6 - A Psych Grad Student
The tentative consideration of a possible diagnosis of Narcisstic Personality Disorder is a reasonable conclusion. I would also add that there are additional Histrionic and Depressive tendencies shown in this artist's lyrics and behaviors.
I was curious as to what my brother was listening to before rejecting it outright, so I listened to these songs. Musically they are extremely catchy. Lyrically, your points are dead-on. Yes, his public persona is narcissistic and probably his private persona is largely narcissistic as well.
My brother is coping with an abusive mother too so perhaps he identifies with this music. However, obviously, I am coping with the same mother, and I started down the same angry, self-defensive path, but after much learning experiences, I know that letting our narcisstic tendencies develop out of proportion to our empathy, humility, and peace of mind, is a recipe for disaster, and this music therefore is more of a negative and pain-causing factor on humanity than a blessing.
To his faithful-to-death-and-beyond fans, what feels like "self-esteem" now (and feels good, or at least, feels better than what you were feeling before), at some point you may notice seems inflated and unfulfilling long-term, because it is only an oversized *image* of self-esteem covering up your still-bruised self-acceptance, it's not the real thing.
Only when you let yourself be humble, acknowledge your flaws and pain, but know too that you have just as much right to acceptance and love and respect as anyone else -- The Right To Be Human, can you develop real, satisfying self-esteem and the peace of mind to build a world for yourself that will bring you joy.
7 - Anonymous
That explains everything, my ex-husband listened to Eminem all the time. He and his mother were both disturbing, and then there's my father and stepmom. They're raising little Narks, I know this because they treat everyone who isn't them like a slave or enemy. I'm just glad I know this and I'm happier without them. For people asking if they should try harder, just forget it, they have a god complex. Run for your life, you won't be judged for it except by Narks.
8 - yo mama
the whole basis and foundation of hip hop is bragginess, swagger, grandiosity. these people come from not much and then in turn brag about what they got. Eminem, like all celebrities, must posess some amount of narcicism, but to act like it's unnatural or uncommon is rediculous. In his music, he has the ability to tell real life stories and actually not just brag about bling and bitches and now u crusify him for it? get real.
"Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?"-JayZ on eminem's renegade
9 - Marcia Neil
'Eminem' is an album theme. Marshall Mathers can sue to have his name removed from it.