In McCrillis). For this reason, many people have worked tirelessly to restrict the sort of verbal hate crimes that Eminem commits against women, homosexuals and anyone else he desires.
As Allan Bloom's book, the Closing of the American Mind notes, "Nothing is more singular about this generation than its addiction to music. This is the age of music and the states of soul that accompany it" (qtd. In Eby). When one then looks back to one of the most popular artists of this generation, Eminem's, lyrics, this becomes increasingly disturbing. His lyrics are consistently filled with explicit sexual material, violence, hate, and offensive language. (See Table 1.)
Eminem's Influence on Today's Youth:
Although some argue that Eminem is merely expressing the socioeconomic angst common to the ghetto, and that it is his right to free speech he is exercising, certain effects, on today's youth, simply cannot be ignored. Eminem's caustic lyrics alter the perceived social values in the hip hop generation, which some believe is leading to a decline of Western civilization.
Table 1. Lyrical Content Analysis of 4 Eminem Albums (Source: Armstrong)
Album Title
Violent
Assault
Misogyny
The Slim Shady LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
Devil's Night
The Eminem Show
Album Title
Rape
Murder Rape & Murder
The Slim Shady LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
Devil's Night
The Eminem Show
Eminem falls into the sub-genre of hip hop music deemed "gangsta rap." As Haugen notes, this style of hip hop music that has made Eminem such a success, uses drugs, guns, crime (such as: murder, robbery, rape, etc.), and promiscuous sex to display a "gangsta" image, to the listener. The challenge with Eminem's music is that his portrayal of these societal ills as "cool" affects his millions of fans, who happen to be primarily youth. These youth are not equipped with the reasoning skills (McCrillis) to determine on their own that these are inappropriate behaviors, and as such accept them as normal and eventually, right.
Other Hip Hop Artists and Their Influence on Society:
Other hip hop artists, especially gangsta artists, are equally dangerous when it comes to negatively affecting the psyche of society's youth. Sex, drugs and violence are themes that are continually played out, over and over.
On a recent tour, hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg played a video portraying himself and Dr. Dre buying drugs, romping with prostitutes, and shooting people. In one of his biggest hits, Big Pimpin, Jay-Z announces, 'I'm a pimp in every sense of the word,' while D.M.C.'s last album, and Then There was X, boasts a body count that rivals a Dirty Harry film" (Waite).
Again, youth are continually having this message pounded into their heads and begin to believe that this sort of lifestyle is acceptable and normal.
Women are, perhaps, the most violated victims of Eminem and hip hop. Hip hop has made degrading women an art form. They're easy targets. Terms like: skeezer, hoochie, ho, and the ubiquitous ***** are used as everyday, common words in hip hop lyrics. These degrading terms have become so common that women now think nothing of not only using them to describe other women, but also to describe themselves.
These artists don't utilize the reality of their socioeconomic conditions to better their world. Instead, "gangsta rappers discuss reality but only on a basic level" (qtd. Reynolds). Instead of trying to change the problems their community has, such as drug addiction,...
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