"Think I give a damn about a Grammy?"
Mike Marchand
Questionable Freedoms 2000
It was an awfully strange sight last Wednesday night at the Grammy Awards. Controversial rapper Eminem was holding the hand of music legend Elton John, while his other hand was offering an extended middle finger to the crowd giving him a standing ovation.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was extremely critical of Elton John, who is openly gay, for sharing the stage with Eminem, whose last album "contains the most blatantly offensive, homophobic lyrics GLAAD has ever seen," according to Executive Director Joan M. Garry.
But except for occasional derisions of people Em doesn't like as "faggots," the real hateful lyrics don't come until the very last track, "Criminal": "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge, that'll stab you in the head, whether you're a fag or lez, or a homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-ves, pants or dress — hate fags? The answer's yes." In the 17 songs before that verse, Eminem states multiple times that he doesn't personally believe in the hateful mindset his lyrics espouse. In fact, he does it once just before the "Hate fags?" verse in "Criminal."
The real Marshall Mathers, so to speak, comes through in some of the less angry songs. Seeing past the explicit lyrics, Eminem does have some poignant social commentary. For example, "if we can hump dead animals and antelopes, then there's no reason that a man and another man can't elope." Enlightened thinking for someone who supposedly "hates fags," even though it's presented in a demented sort of way.
Eminem constantly questions the consistency of people who criticize snippets of his lyrics by asking why he is the target. He points to sex on television, violence in movies and the lack of parental influence as other problems, but he sees the finger of blame immediately pointed at him after things like school shootings. (He also reserves special attention to a certain now-citizen: "You want me to fix up lyrics while the President gets his d--k sucked? F--k that!")
But of course, it's wrong to portray Eminem just as some Jonathan Swift for the new millennium, satirizing the world by making himself look like a hopeless misanthrope. There are some truly sickening and offensive words and themes in his lyrics. In The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem raps about raping his mother (who sued him for defamation after Em said she "does more dope than I do") and murdering his wife (who has now sued him as well). For good measure, he also talks about impregnating Jennifer Lopez and acts out a skit where rival Detroit rappers Insane Clown Posse perform oral sex on him.
His most despicable lyrics come on the song "I'm Back," where he raps about shooting bullies at Columbine. The resulting outrage forced him to delete the words "kids" and "Columbine" from all future copies of the album, even the unedited ones.
But, truly sociopathic lyrics aside, Eminem is simply following a trend set by Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne, Howard Stern, Andrew Dice Clay, George Carlin, all the way back to Allen "America, go f--k yourself with your atom bomb" Ginsberg. The lesson is that shock sells. And the more people shocked, the more you will sell. The Marshall Mathers LP has sold over 8 million units.
So, when GLAAD announced its partnership with other groups like the National Organization for Women; the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network; Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; The Matthew Shepard Foundation; the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and others to protest Eminem's stage appearance, the performance quickly became the hottest topic surrounding the Awards.
Eminem's lyrics, although shocking, should come a surprise to no one. In a genre cluttered with songs devoted to such intellectually stimulating topics as "bitches," "ho's," "ni---s" and "nines," Eminem's rants were the next logical evolution, especially given the fact that he wanted to be taken seriously as a white rapper and not automatically lumped in with farces like Vanilla Ice. What better way to get noticed than controversy? (Em's first album, Infinite, has the standard rap obscenities, but none of the truly psychotic stuff.) He himself recognizes the secret to his success: "Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records . . . Well, I do, so f--k him and f--k you too."
So, in the end, what should we make of Marshall Mathers, who raps under the moniker Eminem and concocts graphic fantasies under a further alter ego called Slim Shady? In "Stan," the song he performed at the Grammys, Eminem takes us into the mind of a crazed fan and gives voice to those sensations civilized people never see. But is Stan the insane one or is it Eminem? Can we ever know the difference?
Perhaps that's the scariest thing.
The real Mike Marchand is a senior English major who lost one of his heroes last week. We'll miss you, Dale. His column appears every other Monday and his e-mail address is Marchand.3@nd.edu.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 26, 2001
