eminem (was Re: hiphop discourse

[lorentzen-nicklaus]

Phil Wise schrieb:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Thomas Eckhardt" <thomas.eckhardt at uni-bonn.de>
> To: "jbor" <jbor at bigpond.com>
> Cc: "lorentzen-nicklaus" <lorentzen-nicklaus at t-online.de>;
> <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 10:20 AM
> Subject: Re: eminem (was Re: hiphop discourse

 [schnipp]

> shortcomings of PC
> > with capital letters) in recent years. I think that Eminem, despite the
> masks and
> > the irony, expresses contempt for women (which has a long history in rock,
> see e.g.
> > "Yesterday's Papers" and "Under my Thumb") and homosexuals. I have
> listened closely
> > to the lyrics, and I don't like this part of it. It is interesting in the
> context of
> > bashing women, gays and Christopher Reeve, though, that Eminem never says
> anything
> > offensive about Afro-Americans. He could, couldn't he, if it was all about
> parody?
> >
> > As to how the teenagers think about this, I wouldn't know.
> >
> > This said, about his lyrics, Eminem can be a very exciting rapper. And I'd
> prefer
> > "Stan" or "The Real Slim Shady" to the latest crap from Bon Jovi or Celine
> Dion
> > every day. And yes, he is a story-teller, and "Kim" indeed is a
> murder-ballad - that
> > it is the most disturbing example of its kind for me is a definite sign of
> his
> > artistry. The song, by the way, is not ironic or parodic in the least. It
> certainly
> > is dramatic, though...

  [schnipp]

> clear, however, that this doesn't mean he thinks em's some PC crusader (in
> real life he seems to me to be a talented guy with real problems that aren't
> unrelated to his background).
>
> This made perfect sense in the context of the lyrics, which are largely
> about music (even "Kim" wouldn't exist without its sequel on the (previous)
> Slim Shady LP, which itself is a Will Smith parody that seems to sieze on
> Smith's silence over exactly why "things didn't work out between me and your
> mom", i.e. it unpacks the erasure of a female voice)  And I have to say that
> the only threats he makes that seem real to me on MM are against other pop
> stars, in other words a group of which he's a certified member.  Which got
> me thinking again about "Kim", which I couldn't even listen to for some
> time.  Eminem plays both the male and female parts on the song (it's an
> extraordinary piece of acting, which is why it's so scary), just as he plays
> both Stan and himself on "Stan".  Of course the fact he's created these
> particular characters and then given them his own and his real wife's name
> adds to the confusion, but is really the most compelling reason why we
> shouldn't take the violence literally (she's still alive and well, although
> unless she was a full and willing partner in its creation, I'd have divorced
> him over it as well).

> Yes, it is interesting that he doesn't attack African Americans in the same
> way.  It has to be noted that he claims to have killed Dr Dre a couple of
> times on the album, and also disses him out big time on "Guilty Conscience"
> from the previous one 


   the video of "the real slim shady" illustrates the line "dr. dre is 
   dead/he's locked in my basement" with a short scene where eminem puts a 
   milk-package into the fridge (in which the camera is placed). while the 
   package moves nearer, one recognizes on it a foto of dre and the missing 
   announcement ...definitely funny ... in an interview, dre, asked about that, 
   said at first something to the effect that he himself is, of course, not 
   especially enthusiastic concerning these specific lines. and after a short   
   pause he added: "but then, you can't change slim shady". the track "guilty 
   conscience", however, shows, in my opinion, that eminem disses dre as a 
   teacher and mentor (he's not adressed as an afro-american, is he?). while dre 
   takes (which is again, of course, an artistic construction) somehow the role 
   of a social worker ("calm dowm, relax, start breathing ... what if there's an 
   explanation for that?" on which eminem, funny again, replys: "what, she    
   tripped, fell, landed on his dick?!"), mm is questioning dre's realness and 
   radicalism: "hey mr. ak/mr. nwa/ comming straight outta compton/you better 
   make way!" & since this is the slim shady lp, he convinces dre who says at 
   the end of the song: "shoot 'em both!" on the new record eminem also says 
   some unfriendly things about everlast, though. regarding "kim", i agree with 
   thomas that this song is not ironic or parodistic but deeply dramatic. yet i 
   consider this dramaticity to arise of an authentic desparation. unlike a 
   rock'n'roll song like "under my thumb", which celebrates its male chauvinism, 
   we do not find any kind of triumpf (which is, however, perceivable in "'97 
   bonnie & clyde" from the former album) in "kim". the male narrator expresses 
   both, his hatred and his love, for the woman he is going to kill. & the 
   song's most sublime moment, at times it drives me to tears, is when mm goes  
   into "oh my god, i'm cracking up ..."  

kai             





                                                                 [schnipp]