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Eminem.. My Name is.. Marketing Gimmick?

© Steve Juon

I think my problem with Eminem started with seeing his video on MTV. If the censored punchlines alone hadn't busted my bubble, the fact that it was a BUZZ CLIP came as a real shocker to me. Then I put my growing concerns together and realized that I didn't like the effect Eminem was having on hip-hop or the crowd he was going to cultivate by his presence.

We're going to see a mass infusion of wack white rappers with shock tactic rhymes and this is not something that I really look forward to. The fact is that even though Eminem's raps are sometimes funny in a macabre way,he doesn't stay fresh without the punchlines. Even though it took me a while to realize that in my opinion it's better late than never. If you've heard the original version of "My Name is..." as compared to the MTV version, you can see why. Eminem was no longer sent by God to piss the world off, but by Dr. Dre. He no longer likes violence, but instead PRIMUS. And when the punchlines aren't funny anymore, you notice that punchlines are all he ever had. Although I will applaud MTV for their embrace of the four elements of hip-hop I am suspicious of their motives in having Eminem be a "Buzz Clip" artist. I will continue to be so until Eminem has proved that his talent is actually worthy of the hype and that he is not actually being sold by the media as the new and improved Vanilla Ice. Peace, Flash

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