By: Thomas Brewington
Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, has been a hip-hop icon since he burst onto the scene in 1999 with the release of The Slim Shady LP, and subsequently his debut album The Marshall Mathers LP in 2000.
His alter-ego Slim Shady was seen as being obscene, sadistic, masochistic and violent. Mathers was said to be using the character to express his anger with lyrics about drugs, rape, and murder. He was also seen as insensitive towards tragic events, as we will talk about here. Eminem, over his career spanning over two decades, has rapped about events in our news that have drawn controversy, including numerous references to the Columbine High School massacre. However, with the surprise release of his latest album “Music To Be Murdered By“, and in particular the single and accompanying music video for “Darkness“, he seems to have changed his focus to pushing for stricter gun control laws in the United States.
Let’s take a look at some of his past lyrics, and analyze how Eminem has gone from a seemingly violent psychopath to a penchant for change.
Guilty Conscience (1999)
Fuck that, do that shit, shoot that bitch
Can you afford to blow this shit? Are you that rich?
Why you give a fuck if she dies? Are you that bitch?
Do you really think she gives a fuck if you have kids?
A collaboration with legendary rapper and producer Dr. Dre, Eminem is seen to be the devil on the shoulder of the person he’s rapping to/about, with Dre being the voice of reason. As shown, the violent thoughts and verbiage is present. Guilty Conscience was certified gold in the United States.
The Way I Am (2000)
When a dude’s getting bullied and shoots up his school
And they blame it on Marilyn and the heroin
Where were the parents at? And look where it’s at!
Middle America, now it’s a tragedy
Now it’s so sad to see, an upper-class city
Havin’ this happening
This was the first mention of the Columbine Massacre on record. Referencing that this was the first school shooting that the media cared about, since it happened at a “nice” school, in a “nice” area. Mathers states that he thinks that music not is the reason for the shootings, but bullying and the parents.
I’m Back (2000)
I take seven [kids] from [Columbine]
Stand ‘em all in line, add an AK-47, a revolver, a 9
A MAC-11 and it oughta solve the problem of mine
And that’s a whole school of bullies shot up all at one time
This is probably the most well known Columbine reference made by Eminem. This album came out one year after the massacre, so it was still a very sensitive subject. Therefore the label censored these two words (Kids and Columbine), even on the explicit version of the album.
Rap God (2013)
I’ll take seven kids from Columbine
Put ‘em all in a line, add an AK-47, a revolver and a 9
This was the first time we could hear the Columbine Line uncensored. Eminem makes mention of the previous lyric stating “See if I get away with it now that I ain’t as big as I was”, referencing his reported fading popularity.
Darkness (2020)
And this brings us to Darkness, the first single from his latest album Music To Be Murdered To.
Listening to the song by itself, it seems like an ode to the pressure of performing in front of crowd, or lack there of. It seems to be a self-reflection of what he faces, his fears of not being able to live up to his own hype.
I should get ready for the show now
Wait, is this the whole crowd? I thought this shit was sold out
(Hello darkness, my old friend)
But it’s only the opening act, it’s early, don’t overreact
Then something told me relax
And just hope for the show to be packed
Don’t wanna hit the stage before they fill each row to the max
‘Cause that’d be totally wack
You can’t murder a show nobody’s at
However, as shown by the music video, it’s a darker tale. The video recreates the process the shooter of the Las Vegas Massacre, preparing to take the lives of 58 and wounding 413, that fateful night in 2017.
Cops are knockin’, oh fuck, thought I blocked the entrance
Guess show time is over
No suicide note, just a note for target distance
But if you’d like to know the reason why I did this
You’ll never find a motive, truth is I have no idea
I am just as stumped, no signs of mental illness
Just tryin’ to show ya the reason why we’re so fucked
‘Cause by the time it’s over, won’t make the slightest difference
The lyrics take a dark turn as we begin to see the bigger picture unfold. Both the song and video end with actual news reports of the aforementioned Las Vegas Massacre, shootings in California, Texas, North Carolina, and Dayton, Ohio.
The video ends with the message, “When will this end? When enough people care” and a call to register to vote for stricter gun laws.
Eminem’s focus on gun violence in America is timely, but it seems a bit out of place coming from him. Eminem has been arrested three times, with each arrest involving guns.
On another track from the album, “Unaccommodating”, Eminem appears to make light of violence with the lyrics, “But I’m contemplating yelling ‘Bombs away’ on the game/ Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting” referencing a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 that killed 19 people.
Another lyric references a church shooting: “Bitch, shut the f–k up ‘fore I shoot you too/ Ain’t shit I won’t do just to get a few YouTube views/ Run up in a church like pew, pew, pew/ ‘Cause that’s what I do, do, do.”
So is Marshall Mathers the man to preach for stricter gun laws?
My opinion is absolutely not.
The album as a whole is fantastic from start to finish, with each track flowing perfectly into one another. However, from a political aspect, it is quite hypocritical of the rapper to try to push control, when his…shady…past is quite prevalent still, here.
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