Hi, and welcome back.
Today’s post will be a fictional interview between
Josh Eells of the music magazine Rolling Stone and Eminem, the rapper whose
career has generated many controversies over the years.
Josh: Hello! Thank you for accepting to
come for this interview. Let’s begin, shall we?
Eminem: Ok, let’s start.
J: How did it all begin?
E: I was born in 1972 and I grew up with my
mother and smaller brother. I never got to meet my father though. We had big
problems with money, you know, but we had to keep moving. We had to move from
one house to another. Of course, this brought more problems for us, change
people around us, change schools, you know. When you’re the new kid and know
nothing about the school or people there, like what they do, what they’re like,
you end up being a target, you know, for bullying. I used to be that guy, and
it was not easy man. Then, I discovered rap and I began to attend different
battles. There was a problem though; I was white. People used to ignore me
somehow, to underestimate my abilities because you know, rap is an
African-American music. This was the main problem of my childhood. We were
living in a neighborhood of African-Americans and I got beaten up many times
for being, you know, different. However, at one point people started to admire
me somehow and this is where it all started I guess.
J: Why do you think white people are
underestimated while coming to rap music?
E: I don’t know. Maybe because white people are associated with wealth, happy
lives, you know, no problems, no worries whatsoever and consequently people
consider they don’t have that rage and ability to talk about problems. Well, it’s not like that, not everyone is
rich, not everyone has a perfect life. This problem is kind of stereotypical, you know.
J: Is this the reason people talk about
authenticity in rap music?
E: I guess so. Authenticity is like the
whole thing in rap music you know. If you want your song to be good it needs to
be real. You can’t simply put some words there and say you have a song. It has
to send a message. It has to be your way of expressing your feelings, your
past, your present, your future. This is what all music is about. Feeling.
J: Your authenticity has been generating
controversies over the past years. What were some of your intentions when you
were writing the songs? What were you hoping to achieve and how did you want to
impact people listening to them?
E: I was hoping that I could make myself
heard, you know; make people understand my struggles as a child and later as a
teenager. I wanted to open their eyes, evidencing the discrimination and the
harassment that surrounded me and that surrounds many others. I also wanted to
make people see some of the failures of our society as well as making them see
the hypocrisy that surrounds us. As for authenticity, I think one of the best
proofs of mine is my background. I didn’t start in life having everything I
wanted. I built my way to the top from almost nothing. My biggest ambition was
to show people that I can become someone and that I can rap. Of course there
were lots who said I will not succeed, you know, because of my skin colour. I
wanted to prove them wrong. All the rage, all the hate in my songs was real. It
was reflecting over a period of my life, you know. Maybe this won me some extra
authenticity points. Violence and hate sell well. Especially to people who are
just like me, who have to deal with the unfair situations of life.
Discrimination is a real problem in our days, you know, having people acting
different just because of your skin colour. I understand this, because
discrimination is not directed only towards African-Americans. It can be used
as a weapon against anyone and I learnt that the hard way. Life is not easy,
and discrimination and harassment only make it worse for certain individuals of
the society. However, my songs are meant not only to attack different
individuals that represent our society but also to give a hint of hope to those
that are going through tough moments, those who think than nothing and no one
can help them, those ones that are ready to give up. I would tell them to keep
fighting, ‘cause no matter how hard it might look like, it is certainly not
impossible.
J: So you are saying that your hate and
rage are directed towards the people discriminating and harassing others.
E: Yes.
J: But what about the language that you use
in your songs? Do you think that it has any impact on the songs and most
importantly, do you use the same language at home, around your kids? Taking for
example your song “The Real Slim Shady”, what’s one of the messages that you
were trying to send?
E: Language that I decide to use is important in my songs. I want people to
understand exactly how I feel, no matter if they get offended or not. If I
think something I will say it exactly as it is, you know. And this is one of
the aims of the song you mentioned. I was trying to make clear that no matter
what, I will not be “false or sugarcoated at all”. Sometimes people accuse me
of profanity and say that my kids shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of
language, and they are right, you know; but the words I use in my songs are not
something that I use in a conversation with them. You know, where I lived when
I was a kid, words like that would just come out from anybody at any time and I
feel like it is important to use them to describe that situation. I am aware that
kids nowadays are attracted by these kinds of words in songs but it is not my
problem. When it comes to my music there are my rules but one thing should be
clear, there is a huge difference between my music and my home. Music is art
and my home is no place for profanity.
J: I understand. Thank you again for being
here today! It was truly amazing to find all these things about you.
E: Thank you for inviting me.
