Eminem's Music:
Soundtrack of My Adolescence
Keith Tevelow
ENGL 1100.46

The rapper, Marshall Bruce Mathers III (also known as Eminem and Slim Shady) is known for his lyrics about drug use, violence, and bad language in his music. He is from the east side of Detroit, where he became one of the most famous rappers in the world. I started getting into his music at the ripe young age of 13, when a boy becomes a man, which for me was a Bar Mitzvah. At my age, I was picked on a lot for being a short Jew. I used to get beat up a lot and discriminated against since I was one of the only Jews at my public school in Maryland. Don't get me wrong, I was probably one of the nicest guys in our school, but for some reason, I was always getting harassed. When I first listened to Eminem, I thought this guy was crazy talking about klling his wife and making fun of gay people. Even though the lyrics were explicit, there was something about how he wasn't afraid to rap about what was on his mind that was so intriguing to me. At the time, I would never talk back to anyone. I thought that being picked on was something everyone had to go through, like an initiation into becoming a man. The problem was, I never thought I got initiated. I never got the girls, I wasn't picked when we were playing games, and I got harassed for many years. I never complained about it because I felt like I could get through the process. I tried to divert my attention to other things in life. That's when I picked up Eminem's second CD, Marshall Mathers LP.

Kids' minds can do strange things at age 13. They start exploring the world with a new perspective. Once they hit puberty, a lot of new experiences take place. They start looking at girls in a different, and they think they can control the world. As for me, I never had a problem with understanding that I can't make people do what I want. It was just not my character. I was always taught to treat other people with respect so I would get respect back. I kept thinking it would eventually take place. Then I listened to Eminem’s CD and heard him rap about this troubles in the past. On his third CD, The Eminem Show, in the song "Sing for the Moment," Eminem raps about his dad walking out on him:

…his f****** dad walkin’ out
‘Cause he just hates him so bad that he blocks him out
If he ever saw him again he’d probably knock him out
His thoughts are whacked. He’s so mad he’s talkin’ back…
His step-father hit him, so he socked him back,
and broke his nose, his house is a broken home.
There’s no control, he just let his emotions go…

His view on life changed my views as well. I analyzed my life in general and realized I had it quite good. I knew I had good parents who loved me, a quite good school to get an education, and I was not living on the bad side of town. Even with all these good living conditions, I still thought that life would never be an easy ride. I tool Eminem’s music and used it as a motivational tool.

His music has gotten me through some tough times. When I was in school, if somebody was making fun of me and calling me names, I would close my eyes and remember the lyrics in the song "Cleanin’ Out My Closet:"

Have you ever been hated or discriminated against?
I have; I’ve been protested and demonstrated against,
Picket signs for my wicked rhymes, look at the times,
Sick as the mind of the m************ kid that’s behind
all this commotion. Emotions run deep as ocean’s explodin’,
Tempers flaring from parents. Just blow ‘em off and keep goin’,
Not taking nothin’ from no one…

I would try and leave the situation. If I ended up getting into a brawl, then I would at least have the music of Eminem in my head and get through the beating. If I had a big game to play, I would tune out all my stress from the big game and put it into his music, like the song "Till I Collapse:"

Sometimes you feel tired, feel weak,
and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, try to find that inner strength
and just pull that s*** out of you
and get that motivation to not give up, and not be a quitter,
no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

Then, I would get into the game really pumped up and play really well. If I was really tired, then I would remember those lyrics and put them to use.

The one problem with the music was that my parents hated it. I come from a household where we don't believe in bad language. I even got in trouble for saying "damn" or "hell." We never believed that violence was the answer. Eminem was pretty much an arch enemy to my family. His music was not allowed in my house, but I listened to him on my CD player anyway. He isn't scared to cuss or make dirty comments, and he shows this in the song "The Real Slim Shady" when he raps:

…I'm only givin’ you
things you joke about with your friends inside your living room
The only difference is I got the b**** to say it
in front of y'all and I don't gotta be false or sugarcoated at all
I just get on the mic and spit it
and whether you like to admit it {*ERR*} I just s*** it
better than ninety percent of you rappers out can
Then you wonder how can kids eat up these albums like valiums

He doesn't care what other people think. I would like to say that I don't care what other people think of me, but on some occasions I do. For example, if someone is telling a story, and it's an embarrassing one about me that I really can't stand other people knowing about, I laugh it off like it's a big joke, but sometimes I would really wish they would not say anything about it. Eminem tells people what is on his mind without fearing that he will be ridiculed. He's a rebel without a care. He's the Elvis of his generation. He perceives his thoughts with "who cares what they think?" attitude, which is why he became my idol. I knew almost every word on his Marshall Mathers LP CD, and I started to perceive things through his eyes. Even though I was never poor and my dad never walked out on me, his music just put me at ease. He was everything that I looked up to.

His views are very distinct, and he knows that people are listening to his music whether they like him or not. He has a voice that everyone can relate to, and it is powerful. In the song
"White America," he raps about how his music affects his listeners:

I never woulda dreamed in a million years I'd see
so many motherf***** people, who feel like me,
who share the same views and the same exact beliefs,
it's like a f***** ARMY marching in back of me,
so many lives I touch, so much anger aimed,
in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays,
and straight through your radio waves it plays and plays,
'till it stays stuck in your head…

He tells the truth, which makes his music moving and inspiring. He paints pictures with his music. I understand what he is rapping about because of the way he talks about his life and views. I would worry about the kids who are listening to the music because they maybe influenced to live their lives like he does (the abusive way he uses drugs and his abusive language toward women) by using provocative slang, and the violence that he portrays by shooting people in his songs. His views aren’t just about his life. He is also up to date with the news.

His political views are very similar to mine. He thinks the whole government is a political hypocrisy. In the song "Square Dance," he is saying that the Iraqi war is foolish, and he uses sarcasm to make a point when he raps:

All this terror, America demands action,
next thing you know, you've got Uncle Sam's a** askin’
to join the army or what you'll do for their Navy.
You just a baby, getting’ recruited at eighteen.
You're on a plane now, eatin’ their food and their baked beans.
I'm twenty-eight. They gon
take you 'fore they take me,
Crazy insane or insane crazy?
When I say Hussein, you say Shady.

He shows how the government doesn't care about each individual because he or she is a young person who can fight for them. They will give up each individual's life because the government blamed 9/11 on the Iraqis, and we are fighting there for unjustifiable reasons, and it has cost many people their lives. The government tricks us to go to war because it is "the patriotic thing to do," even if it’s for an unjust cause. I believe Eminem sends the right message about how the government is treating the country of Iraq.

A lot of his songs also portray how society acts. His social views are comprehensible as well. In the song "Who Knew," he raps about how kids aren't being guided by their parents and suggest that parents should

Get aware, wake up, get a sense of humor.
Quit tryin’ to censor music. This is for your kid’s amusement
(The kids!) But don’t blame me when lil’ Eric jumps off of the terrace,

You shoulda been watchin’ him – apparently you ain’t parents.
He shows how parents are just paying too much attention to Eminem and his lyrics, and they are not focused on what is really important in this argument: the kids. I agree with Eminem because there are too many parents no guiding their children in the right direction in the world. The kids are the ones I believe need help the most.

Eminem has been an influential musician for me since I became a teenager. He has made seven albums in his career, and is one of the most known rappers in the world. He makes people just like me have a voice for ourselves, and he motivates us to not give up on something that is wanted or needed for ourselves or others. I still like his music, but I think he has lost a little bit of his street toughness with his new album. I still love his old music and listen to it to this very day.