I've been a Stan (obsessive Eminem fan) since day one. I easily identify myself as one of Eminem's top fans and I've always challenged anyone to prove to me otherwise. So, when I heard that he was delivering a cypher — a freestyle rap — at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, you bet I was tuned in.
What we got, as America, was an uppercut out of nowhere.
Eminem delivered an authentic four and half minute freestyle expressing his disgust with Donald Trump. I'm not going to lie, I did not vote for Hillary Clinton in the election. But also, I did not vote for President Trump either, so I actually listened to Eminem's lines about Trump.
Culturally, Eminem isn't in the mainstream anymore but when he drops in out of nowhere with a freestyle like this, it shakes up the music world. What is so unique about Eminem is that he has always been one of the most politically charged white artists of the 21st century. Even back when President Bush was in the White House,
In the past, Eminem has released three songs about his disgust with the presidency — "Mosh" and "White America", as well as "Campaign Speech" before Trump's election.
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For the black community to hear a white artist, with a following like Eminem, stand up for progressive racial issues helps mend the rift that has torn our country.
It's a sad day when hatred and disgust for our President are exactly what people need to hear.
With Eminem, and his loyal fans over the years, we have always been able to count on him to say things that shake up our culture.
It's hard to deny the facts in the cypher, as well as the hard truth presented by Eminem. Particularly, Eminem provides what I believe to be the most "Damn, this is true" statement talking about the situation with NFL players kneeling for the national anthem.
"This is his form of distraction, plus he gets an enormous reaction when he attacks the NFL, so we focus on that instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada or these horrible tragedies, and he's bored and would rather cause a Twitter storm with the Packers." — Eminem
My beef with the President is his insistence on shaming free speech acts by NFL players instead of being concerned with more important issues on our political agenda, like gun reform or North Korean threats. Eminem highlights how asinine our President's priorities are and I love him for it.
I'm not anti-Trump, I'm anti-stupidity. Eminem calls trump a "kamikaze that'll probably cause a nuclear holocaust," and given the audacity of Trump's declarations and intentions, Eminem is not wrong. But most importantly, Eminem bases his entire freestyle around the idea of Trump promoting racism and breaks it down in a way that anyone can understand.
This is important because Eminem creates a sense of false dilemma for Americans through his freestyle: you can't support all that Trump has done and claim not to be racist. Ignoring the problem as Trump has done is the biggest problem, Eminem says. "From his endorsement of Bannon, (Trump's) support for the Klansman" clearly shows the ideology of our President; you can't endorse an alt-right leader, not speak out against the Charlottesville acts of white terrorism, and claim not to be racist.
Most importantly, Eminem stands out because he utilizes his platform (much like the NFL players) to support what is right, all while doing it in typical Eminem fashion; "racism's the only thing he's Fantastic 4 cause that's how he gets his rock off, he's orange" pokes fun at Trump but brings forth the unfortunate truth that racism is the highlight of his presidency.
Between calling out Trump for ignoring important racial issues, to expressing his support for the American military, and uniting white and black anti-Trump supporters, Eminem does so with such bravado and stunning intent. This was the Eminem that America needed, an Eminem that shows that the white race is not as ignorant as the leader of the free world proposes himself to be. Of course, Eminem finishes with "we love our country but we f***ing hate Trump" while staring ominously into the camera of American viewers.
Eminem's cypher is a truth that reverberates with earthquake-like power.
