Originally Published 12/8/05 on "He's Paul Phoenicks" http://phoenicks.modblog.com
Once upon a time, Eminem was the rapper most ripped by me on a daily basis. I've called him things like "Hip Hop's Elvis", a "culture stealer", and even "a trojan horse ushering in the commercialization and un-urbanizing of Hip Hop culture." Looking back into some of my previous blog entries, looking back at the "controversy" with Eminem and Source magazine head Ray "Benzino" Scott, I really railed on Eminem and his perceived "crowning" as the "king" of Hip Hop by popular American society. A classic quote of mine:
"This is the machine, placing on a pedestal, the pretty white man. On top of a game he didn't start, didn't do the best work in, or wasn't a major influence of its musicians. Babe Ruth is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player, even though he didn't compete against African Americans, wasn't the greatest pitcher of his era and probably won't be the greatest hitter either, as Barry Bonds approaches and surpasses his records (which is an entirely different debate) while other players have already bested Ruth's other achievements."
Well, now... he's not so bad!
In fact, he's actually quite admirable in his approach to his music these days!
It all started earlier this year with Mockingbird, Eminem's "ode" to his daughters Hailie Jade and Alaina. The song, to those that have never heard it or seen the emotional video on your TRL's and BET's, is basically a message to the kids telling them that, despite all of the hardships their father has had with their mother Kim; despite all of the time that father Marshall wasn't around because he had to earn a living, things were going to turn out okay for them. Daddy was going to be there for the kids no matter what and was going to make sure that, even if things didn't go quite right for them, he was going to do everything he could to make it right! The chorus of the song basically says it all:
"Now hush little baby, don't you cry Everything's gonna be alright Stiffen that upperlip up little lady, i told ya Daddy's here to hold ya through the night I know mommy's not here right now and we don't know why We feel how we feel inside It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby But i promise momma's gon' be alright"
To me, this was the first case of evidence in favor of the argument of Eminem, no, Marshall Bruce Mathers, the mature adult and father; the artist who cares about a lot more than just celebrity women shaking their "Ass Like That", killing his estranged wife Kim on record, being a "Superman" lover with fast women, or blue and yellow "Purple Pills". This was a guy that was rising above Hip Hop to become more than a rapper. He was becoming a mature artist and a poet. He was, right before our eyes and ears, becoming someone that was trying to send a deeply personal message through his music.
And it was a refreshing message!
Flash forward to today. Eminem is back with Curtain Call, allegedly his final official album release. It's a collection of #1 hits that features 3 new cuts. This is NOT a best-of disc, however. "When I'm Gone" is the current chart-mover, ranking in the Top 10 of the iTunes singles charts the last I checked. Once again, it features Eminem talking to his children. But now, the tone is different. Instead of listening to Eminem, the rapper, talk to Hailie Jade about how things will be okay no matter what, we're hearing Marshall, the father, trying to cope with not being around for his children. Hailie (voiced by Eminem) wishes that the rapper known as Eminem, and his "dark alter ego", Slim Shady, never existed, as it is this side of Daddy that is blamed as the entity that drove the wedge between Marshall and wife Kim. It is the rapper that made Marshall have to leave the family, pursuing a career in rap music. Slim Shady was the entity that kept Marshall away from Hailie. Slim Shady was what caused Kim to become the oft-publicized woman who is constantly in trouble with the law. Slim Shady was the entity that sent Marshall into rehab for painkillers. Marshall seems very apologetic for letting his Slim Shady persona get in the way of his kids to the point where, in what can be seen as the climax of the music video and song, Marshall KILLS himself (Slim Shady), ending that side of himself, apparently, for good, returning himself to being the man in "Mockingbird."
This is a highly personal work that the rapper Eminem just could not produce. It seems much more like poetry than a song; an autobiographical work of fiction that can almost be taken as fact, given the subjects and histories involved. A rapper can rap as long as they want to - only an artist can convey emotion! Eminem has become that artist and, in doing so, become a family man again.
This is where I have learned to respect the man - he's seemingly out of that braggadocio style of rap that plagues Hip Hop today. The "Ass Like That" rap. That "Crank Yanker" video rap. Michael Jackson insult video rap. He's now a man. He's a father. He's an adult. And, dare I say it, he's NOW someone I can tolerate listening to and genuinely appreciate his message!
Who would've thought that little old me, the same guy that thinks that The Boondocks is this century's greatest representation of African American culture and American society-at-large, would watch the "Hip Hop Elvis" turn into a grown-up and actually like it? I guess I won't be doing any more exposés on the evils of the music industry and how it picks someone to be the cash cow, tossing others to the side!
Who am I kidding! I've got about 3 months worth of articles on that subject I can still write!
With a then 35.6% of the vote, the team favored to win Super Bowl XL was: The Pittsburgh Penguins!
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