BET and Eminem
Why is BET the only channel that removed Eminem's Michael Jackson video from its playlist? Aren't there other things that should be banned from BET?
posted by LAJBX94 | 11:13 AM
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2 Comments:
Eminem is a wanna be black rapper and needs to sit down. Mike Jackson is just gonna implode.
6 years after he first made his step on the scene, why are we still talking about Eminem? I, for one, have never been an Eminem fan. I found his music repulsive (in particular, his murderous disdain for his daughter's mother). Sure, Eight Mile was an alright movie, but c'mon, Mekhi Phifer truly stole the show. What do I have against Eminem? Nothing personally--I don't know the guy. But, what I don't like is the modern-day Elvis Worship that has surrounded Vanilla's Ice's nemesis ever since he stepped on the scene when I was just a young pup in undergrad. I never understood the hype--lyrically, he's got some hooks and some good analogies and catchy disses, but so does Ludacris--do we consider Mr. Tipdrill one of the greatest MC's of all time? I think not. Back when Elvis was on top of the world, he was thought of as the Second Coming. I don't care what color you are, we all know that rhythm & blues didn't start (nor end) with Graceland's Finest. Yet, over 30 years after his death, he is still heralded as the King of Rock and Roll, music that is fundamentally derived from rhythm and blues which is fundamentally derived from gospel which is fundamentally derived from Negro spirituals that my ancestors sang in the cotton fields...get my drift? The stuff wasn't new when Elvis was alive and rap music didn't start with Eminem.
I believe in giving credit where credit is due and Eminem ain't the one. I don't discriminate, however. I wouldn't give any of the down-South crunk rappers the title of "Greatest MC of All Time" either. Let's not insult Public Enemy and KRS-One who remind us of a time when rap truly was conscious and about more than how many hos one can conquest or how big the spinners are on one's Escalade. Let's not insult Kurtis Blow who rapped about "The Breaks" and "The Christmas Rap," fun stuff--long before the days of fight music encouraging people to "Tear Da Club Up" or proclaiming yourself as a "Head Bussa." Sure, crunk music/unconscious rap has it's place--in the club or when you're parking-lot pimping in the summer. But, do I, a closet-crunk aficionado, listen to it for lyrical quality? No.
I could muse all day about hip-hop, but I digress. Eminem is NOT the greatest MC of all time and he will never get my respect as a rapper b/c he's not original. Call me a bigot, but I'm just not a fan of a modern-day Elvis once again getting credit for something that my people invented. Take his ass off BET--he shouldn't be there anyway. Play more Common, more Mos Def, more Talib Kweli. I can differentiate between "Dropping Down and Getting My Eagle On" in the club vs. knowing that I am worth all that Common says I am in "Come Close." Sadly, many of your young people can't make the distinction due to lack of parenting and lack of love. BET does nothing more than perpetuate the vicious cycle, all in the name of the mighty dollar while Bob Johnson laughs all the way to the bank. If our own people don't think we're capable of watching and interpreting something other than "Rap City" or "Girlfriends," then who will?
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