Many people are shocked by Eminem’s subject matter and don’t understand why the talented M.C chooses to talk so much about his life and to share so many things about his past with his audience. Rapper Tricky, whose childhood has also been a living nightmare said about Eminem :
‘ Eminem should shut up about his fucking mum and dad. His mum was an alcoholic and his dad wasn’t around and he slept on his friend’s couch ’cause he was broke, right? My mum committed suicide when I was three; I found my dad in a phone book when I was 12, and I didn’t sleep on my friends’ couches ‘ I slept in prison cells. You don’t hear me on records every minute saying ‘Oh, my mum, my dad! Oh, I’ve been in prison!’ I’m here to touch people’s souls. For me, talk about prison and fucking guns don’t make any sense. The reason I’m a musician is so that I could get away from that’ ‘
You can find his statements here :
http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid1=1687
Tricky’s biography is related on this website :
http://www.moon-palace.de/tricky/bio1.html
Maybe Tricky doesn’t realize that it would have been better for Eminem to grow up as an orphan than with a mentally sick and unstable mom. Maybe he doesn’t realize how much Eminem’s wounds are deep and how much he needs to talk about with an audience that is ready to listen to him and to fully understand his pain. Nothing allows him to judge Eminem’s motivations in doing his music.
Does Tricky know how much difficult it is for a little kid to constantly switch school, to see boyfriends come and go all the time, to be constantly humiliated and forced to take medication he didn’t need at all ? Eminem had no peace inside of his home nor outside. Abused at home and bullied at school. He nearly lost his life several times.
People have no right to judge Marshall Mathers. Marshall Mathers is lucky to have survived to all this. Some people are unable to overcome the problems they had to face during their childhood and become self destructive or land in psychiatic institutions. Worst, some of them commit suicide.
Marshall had opportunity and the courage to expose his life in its uglyness.
Who would have thought that Marshall’s story that happened in Michigan would deeply move and help one of his listeners (me) in France ?And I am not the only one to say so.
Eminem touches people’s lives all around the world. So many of my fellow fans have been transformed by his music.
What do you think, Tricky ? Eminem is also here to touch people’s souls. And his music has done miracles in my life.
People who superficially know Eminem always think that he is only a self-centred person who constantly bags on his mom and his ex-wife.
I’m currently in touch with young people who get abused by their moms and who find their force and solace in his music.
Some other people who experience bad marriages can relate to songs like ‘ Kim ‘. Not that they tike the song literally, but they fully understand and can relate to the feelings of frustration and rage that are expressed in his song.
Don’t be so fast in trying to shut down or censoring any artist. You may not like him, you may not find his or her songs meaningful. Never forget that what doesn’t mean anything or make any sense to you may rescue some other people.