The King Of Controversy

About 30 years ago, Marshall Bruce Mathers the third started his career in a culture completely dominated by African Americans. And about 30 years later, Marshall now known as Eminem has changed the “rap-game” forever. His immense talent, burning drive and every day controversy has made him a modern-day revolutionary. Nowadays, not many can argue the fact that Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time, if not the best. However, the journey has been a bumpy one and his career-development hasn’t been without criticism, his controversial nature and inability to keep anything private has been central in his life.

The fact that he is a white man in a culture created and dominated by blacks doesn’t help either. I mean what does Eminem think, that he could just take black culture and make it his own?

“Though I’m not the first king of controversy I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley To do black music so selfishly And use it to get myself wealthy Hey, there’s a concept that works Twenty million other white rappers emerge But no matter how many fish in the sea It will be so empty without me” Eminem – Without me [2002] The Eminem show Not the first King of controversy According to Eminem he is not the first king of controversy.

Apparently, stealing black culture seems to be a reoccurring theme for white musicians since Elvis started it in the mid 1950’s, creating controversy all over the world; asking parents closing their kids ears and telling them the devil was behind it all.

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Elvis’s success in the music industry triggered (now a days a term used for someone being offended) a lot of African Americans. He too stole their precious culture, however over the years people got more and more tolerant about the fact that a white man was dominating a music genre made by blacks.

You see, talent doesn’t come in skin color and neither does hard work.  Sure, genetics play a huge role, but hard work and dedication, that comes from the brain. Eminem has said himself, that he has an addictive personality. Meaning, he gets addicted to certain things quicker than most other people and it doesn’t matter what it is. It might be drugs, alcohol, working out or music. All named previously playing a major part throughout his life. “Cultural appropriation, at times also phrased cultural misappropriation, is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures”. The fact that we may have or may not have a certain pigment in our skin should not determine how talented or skillful we are perceived by other people. People excel in different things, people are different. This should be recognized more often all over the world.

The times have changed, it’s not the 1980’s anymore. It doesn’t matter if it’s sports, music, acting or anything else. We should consider each other equal. In actuality it’s not cool to segregate or discriminate. It’s time we appreciate talented individuals before they’re gone. The greatest of all time? In the early stages of his career Eminem faced a lot of criticism, stealing black culture like it’s nothing was not taken lightly. Some rappers till this day still feel Eminem will never be the greatest of all time (which we will refer to as GOAT from now on) because of his skin-color. Luckily this is just a small portion of the world’s population, and arguably, a group of narrowminded individuals. Lord Lamar’s voice is one of the voices that are usually heard screaming Eminem could never be the GOAT, often stating Eminem is “just a guest in the house of hip-hop”. Lord Lamar claims “The hood don’t fuck with Eminem like that”, meaning people in “the hood” don’t listen to Eminem’s music. He also more than often feels the need to express the fact that Eminem is a “guest in the house of hip hop”.

Now begs the question, what does being the GOAT really mean? The general understanding of the word would, in the context of rapping, be excelling greatly lyrically and in of flow, have the best one. The majority would say that Eminem is the most lyrically gifted rapper of all time, whereas rappers like Notorious BIG or 2-Pac were better flow wise. According to the Billboard list (2015), Eminem only ranks third though. In first Notorious BIG and coming in second Jay-z, with Eminem, being the only white rapper on the list. Does this show a favoritism of some sort towards black rappers? I don’t know. Honestly, I wouldn’t dare answer that question. I’ll leave the controversy to Eminem. Oh, and for the ones wondering if Eminem is the GOAT, I think he said it best himself. “I’m a G.O.A.T. and I don’t mean to gloat But I know what I know and I know what you think.

References

1. Billboard.com (2015). “The 10 best rappers of all time. [online]. Available at: https://www.billboard.com/photos/6723017/the-10-best-rappers-of-all-time. [Accessed Nov. 6, 2019].
2. Cultural appropriationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation [ Accessed Nov.8, 2019]