In “Bitch Please II,” Eminem claims that “somewhere deep down, theres a decent human being in me. It just cant be found.”
This statement is total sarcasm. Seriously, how could somebody take him at his word ?
No, Eminem is not the worst man on earth, he just enjoys pissing you off, like he states it in his song « Soldier » :
« I love pissin’ you off, it gets me off, like my lawyers, when the fuckin’ judge
lets me off
all you motherfuckas gotta do is set me off, I’ll violate and all the
motherfuckin’ bets be off
I’m a lit fuse, anything I do bring it’s news, pistol whippin’ motherfuckin’
bouncers, six-two, who needs bullets?
Soon as I pull it, you sweat bullets, an excellent method to get rid of the
next bully
»
Eminem is complex as an artist : the listener is supposed to be able to make a difference between the lines that are supposed to express the truth and the verses that are made to play with peoples heads. Sometimes, the frontier between both is thin, thats what makes Eminems art so subtle. You are also supposed to make a difference between the real Marshall, and both of his stage characters : Eminem and Slim Shady. Reality and fiction are so well mixed up and it is done on purpose.
Eminem has assaulted a lot of people and « killed » them verbally, including his ex wife and his mom. Matter of fact : those people are still alive.
If youre clever enough, you should be able to get every inch of Eminem.
When the real Marshall talks, he refers to his inner feelings and to the dramatic events he went through. The real Marshall points out the truth about his past and his anger against his relatives and enemies.
Eminem as a stage character is much more « the man behind the mic », while Slim Shady is the psychopath killer. While listening to his CDs, the listener has to find out whos talking to him.
Slim Shady becomes easier to understand when you admit you own evil side. Anybody of us has a shady side. Deep inside of us remains a dark and shadowed side.
But what the listener needs more then anything else to fully get Eminem is a solid sense of humor. Quoting Eminem himself :
“Anybody with a sense of humour is going to put on my album and laugh from beginning to end.”
Eminem is well known for anticipating his enemies reactions, his caustic remarks are set up as a trap in order to upset his enemies. And it works : his enemies fall into those well placed traps as fast as you could fall on to a banana peel.
Dont forget that « God sent him to piss the world off » and he accomplishes this mission so well.When youre used to eminems sense of humor, you can share his amusement while reading his rhymes.You will be able to imagine and to anticipate the sentence that might upsetthe kind of people Eminem targets.
Eminem has proven to be a thousand times cleverer than his detractors who systematically fall into the trap he has intelligently prepared for them.Close minded people are sometimes so shocked by cusswords and profanity that is present in Eminems albums that they become blind to what Eminem is trying to say.
Eminem has many valid points, particularly when he expresses societys hypocrisy :
« Get aware, wake up, get a sense of humor/ Quit trying to censor music, this is for your kid’s amusement/ But don’t blame me when lil’ Eric jumps off the terrace/ You shoulda been watching him–apparently you ain’t parents »
It is so easy to attack Eminem or Marilyn Manson or any other artist when we dont assume our responsibilities towards our own kids. So often Eminem has been held responsible for teenagers suicide. Kaleigh Davis death is a good example.
The funniest thing is that Eminem gets so often called an « idiot » by people who would be unable to handle words the way he does. They may even have studied a lot, but if you defy them, they would be unable to write complex texts like his, that make sense and rhyme at the same time. But even if they could, theyd still lack an essential component : a warped sense of humor !