i do not understand the hype around eminem. sure, he has a noticeable flow when it comes to his rhymes and his beats are almost pop-worthy. but i wonder why people are still willing to purchase his album when he so clearly states that he’s just talking shit about other media icons to make money off of the callow youth.

some of his views may be on the controversial side — well, maybe all of them are — but all i see is a slapped together track with a catchy chorus and insults thrown every which way. most of the time he has no real evidence backing his judgement; they are simply the ramblings of a detroit schmuck suffering from an identity crisis and a case of bad manners. he makes money off of us by insulting individuals whom he makes no attempt to understand and instead tries to cut them down.

i used to hold a slight respect for marshall mathers for being able to openly express his views, despite the bad publicity he was receiving. however, now, when i attempt to listen to his songs on the radio, i cringe in light of his failure to evolve as an artist. is it because people are still willing to listen to his delusional criticisms or do they actually think he is saying something true about society? i’ll admit, one of his tracks made sense to me. something about parents blaming others for their own children’s actions (i forget the title). but the ones that make slim shady the most bucks are songs focused chiefly on the destruction of others.

his recent single “without me” further explains what type of artist he is. he’s not all about shedding light on society’s flaws. instead, he blatantly refers to himself as the “king of controversy”, as if the title signifies his place in this world. all he is really doing is constructing another relatively catchy diddy which he knows the mindless will heed as uber-cool and the mountains of bling will follow.

he has a long way to go before i ever pick up one of his cds. for now, i wish to listen to music that leaves me feeling better about myself and not like a consumer-driven chump.