What's Wrong With Eminem?

It is nothing new that people are offended, or even deeply concerned regarding the rapper "Eminem." Most people can even see why individuals would easily take offense to the artist's lyrics. But what is really wrong the the Detroit rapper, Marshall Mathers? In a word, nothing. Why? He is a human being.

Marshall Mathers is no different than anyone of the rest of us. Some may disagree with that statement simply because of the ocasionally morbid lyrics of the entertainer. But what person doesn't have thoughts of hurting someone? What person doesn't imagine themselves beating up the guy dating their ex-girlfriend, or the dad that walked out on them when they were young? Everyone has thoughts of anger, malice, and slander. However, we all chose to deal with them in different ways.

To say the least, Eminem is an extremely talented lyricist. For someone to put down so many raw emotions on paper and make them sound coherent, is a gift in itself; let alone being able to turn those thoughts into lyrics, and then into a song. The rappers awards were not given because of a popularity contest. In short, he has skills. Alot of them.

But, there are things in his songs that can become of concern. As a listener to his music, there are songs that even I come across and won't listen to because the content is just too obscene. Eminem however, is a man that just happens to be troubled by a bad childhood, in addition to a life that has been plagued with some very high hurdles along the way. In the song "The Way I Am" the rapper talks about his struggles with just trying to be a normal person without having to deal with all of the hype and controversey that has become known to practically the entire country. Obviously Marshall Mathers is a person who has more things to deal with than the average person, and it seems as though, in order to get things off his chest, he needs to put them into lyrics.

He is a man that is very concious of what he writes and puts into the public. In a line from "The Way I Am" Eminem asks

"if my music is literal and i'm a criminal,
How the **** can i raise a little girl?
I couldn't. i wouldn't be fit to"

The rapper makes a very valid point, that many people seem to forget when they critisize his lyrical content. He has a daughter. Some would probably say he is a horrible influence but it is hard to believe he doesn't care about his daughter when he says in "Cleaning Out My Closet,"

"I look at Hailie and I couldn't picture leavin' her side. Even if I hated Kim, I grit my teeth and I'd try
to make it work with her at least for Hailie's sake. I maybe made some mistakes but I'm only human. But I'm man enough to face them today."

Sure, Eminem has problems. He might say some things that are slightly more violent or vulgar than the average person, but like every other human being in the world, he is letting off steam and needs a release for raw emotion. It just so happens that some of his emotion makes it's way onto the radio. He is a person, no better, and no worse, than any of the rest of us.