Stop Me If You Heard This One Before, People Are Trying To Cancel Eminem Now Over Some Of His Lyrics
HotNewHipHop- Eminem is at the center of a debate on social media right now as Gen Z and Millennials argue over the rapper's cancellation on TikTok, with the former group pointing out his past problematic lyrics and the latter generation fighting back to combat the decision to leave Em behind.
You might have noticed Eminem's name in the trending topics last night and this morning and wondered to yourself, did this man drop another surprise album? Always stirring the pot, even when he does nothing at all, quite frankly, Eminem is currently the latest to take on cancel culture, as a group of Gen Z TikTokers plead their case to leave the rapper in the past because of his lyrics, most notably for something he says at the end of a verse in "Love The Way You Lie" with Rihanna.
People are angry at the Detroit rap legend for the following lines: "If she ever tries to f**king leave again/I’mma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire." It's understandable why they would react to this lyric in such a strong manner, but nobody expected the line, which was released eleven years ago, to cause such a ruckus on social media this week.
While Gen Z seems adamant about no longer supporting the 48-year-old superstar, millennials are fighting back on Twitter and TikTok with their take on the matter, laughing in the faces of their younger counterparts and claiming that Slim Shady will never be silenced.
Hey, look man, tell me you don't like my firm, tell me you don't like my idea, tell me you don't like my fuckin necktie, but don't tell me that of all the outrageous and fucked up shit Eminem has rapped about in his 20-year career, that the best you could come up with to whine and cry about, is this throwaway line from "Love The Way You Lie".
Are you fucking kidding me Gen Z? I know you guys are rewriting the definition on lazy but you really put zero effort into doing any homework whatsoever. If you had bothered to do even the slightest, you would have realized that Skylar Grey, a female artist, wrote the song, (as a metaphor for her abusive relationship with the music industry). Eminem added his verses and the label knew what a smash it was going to be, so they added Rihanna, the biggest female singer in the world at the time, to do the hook. So you have not only one, but two females not only authoring but also co-signing the song with their voice.
Eminem has made an entire career out of being a provocateur and not apologizing for it. He's been a lightning rod for 20 years now.
If you really wanted to cancel Marshall you couldn't take the time to hit the google machine and lookup the three decades of attempted cancellations of the man? Or at bare minimum take a look into some of his truly insane lyrics and at least give yourselves a leg to stand on over your latest little bullshit cancellation campaign?
Have you ever heard "Kim"?
Or what about "Guilty Conscience"?
Or what about the Mariah Carey diss track?
Those are just three off the top of my head. I'm not doing all your homework for you.
You can be mad at the Gen Z's for coming for the king on this one, but you can't really blame them. They're on the hottest hot streak, perhaps, of all time. They murdered Mr. Potato Head (and cut off his penis), they killed Dr. Seuss, and now they're getting half of the Disney Movies their parents and older siblings grew up to blacklisted.
Shooters shoot, especially when they're hot. So kind of respect coming after the man they've been trying to cancel since day 1 of his career which began back in 2001.
I guess people will just never learn that this kind of stuff can never and will never kill Eminem. It only makes him stronger.
The big thing here is that Eminem is pretty much "uncancellable" if that's a word. He's not invincible, because he can't pull a Bill Cosby or something and get away with it. But when it comes to his raps, and art he's taken on much much tougher critics than a bunch of losers on TikTok.
Speaking of "art", your interpretation of it and mine are totally different. Everybody's is. And that's actually a beautiful thing. That's the whole point of "art" of all kinds. To spark the mind, thought, and conversation. Otherwise what the fuck are we doing around here? Living like robots?
You might think Eminem is disgusting, and vulgar, and hate his music, but you have an opinion on him. Because he's an artist.
And once we start coming for "artists" and art, (including literature, comedy, and movies) then we have a serious serious fucking problem. What's next?
If the actual targets of Eminem's "attacks" are some of his biggest supporters, then who are these fuckin pissants on TikTok to say they're offended and #triggered?
Exhibit A-
ET - Don’t worry about Moby; even though Eminem paused during an MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech and threatened to beat up the slight, bespectacled techno-rocker, Moby says he wasn’t frightened. Eminem called him ”that Moby girl” from the podium and said, ”I will hit a man with glasses” during Thursday’s awards ceremony, but Moby didn’t take Slim Shady’s words too seriously, at least not at first. Moby’s response, posted on his website, read, ”The truth is that I honestly, in all sincerity, thought that the whole Eminem thing was done in some semblance of humor until Eminem called me a p—y (that was off camera) and then threatened to beat me up. Ah well.”
Moby says he didn’t take that personally either, writing, ”I think that Eminem is talented and interesting, but I’m kind of stunned at the anger that he has for me seeing as I’d never met him up until [the VMAs].”
Moby says he has newfound respect for Eminem --
"Honestly, if he retired, I think the world of music would be a poorer place. He's a really fascinating public figure," Moby said.
Moby said he still has qualms about some of Eminem's lyrics but praised him as talented, saying, "I'd much rather have public figure musicians like Eminem because at least he's exciting."
The 39-year-old electronic musician said he welcomed Eminem's public criticism of him, calling it free publicity.
LA Times - Moby took off on the controversial rapper, after a nod to the 1st Amendment: “I support Eminem’s free speech,” said the dance/pop auteur. “I oppose censorship in all forms. He’s very good at what he does, but he’s also a misogynist and homophobe and racist and anti-Semite.
Meanwhile, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello supported both Eminem and the protesters.
“To me it seems pretty straightforward,” he said. “There are two opinions one can have about freedom of speech--you’re for it or against it.”
And while he personally “completely disapproves” of what he considers? the misogynist and homophobic elements of Eminem’s lyrics, he said he had no problem with the rapper being honored this night.
“I find it interesting that he’s been singled out,” he said. “There are several nominees tonight who have misogynistic or homophobic lyrics, but he’s the only one that’s being talked about.”
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Exhibit B-
Rolling Stone - According to reports, the superstar rapper didn't even know Elton John was gay ahead of meeting him… and didn't care. It nonetheless ended up making the performance all the more powerful.
"Of course, I heard of Elton John," he told MTV News in 2004. "I didn't know he was gay. I didn't know anything about his personal life. I didn't really care. But being that he was gay and he had my back, I think it made a statement in itself saying that he understood where I was coming from."
Talking about their decision to hug and hold hands, the 8 Mile star said: "It was more so just a statement, period".
He added about the preconceptions about him: "If you really think that about me, you really don't know Marshall. You really don't know me."
Elton reveals in his Me memoir: "I'm Eminem's AA sponsor. Whenever I ring to check in on him, he always greets me the same way: 'Hello, you cunt', which I guess is very Eminem."
"When I first wanted to get sober, I called [Elton] and spoke to him about it,", Eminem told The Guardian in 2009. "He's somebody who's in the business and can identify and relate to the lifestyle and how hectic things can be. He understands … the pressure and any other reasons that you want to come up with for doing drugs."
"I reached out to him and told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem and I need your advice.'"
And it wasn't just advice he got either. The rapper has also revealed how Elton would call him every day during the early days of his recovery from wherever he was in the world.
Exhibit C-
ABC News - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation issued a statement Tuesday in anticipation of Eminem's success with Grammy nominations. The group said his music is inseparable from its content, which they says advocates "violence against lesbians and gay men" and sends "explicit messages that endorse hatred."
Rocker Sheryl Crow, herself nominated for two Grammys, said, "I liked the Eminem record. I think it's a great-sounding record, and whether you like the content or not, it's a well-made record, and it's interesting-sounding and very infectious."
R&B singer Toni Braxton, up for two prizes as well, is also a fan of the rapper:
"For me, I'm an artist, and [this issue makes me] think, 'freedom of speech'; you've got to be able to do and sing what you want. That gives us choices in life, that's very important. His lyrics don't personally offend me, but I can understand why some people might be offended … but then, just don't listen."
I don't think you need to read anymore, but if you need some I can do some more research to provide citations of other artists that have been caught in Eminem's crosshairs, or have real, true reasons to be offended by things he's put out into the world, yet have nothing but respect for the guy.
Because artists, like Elton John (and Moby I guess) understand that there's a difference between taking artistic liberty with a certain subject matter, creating something brand new using your mind, and sharing it with the world. To appreciate or be repulsed by.
That's what these snowflakes are really missing the point on. I don't think our schools are teaching the pornography Supreme Court case anymore, Jacobellis v. Ohio. (It's probably banned from the public school syllabus now that I think of it). But I can remember having the famous "I know it when I see it" drilled into my head by one of my teachers, and how significant the protection of freedom of speech means in this country. When it comes down to it, it's one of the biggest things separating us in this country from people in others in terms of their freedom.
The finding basically meant, there is a difference between art, and actual real-life "obscenity", just as there is a difference between tasteful nudity, and hard-core pornography. And the saying can also apply to the positive in art, “I can’t define a true work of art, but I know it when I see it.”
Read some case law one time for me Generation Z.
Bottom line is if you come at Eminem you better come a lot better equipped and you better have done your homework. The guy's entire life he's been dealing with people trying to blackball him. He's made an entire career out of it. And not necessarily on purpose. I'm not sure there's ever been a musician that gives less fucks. You cream puffs are playing right into him.
If you need a refresher course check out the Eminem 101 introduction-
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p.p.s.-
In response to all the fuss online, Eminem released a custom-tailored video this past weekend, as an answer to the movement, "Tone Deaf".
CoS- Eminem has been a target of cancel culture before the phrase was even part of the lexicon. His lyrics have long been violent, homophobic, misogynistic, and sexist (with more than a dash or rapey-ness), with most of his shocking locutions attributed to “alter egos” Slim Shady and Eminem, while Marshall Mathers stood separate as a sincere wordsmith. Now, it’s Gen Z’s turn to try and put an end to one of the most controversial hip-hop icons, and Em is having none of it.
In the new lyric video for “Tone Deaf”, a track off last year’s Music to Be Murdered By – Side B (Deluxe Edition), an animated Eminem faces a history filled with attempts to cancel him. The clip finds the cartoon rapper facing a display of his past personas, standing tall alongside his rows of gold records and awards. In sharing the video on Twitter, he quoted the chorus as a clear response to TikTokers: “I won’t stop even when my hair turns grey (I’m tone-deaf) / ‘Cause they won’t stop until they cancel me.”
Of course, there are more direct lyrics in the song, and in classic Em style, even they have controversial turns of phrase:
“It’s okay not to like my shit
Everything’s fine, drink your wine, bitch
And get offline, quit whinin’, this is just a rhyme, bitch (Rhyme, bitch)
But ask me, will I stick to my guns (Guns) like adhesive tape? (Adhesive tape)
Does Bill Cosby sedate once he treats to cheesecake and a decent steak? (Huh?)
You think gettin’ rid of me’s a piece of cake?
I’m harder than findin’ Harvey Weinstein a date (Damn)”