Fridae

A little over a year ago, I reviewed Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and was horrified by its blatant discrimination against gays and women. My feelings have not changed for him now, especially with the release of his latest, The Eminem Show.

I do not disagree with Boy George's comment on how Eminem is "far too pretty" to be straight. At some level, I do think that he is cute with his naughty-boy-wannabe-black-rapper look. However, saying that he is gay is probably pushing it too far. Please! No gay man in his right mind would say half the things Eminem says in his song and be proud about it.

The Eminem Show is almost a similar piece of crap as The Marshall Mathers LP was, although it seems that he talks more about his personal life here than in any of this other "works". The first single, Without Me, stresses how there have been a lack of controversy without his presence: "They tried to shut me down on MTV / But it feels so empty without me."

As always, there's the prerequisite song about how he hates his mother. This time it comes in the form of Cleaning Out My Closet (hmm�why "closet"?), which tells about, well, how he hates his mom: "You selfish bitch / I hope you fuckin' burn in hell for this shit / Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me? / Well guess what, I am dead, dead to you as can be!" Aww�now isn't that just sweet?

If there's a soft side to Mr. Slim Shady, it's Hailie's Song, which is dedicated to his daughter. He actually sings in this one, so turn the volume down a little: "But then I see my baby / Suddenly I'm not crazy / It all makes sense when I look into her eyes." Call it a temporary relapse from his current state of insanity.

Let me quote what Eminem once said: "I believe that a lot of people can relate to my shit�whether white, black, it doesn't matter. Everybody has been through some shit, whether it's drastic or not so drastic. Everybody gets to the point of 'I don't give a fuck.'"

True, but we don't all go out and make vile records advocating hatred to kids, do we? And I believe no one can deny that his main audience is impressionable teenage kids.

The Eminem Show is homophobic, misogynistic, and simply plain wrong. But guess what? Hate sells.