Jackass? Do you not pay attention to the messages he brings? Yes, maybe his lyrics are harsh and straightforward, but he's trying to prove a point only in the way he can. For some people it takes a row of insults and analogies to get them to realize that they are in the wrong direction.
Rap can sometimes reflect stuff like heavy metal and that like. A lot of it isn't meant to be anything more than wild-time party music because...surprise...that's what sells. But a lot of people have a high chin about rappers being poets probably because of what they're rapping about. There are definitely awesome poetic rappers out there. Common, Mos Def, early-Nas, the ridiculously talented Joe Buddens, and Eminem is definitely one of them. His poems simply aren't the passive, feel good ones you'd like your grandchildren to read. Didn't someone once say music is poetry in motion?
I agreed with mugen. But just because a cerain type of music doesnt appeal to you doesnt make it musical any less. The best example of this I believe is music in languages we dont actually speak. Often they are a ridiculously deep poems blended with a funky japanese or spanish beat. Hmmmm ahhh? Mugen when are you coming back to five lives five souls eh?
That specific poem I read definitely has a rhythm I can fit to a beat. Check it out. Anyways, I honestly think most things can be put to a beat, you just have to make the right beat
If Robert Frost's poems are a fine wine, Eminem's lyrics are a shot of pure methanol. If the dose is sufficient, it'll leave you blind to the world, or even worse, wearing baggy pants, a bandana and grillz. Jokes aside, poetry is a genre where almost anything will pass, and if Marshall Bruce Mathers III poured his heart out (or bile?) in a book, and published it as poems, it would pass. In a sense, most lyrics would pass for poems, but fewer poems would be suitable as lyrics.
"If Robert Frost's poems are a fine wine, Eminem's lyrics are a shot of pure methanol. If the dose is sufficient, it'll leave you blind to the world, or even worse, wearing baggy pants, a bandana and grillz." BUT, how many kids who grew up with broken lives and shattered dreams, living on the fringes of society with nothing in their pockets but hope and a dream for the future could read Frost's work and say, "Man, this poetry helped me get through the toughest time of my life"? Not very many. And yeah, Eminem's lyrics might be like a shot of pure ethanol, but I completely disagree that "a sufficient dose of his music will leave you blind to the world, or even worse, wearing baggy pants, a bandana and grillz". Take me for example. I've been listening to his and Dre's music for years, and on a very deep and personal level some of it resonates with me. But that doesn't mean it has blinded me to the world. Quite the contrary, it has inspired me to succeed, to find my inner strength and not let fear or intimidation or self pity sabotage my efforts. Consider the following lyrics: "Cause sometimes you just feel tired, You feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up. But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength And just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse." And... "You better lose yourself in the music, The moment, you own it, you better never let it go. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo." Read more: Eminem - Lose Yourself Lyrics | MetroLyrics His rise to fame didn't come easily. And when he finally did achieve stardom, the media practically crucified him. Parents hated him and told him that his music was poison to their kids' ears. But they couldn't stop their kids from listening to him. And he rapped about that, too: "I'm like guidance - ain't they got the same moms and dads who got mad when I asked if they liked violence? And told me that my tape taught 'em to swear What about the make-up you allow your 12-year-old daughter to wear? (Hmm?) So tell me that your son doesn't know any cuss words when his bus driver's screamin at him, fuckin him up worse (Go sit the fuck down, you little fuckin prick!) Granted, lately he's needed to manufacture some controversy... You’re lucky just to follow my ride If I let you run alongside the Humvee Unless you’re Nicki Grab you by the wrist, let’s ski So, what’s it gon’ be? Put that sh-t away, Iggy You gon’ blow that rape whistle on me. Read more at http://www.mtv.co.uk/eminem/news/eminem-targets-iggy-azalea-with-shocking-rape-lyric-on-new-song-vegas#fCeYf104bCSI4Es5.99 But, whatever. I'm into his old school shit. Maybe someday I'll finally get the chance to meet him and say, "Hey, thanks for all the great music. It kept me going when life seemed hopeless, when I was at my worst, just wanting to give up. Your music, it gave me the strength to go on. It really did. So, thank you."
Frost and Eminem actually deal with some similar themes, especially isolation, mental health issues, and struggling to fit in in this cold, cruel world. However, Eminem is actually (I think) a good enough writer of lyrics. He and Frost come from totally different backgrounds, and are trying for totally different audiences, and using two very different mediums - any comparison you can make between them seems to me like pointless pretence really.
Honestly, I think Eminem is a genius. Some of his work is very poetic, but I think his best aspect, is his ability to do it off the top of his head. There are plenty of freestyle videos of him, and it is insane how quickly his mind can think up these lyrics. I'd go as far to say that his freestyle work is synonymous with slam poetry.
Come on, give Eminem some credit. Seriously, what? This is one of the oddest things I've read in some time. Slam poetry is something entirely different from rap music.
Compare Eminem's lyrics to Nicki Minaj,Wiz Khalifia, 2 Chainz, Lil Jon and Lil Wayne and you'll realize how great Eminem is. The only current rapper that comes close to Em in terms of lyrics is Lupe Fiasco.
Freestyle rap is very similar to slam poetry, to an extent. I'd even go as far to say that you could, infact, perform a freestyle rap, in the form of a slam poem. Yeah I completely agree. Lupe's new album is fucking amazing as well.
What I like about Eminem, apart from the fact that some of his lyrics are very clever, is his breath control. Some of it seems pretty impossible until you hear him do it live.
A modern poet I would say. Are most "poets" poets anyway? Who is a poet? Who are we? What we do on this damned planet? Who put us here?
