For years Eminem has been lauded as raps elite, in truth no one can deny his talent. Arguably one of the best lyricists in hip hop minus the fact that he has built a career on shock value and gimmicks. Does his freestyle at the BET Awards fall into this category? While many people are praising Eminem for his latest freestyle on Donald Trump, is this a clever ploy for a failing career? Being one of the most successful hip hop artists in history with a net worth of over $190 million dollars, where was his support of Bernie Sanders in the 2012 election? While many African Americans are applauding Eminem, what has he done for the culture but exploit it?
Eminem has promoted the same negativity that has birthed artists such as 50 Cent who perpetuate negative stereotypes. I have never heard of Eminem donating or giving back the considerable fortune that he has amassed to the inner city, unlike artists such as Nelly who has sent two children to college for the past twelve years, but also may be a pedophile/rapist. Maybe Eminem really disagrees with Donald Trumps policies but if that is the case I call on Marshall Mathers to do more than offer angry freestyles against the President. The truth of the matter is that Eminem has more in common with the President than he does with his listeners these days.
Having recently put his Detroit mansion on sale, it is possible that the rapper is looking for a more modest home and doing community work in a region that suffers from failing education and poverty. I applaud Eminem for using his First Amendment Rights and agree wholeheartedly with the bars that he rapped in his BET freestyle but maybe its time to demand Eminem put his money where his mouth is. Even the man who discovered him (Dr. Dre) donated money to USC, a school that only accepts black students if they are on the football team by the way. His former rivals ICP, even had a march on DC. If Eminem hates Trump maybe its time he did something about it besides freestyling.
Ryan Glover is a contributing writer for https://www.audiofuzz.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanDavisGlover, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your google network.