When you’re a journalist, you become used to being hated.
It comes with the territory. I’ve been told that I should have been molested, should kill myself, should “die slow,” and have been threatened with violence because people didn’t like what I wrote (or didn’t write).
I try not to take it personally, which is why I’m not mad at Eminem’s intense ire for the media on his latest album, the blistering Kamikaze. I’m disappointed, though. And, a little concerned.
A brief rundown: Shady dropped Revival last year, and fans and critics alike called the album mediocre at best and trash at worst. Em responded with the furious “Chloraseptic (Remix)” and returned with a surprise album last week.
He came out swinging on the opening cut, “The Ringer”: “But sayin’ I no longer got it/’Cause you missed the line and never caught it/ ‘Cause it went over your head, because you’re too stupid to get it/’Cause you’re mentally retarded, but pretend to be the smartest/With your expertise and knowledge, but you’ll never be an artist.”
And later…
“But my beef is more media journalists (Hold up, hold up, hold up…)/I said my beef is more meaty, a journalist/Can get a mouthful of flesh/And yes, I mean eating a penis/’Cause they been pannin’ my album to death/So I been givin’ the media fingers/Don’t wanna turn this into a counseling sesh/But they been puttin’ me through the wringer/So I ain’t ironin’ shit out with the press.”
In defense of those cutting, albeit hilarious lines, some of the criticism was not fair. Joe Budden’s nit-picking of Revival’s tracklist before hearing the album, fans overlooking the album’s lyrical complexity, and people being so quick to yank him from their Top 5’s all was unwarranted. However, there was plenty of valid criticism, and Eminem didn’t discern between the two on Kamikaze. In failing to do so, he made himself sound like the sitting president he so detests.
To be clear, Marshall Mathers and Donald Trump are nothing alike. Eminem is smart enough not to, at least in his thinking, throw a shit-blanket over the American media the way 45 does. I also realize that using criticism as fuel for good music is what Eminem has done throughout his career. His magnum opus, The Marshall Mathers LP, was a blazing clap-back at people who decried his music as hate-speech. He ramped up the gay slurs and misogyny to make a point about free speech and the difference between art and reality, as well as to piss off his detractors. It would be hypocritical of me to scream “you can’t say that,” when I enjoy his other albums.
Still, as Eminem knows, our country is facing dangerous and turbulent times. Trump’s never-ending assault on the free press has led many Americans to buy into the notion that the media is “the enemy of the people.” Angry men and women are empowered to threaten the lives of journalists, and even walk into a newsroom and shoot them to death. Lives are literally at stake, and some people’s horrifying response is to say there are consequences to journalists’ actions.
As unbelievably uninformed, hateful and stupid as that is, it’s a scary reality that journalists in America face. That’s in no small part because of Trump’s vitriol toward journalism. While I don’t believe Eminem intended to pile onto Trump’s “fake news” rhetoric, he unintentionally did so by vilifying writers for offering constructive criticism about his album and career.
Embed from Getty Images
Fans and Stans are allowed to have opinions, too.
It’s ironic, considering that the Rap God seems to have taken our advice. Kamikaze is not without its flaws, but it’s much better than Revival. His breakneck flow is more in sync with the production, which is decidedly rooted in rap this time around. He’s heartfelt, focused, and, of course, poison with a pen.
Shady has one of the biggest platforms in Hip Hop history, and his words are as important as ever in our turbulent political climate. Right now, we can’t take for granted that people won’t take things literally. Eminem should have made it clear his words were not an assault on the free press.
It’s time to draw another line in the sand.
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You guys are still wanting Eminem to behave the way you want him to?
Can’t Eminem just be satisfied with selling a gazillion records and having a bunch of idiots love him? He needs critics to think his garbage is hot shit too? Fuck outta here.
F-A-X!!!
Shutyobitchassup
Damn you sound like a fuucking diva.
If you listen, he is focused on particular kinds of criticism. He even gives an example in his skit, where he is upset that his choice of words to rhyme are being used as criticism but the author was likely just skimming the music and didnt notice he rhymed the whole sentence. Even Budden missed the point in his podcast thinking the “feature…stole forever” line was about Jayz/Renegade rather than Drakes Forever. He sounded like a horrible person to work with as well. If you’ve ever had to deal with someone who believed they were right, talked in 3rd person, and taked over others, with 2 hype men as cohost who just literally say yup as he talks, thats some insecure stuff as well. I highly doubt he was easy to work with. The way I heard the album, he is more concerned about how the media is quick to write or blog. Forbes literally had a review like the next day. The media is at fault often. Eminem does make music worthy of criticsm, but I think its fair for him to be upset that his rap colleagues are criticizing him when they can. I would say it is similar for a journalist to complain about their work being criticized often when they’re trying to report and feeling like, dang, ok, I’m trying to give you my best but I can’t even give you a freestyle decades later without getting some love. I would be upset too. I’m defending Em as much as I can see his point. I rarely read reviews. When Hiphopdx gave the Carter album a 5, my instinct was, this is so subjective but also likely trying to court Bey and Jay, maybe a retweet, etc of the review. I think Em is more specific about his criticism. Whatever though, I make no money off his work, but I think its a stretch to compare News with Reviews. Pitchfork gave his album a 5/10. That’s just hating. I’m with the perspective that hiphop is losing some historical aspects that made it amazing for so many. It always had its problems, but as fans, we always enjoyed believing some artists crafted their work and were so devoted to the craft. Thats why MGK’s diss about Em being stuck with a dictionary is disappointing. He likely doesn’t understand the difference between the investment in learning how to do basic rhyming and being dope. MGK isnt dope. People have fans, musicians appeal to some and not others. If you dont like it, thats absolutely fine. But that’s different than a music journalist trying to front like they’re being objective with little credentials, where we as fans should be saying, why the hell do I even care whatever a journalist says about this album? Very different than why I should trust reporting on national policy. Im not a huge Em fan, I think he probably is the most skilled but I don’t like a lot of his music. But I would rather listen to an album than let a reviewer influence my opinion. Thats just me though.
You have some very good points I hadn’t thought about. It is 1000% true hip hop is losing its identity as reviewers give bad reviews to more traditional rap focused albums. He knows revivial was bad – he stepped on it in the video. But saying he rhymed ‘time’ with ‘high’ or whatever when he literally rhymed a whole sentence is madness. The guy who said that (Yoh) also talked shit about kamikaze as soon as it dropped, so he’s just a hater. Yet people will use his views as an opinion rather than form their own.
meh, it gave him something to rap about.
I don’t think I understand this article. The problem with the critics in 2018 is click bait articles. You only have to look at Twitter the day it was released to see the people’s reactions which proved it was a great album – it was never intended to be a critically acclaimed one. But look at the articles (even excluding post revival) about Eminem. Mostly pure nonsense click bait! Like the one which says his music hasn’t aged as well as Ja Rules because it isn’t played in the clubs… it was never intended to. And lose yourself is one of (if not the) most streamed songs from the 2000s. Which proves their whole argument wrong. Now I’m not even a big Eminem fan, but the disrespect he has in the media is unbelievable. But never mind, this comment will probably get deleted like the majority on this website.
weird, I wrote what i thought was a thoughtful comment and the site removed it. Basically, this article is a stretch, comparing album reviews to News. Hiphop news is gossip, celebrity stuff. National security is different. You’re not the same. Em had a more specific beef with the media. Not sure why y’all removed my first post. Whatever. Peace.
The “site” didn’t remove your comment; our ridiculously aggressive spam filter did (prompted from years of trolls and racists). Your comment has since been restored. Thank you for your contribution.
Thanks for the explanation. I’ve posted profanity-free, non-racist/sexist/trolling comments only for them to be deleted. It’s definitely happened several times, at least 10 – 15.
It’s definitely an issue we’re working on. (Even my comments have been deleted lol). But thanks for all your contributions/worthwhile commentary and fuck whoever it is that jumped you back in the day.
First off, I am a supporter of free press. However, the problem is that journalists nowadays don’t simply report basic facts and allow the viewer to form their own opinion, instead they spin the facts to push their corporate agenda. This is especially true since 90% of news reported in the US is presently controlled by ONLY 6 companies (Comcast, Disney, AT&T, 21st Century Fox, CBS, & Viacom). And that number is about to smaller with Disney’s recent purchase of 21st Century Fox. This is probably the same reason why 60% of Americans do not trust the mass news media being reported. On top of this,
The author of this article, Aaron McKrell, just took an L. In this article Aaron is criticizing Em for Em criticizing journalists and critics. Aaron must not like the taste of his own medicine since he seems to be all butt hurt about somebody criticizing his profession. What a f**king hypocrite. Shout out to “know your facts” comment too.
Actually, id normally agree with you because it does seem like most writers are tearing Eminem new a**holes, over basically Eminem not getting with the times… Which is stupid, Em should keep up with the content that pisses off the media…who are they, or anyone, to tell Em whats acceptable to rap about or not, even if his message and content is tired? With that said, I think the author of this article was fair on Eminem. He just said that Em should be careful not to blanket attack the ENTIRE media like Trump is doing. Because some of the media are actually being fair in their reviews of em’s music. And if Em is really against Trump, he should be on the side of free speech, even if journalists hurt him a little bit. I think thats all this author was trying to say.. didnt seem like he was attacking Em at all, so relax.
God this generation is made of glass. You people get sensitive over every thing.
To the author, 14 years ago I was jumped by 10 guys for an article I published. Threats, violence, and ridicule are some of the greatest validations a journalist can get. Obviously, you’re doing something right if people react that way. Peace.
Here’s the problem in my opinion and why I believe these artist get mad. First off, it’s an opinion. That’s what everybody should understand. It’s one person’s opinion about a album. Contrary to what the reviewer says, a personal preference does go into an album. Not everybody likes the same thing or listens for the same thing. Now here is where I believe the artist get mad. They see these reviews and know that the reviewer has some control over the people who visit the site. Most people are followers by nature and will believe whatever the person writing about the album says. To the artist they just ant a fair shake. Use your own mind or at least be open minded to the album. Don’t just read what the reviewer says and cheat yourself to something you may like. Everyone has different tastes. Similar to a box office, most people will not go if rotten tomatoes score it low, or if a friend says it’s not good or social media says it’s bad. How many movies have you saw and thought “that was better than I thought”. I feel the artist feels cheated by the reviewer by automatically giving bad reviews without totally engulfing the album when they put in a lot of effort that goes unseen. I’ve read many articles where the reviewer will point out all the bad stuff, the bad lines, the bad beat selection and totally ignore the content, the message or what was being said. There’s a site that to this day won’t post any music from a certain artist just because they had a personally conflict with said artist. That’s their choice but how petty is that. Bottom line, when you read a review just know if you actually use your own ears there may be some stuff in there you just might like.
Take this L bruh. Thank God that Trump showed just how corrupt and baseless the mainstream media is. ‘Em fell off immediately after Relapse.
And one more thing! THE FANS RUINED EMINEM! I remember the hate that man received after Relapse. Who wouldn’t change their whole style after that much hate? Y’all got what y’all deserve, smh.
For once someone else who acknowledges relapse was great. I agree with a lot of what you said, but It’s not over until he says its over. Yeah he messed up with a lot of music, but theres still a chance for redemption
What annoys me is that eminem trashed relapse after knowing damn well it was good and scrapped relapse 2 for the pop fans to get recovery cause he started really caring what people want from him even though his whole shit has always been about free speech and controversy “just don’t give a fuck” style, im extremely glad to see he’s back to putting out his own music on kamikaze, guess we just have to see where it takes him
The bar has been set too high for Em by fans and critics
This was dumb. He got mad cuz yall dissed his art, so he dissed you back. And you’re afraid someone is going to shoot up your office because of that? Come on bruh.
This article makes you seem like your butthurt from the first paragraph. The media is an issue. Trying to argue otherwise is just flat out stupid.
Wow…Kleenex must raking in the doe since Trump took office. I’ve seen nothing but a bunch of crying over the last year from any and everybody. Revival was wack and uninspired, Em proved it by dropping a response album that is light-years better within months…but he still cried. And the crooked media is getting exposed and have been crying all year as well. It’s so sad…I feel like crying