Found the new album on teh intarweb, giving it a listen to now.
The first song is called "White America". He hasn't lost his ability to write really good satire.
I'll post more thoughts on it later for those interested.
For those not interested, feel free to gripe about Eminem.
Comments
Been listening to Rap since the "Sucka MC" days and Eminem is the certainly the best White Rapper in the History of the genre and in the top 10 of all MC's IMO. I'll be picking up his album.
But then again, I still don't listen to his music much.
<strong>Sorry, Eminem is only stupid white trash to me. Gimme Beastie Boys or gimme death. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
Beastie Boys are nice but when it comes to lyrics and delivery Eminem crushes every Beastie.
I sure as hell don't see any similarities between Vanilla Ice and Eminem (other than skin color).
I haven't ever bought an Eminem album I won't ever, but he's fascinating to me.
OutKast and Eminem have made me interested in listening to hip-hop again.
You don't get better than Eminem nowadays. In the hardcore rap arena he really has no peers because his style is so different. For pure hip-hop skill he is the real deal.
But if you're not into that thing or if his attitude/lyrics turn you off then I can understand.
<strong>I find rap embarrasing. Period.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'm sure Rap finds you embarrassing also Shanny
[ 05-13-2002: Message edited by: hmurchison ]</p>
Like many things, a lot of things are attributed to race that would more accurately attributed to socio-economic status. If you want to analyze it then where has the "rap culture" come from?
You say it's from blacks, well where did they get it? Did they bring it from Africa? Hip-hop was born of jazz, dance music and *gasp* rock 'n' roll.
The first rap album to sell 1 million (platinum):
"The King of Rock" - Run D.M.C. 1985
D.M.C. of Run DMC has the best quote (albeit a concise one) about this issue. When the B-Boys were first getting big the whole "white rapper" idea was new and revolted against, and when asked why they let the B-Boys play before them at their shows he said something to the effect of, "They bring people to the shows and the people like what they hear. That is what music is about. They are white boys, yeah, but as long as they sing about white boy stuff they'll be fine." Remember, this is 1985/6.
That's why they flourished, that's why they sell millions of records over a decade after their first multi-platinum album in the record industry where new acts are shuffled in and out monthly.
They made good music and told good stories. They had fun lyrics and didn't rely on one gimmick to sell records, which the vast majority of rappers (and rockers) do. And they fizzle out.
It's not arbitrary that some rappers make it and some don't. It's not just about who has got the most booty hoes in their video or who got the richest quickest. Master P was huge for a year or so but now he can't give his new album away. He's got booty ho videos with a diamond-encrusted tank and everything.
I have liked hip-hop since I can remember liking music. I broke my Teddy Ruxpin making him rock out to Bruce Springsteen and Public Enemy.
I can identify with a lot of it, because it's farce and all there really is to identify is with the emotion. When I was really young rap was about fun (B-Boys) or having a message (P.E.). That changed when rap started getting more complex, when rapping over guitar riffs went out I didn't like new rap anymore, because it was all black rage rap.
Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., N.W.A., Ice T, Ice Cube, etc... are about very specific situations. The message wasn't universal anymore nor was it anything you could sympathize with like Public Enemy would present. I can't get into anything Tupac says because I'm not his audience.
However, don't relegate the entire genre of hip-hop to Tupac. Oddly enough, the song I'm listening to while I type this entirely-too-long post is dealing with this very issue:
"White America" - Eminem
Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby
just like yourself
If they were brown, Shady lose
Shady sits on the shelf
But Shady's cute, Shady knew
Shady's dimples would help
...
Let's do the math, if I was black
I would have sold half
...
See the problem is
I speak to suburban kids
who otherwise wouldn't even know
these words exist
whose moms never would have never
gave two squirts of piss
till I created all this mother****in' turbulence
straight out the tube and into
your living rooms I came
And kids flippe when they knew
I was produced by Dre
That's all it took, and they were
instantly hooked right in
And they connected with me, too,
because I look like them.
------
I think I like too many different types of music, it gets tiring.
<strong>
I'm sure Rap finds you embarrassing also Shanny
[ 05-13-2002: Message edited by: hmurchison ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Rap and my mom get together and talk about me all the time. They started a bowling league.
<strong> I broke my Teddy Ruxpin making him rock out to Bruce Springsteen and Public Enemy.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
groveratwins the award for "most obscure reference in a post". Unfortunetly groverat is not here to except his award, he is busy trying to sell his "My Buddy" doll on eBay.
Hip Hop/Rap has become soooo boring. I mean I'm Old School but I haven't seen the impact of a Hip Hop group hit as hard as Public Enemy. I mean a PE album made you think. It wasn't about Booty Shakin or Bentley's or being a Playa. I miss those days. Todays Rappers are living caricatures. Even Chris Rock laughs at the buffoons on the Source Awards...I wouldn't blame you for doing the same.
Eminem isn't afraid to to say things that inspire controversy. I laughed about his statements about Elvis Presley on his current Single.
It's not the waythe music is done or the poor quality of the voices - it's the fact that there's nothing but anger there. Fine and good for a song or two, but jeez, don't they ever let up?
I guess I lean more toward the Punk genre than Rap too.
And, now my real beef. He dissed Moby and techno. What an ignorant guy! In the song where he disses Moby all the music is electronic except for him! Besides, why the heck does Eminem hate Moby and his music?
I like Eminem's music, but I hate Eminem. Beastie Boys are good. Bloodhound Gang, good. I even find some good things in ICP. Kotton Mouth Kings are good. But I listen to everything. Baroque, you name it. In fact, I'm going to make a bunch of Baroque techno once I figure out Digital Performer!
Eminem is just party music in the end. He doesn't explore social issues or universal questions anymore, and his musical style is getting stale.
A side-note: anyone heard that "The word fvck" skit? "From the German 'frikkin', which means, to strike." LOL! Fvck the fvcking fvckers! I don't know where that came from, but is sounds like the "Biography" guy on SNL. I don't know how, but this conversation made me think of this skit
Anyhow, the more I think about it, the more angry I get. We wouldn't be talking about Eminem if he weren't white. He probably wouldn't have gotten any attention at all if he sounded exactly the same, did everything the same, except was something besides white. He wouldn't have gotten the support and direction from Dr. Dre, etc. But he is breaking new ground supposedly, even though many informed people can beg to differ. He doesn't have any real talent, actually. Well, not like that of the Notorious BIG or Bone Thugs N Harmony, or, say, Moby. We are basing everything we say on his ethnicity, I think. I have noticed how quick almost everyone is to jump on the "...But actually, Eminem does have talent, no one can argue that" bandwagon. My English teacher, people here, journalists in columns... We are working on the assumption he does have some bold and inciteful talent. Does he?
Almost immediately, an article I read that was handed out in English class last year started out along the lines of the above, saying how talented he was.
Why do people like Eminem? The easily hummable tunes and the nice catch phrases, I assume. I think his first CD had some interesting thoughts, but still, he isn't Mozart. Plus, everyone always listens to his crappy songs at my school, like that "Every day I am what you say I am" song. Or that one that has the spray cans in it. "Stan" was great. Mostly from Dido, I think, but I enjoyed how Eminem took a step back from the whole showbiz scene and looked at its effects on people. Anyway, just my thoughts.
And all music is good, IMO. I'm just pondering why Eminem is so popular.