The Negative Effects of Eminem’s Lyrics Essay -- Music

The Negative Effects of Eminem’s Lyrics Eminem is a name that most Americans have grown to know about in the last year. Not only for his music, but for the controversy that his music brings. Many people are offended by his lyrics and they believe that he should be regulated in some way. In my paper I will give some background on Eminem, some examples of his lyrics, different points of view, and my personal beliefs on this situation. Eminem is a character whose real name is Marshall Mathers III. He was born in Kansas City and traveled between there and Detroit with his mother during a rough divorce in his early life. He lived a pretty rough life, changing schools and friends constantly. He grew up rapping with African American friends and was always interested in rapping. Although he's Caucasian, he has fit right in with Dr. Dre and his partners. Eminem had until just recently been married to a young woman named Kim. Kim and Marshall were high school sweethearts but have had a really rough marriage. They have a five year old child named Hailie, who which Eminem attributes much of his success and mentions in several of his songs. Dr. Dre discovered Eminem and signed a contract with him. Eminem's debut album "Infinite" was released in 1996 (Eminem). Several of Eminem's lyrics are considered "hate lyrics" by many organizations, individuals, and companies. Many of these people consider his songs hate lyrics because of his repeated use of the word "faggot." On the "Marshall Mathers LP" album Eminem mentions "fag" or "faggot" thirteen times in eighteen songs (Glaad). Also, some of the lyrics are very graphic and violent towards women. A few examples of songs that have anti-gay lyrics are "Kill You," "Who Knew," "Skit: Steve ... ...tions/documents/index.html?record=2500 Garry, Joan M. "From The Desk Of Glaad Executive Director." 2 January 2001. http://www.glaad.org/org/topics/?topic=857 "Glaad Action Alert: Eminem's Hate Lyrics." http://www.pflag-phoenix.org/eminemlyrics.html "History of Glaads Work Regarding Eminem." July 2000. http://www.glaad.org/org/publications/documents/index.html?record=2667 "History of Glaads Work Regarding Eminem." August 2000. http://www.glaad.org/org/publications/documents/index.html?record=2667 "History of Glaads Work Regarding Eminem." September 2000. http://www.glaad.org/org/publications/documents/index.html?record=2667 Moody, Nekesa Mumbi. "Thousands Protest Grammy Nods For Eminem." 5 January 2000. http://www.msnbc.com/news/512380.asp?cp1=1 MTV News Archieve. "Eminem: I Came To Make A Statement." 23 February 2001 http://mtv.com/nav/intro_news.html