Like with most new Eminem songs that drop after years of not hearing anything new from him, I have been combing through this song line by line while listening to it on repeat obsessively. I’m totally down with the theme and the message, but what’s been more interesting than the theme and message are the reactions this song is getting, particularly from other white people.

1. There are some (of all colors) who aren’t a fan of the delivery but enjoy the message and that ultimately comes down to personal preference and, the type of Eminem fan you are.

2. The second reaction however has had me really sipping that tea with a great big smile on my face. There are a good amount of white people on the internet that are super angry that Eminem is getting political. This line of reasoning is dumb because if you’re as much of an Eminem fan as you say you are, you’d know that this isn’t the first time Eminem has gotten political in his songs.

Eminem has been attacking politicians and touching on issues as far back as his first album. Y’all aren’t mad because Eminem is getting political, y’all are mad because someone who looks just like you is telling you the same shit black rappers have been pointing out in their songs since the dawn of hip hop; y’all chose to ignore it to the point that the cries of black people fade into the background like city noise for those who live in a bustling metropolis. Eminem is in a great position to use his platform in this fashion for a few reasons

Eminem has a massive global reach in possibly the trillions.

Eminem’s reach to white people is unheard of for a hip hop artist. As a matter of fact, the reason Eminem became controversial in the first place wasn’t just because of the nature of his lyrics, it was the fact that little white kids got obsessed by the millions, and sadly in this country it’s only a crisis when white people are adversely affected.

Eminem isn’t some affluent white person who spent his life in the suburbs. Eminem grew up in the slums of Detroit and has had to watch all of this shit happen before his very eyes. Unlike Macklemore, Eminem isn’t some guy who decides to be woke because it’s cool; he’s woke because he’s watched black people endure the very shit that they vent about daily.

This song and several others that will probably sound like it on this new album is are a prime example of how you use your platform correctly. Eminem has acknowledged the sad reality that people will listen to a white person vent before they’ll listen to a black person. It sucks that it takes a famous rapper like Eminem for white people to finally stop in their tracks, but that’s just the nature of the beast.

Now whether or not white people will actually be receptive to this song and many others is another problem in itself; there most certainly will be backlash of epic proportions, and I’m certain Tomi Lahren is prepping another tirade to counter to the line “Got you singing the Star Spangled Banner to a piece of cloth that represents the land of the free that made people slaves to build.” Because God forbid you tell any hardcore Conservative that the flag is “just a piece of cloth.”

They’ll tell you about all the people who fought for the flag; you know, the very people who are now homeless and are attempting suicide at astronomical numbers because y’all voted into office a President whose administration has been doing away with legislation designed to protect the very people you use to guilt people of color into standing for the flag.

Anyways, I’m gonna listen to this new song for the 100th time while sipping some white tears tea.

P.S.

To the people who say that politics doesn’t belong in sports and that sports and music should be an escape from the problems of the world: How about we maybe just for once in our lives actually address the issues before they spill into the very things you use to escape those said issues. Like the children you keep popping out, they won’t go away simply by you ignoring them.

Stay classy…

 

Flemmings Beaubrun is an avid gamer and lover of music. When not working, Flemmings likes to spend his time whipping up dank beats for the masses. He also spends his weekends thrift shopping for rare video games and obscure electronics. Other times he’s in front of a TV with a giant bowl of cereal enjoying shows from the 90s.