Everybody knows who Eminem is. He’s got a huge following, but he’s also known for being quite controversial, and it seems Gen Z aren’t happy about it.
Now, Eminem is an icon for a lot of Millennials.
Eminem, whose real name Marshal Mathers, first came onto the hip-hop scene in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, in 1997.
But it hasn’t always been easy for the star…
Throughout the early 90s, he worked tirelessly on making a name for himself in the underground world of hip hop — something which proved to be quite the challenge for a white man.
He started out way back in In 1988, with the stage name MC Double M, later evolving into M&M, before he finally became Eminem…
It took him quite some time to establish himself in the industry, with Detroit’s veteran MCs and DJs laughing the “skinny white boy” off from the stage.
This continued for a few years until finally he was signed to Jeff and Mark Bass’s F.B.T. Productions and recorded his debut album…
Sadly, the 1996 Infinite album sold poorly.
But he didn’t give up…
Eminem’s freestyle skills and unique persona, Slim Shady, caught the attention of rapper and record producer, Dr. Dre, at an LA rap battle.
And the rest is history…
With the producer as his mentor, Eminem released the iconic The Slim Shady LP in 1999, which went on to sell millions of copies and win him 2 Grammy Awards and 4 MTV Video Music Awards.
This catapulted him into the spotlight.
In 2000, he went on to release The Marshall Mathers LP, which included some of his most popular tracks such as ‘Stan’ and ‘The Real Slim Shady’.
His fourth album, The Eminem Show in 2002 was just as successful…
And in that same year, the musician made his acting debut in the movie, 8 Mile, which was based loosely around his own life and growth and success in the world of hip hop.
It’s safe to say he’s been through a lot in his life.
And Eminem certainly hasn’t been shy of controversy.
He frequently uses his music to re-tell troubling events that have happened in his life…
Rumors of Eminem’s abusive childhood have circulated for years, and the rapper famously had a difficult relationship with his mom, Debbie Nelson-Mathers.
Regardless, he has built his image around an angsty, rebellious young man who simply doesn’t give a f***.
And it seems as though he uses his music as an outlet for all of his… problematic frustration. He has publicly blasted many famous faces in his songs, including Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Christina Aguilera, and Will Smith.
The rapper has frequently come under fire for also coming up with “problematic” lyrics.
Many have slammed the rapper as being “s*xist” and “homophobic,” as well as violent.
He often rapped about hurting women and killing his wife, Kim.
And in his earlier years, he was arrested and charged with assault in 2000 when he allegedly pistol-whipped a man he saw kissing her, so I guess some people are just concerned that his lyrics might actually play out in real life.
The lyrics are pretty problematic…
“You can’t run from me Kim! It’s just us, nobody else! / You’re only making this harder on yourself! / Ha-ha, got ya! Go ahead, yell! / Here, I’ll scream with you! ‘Ah, somebody help!'” He raps. “Don’t you get it b****? No one can hear you! / Now shut the f*** up and get what’s coming to you! / You were supposed to love me! / Now bleed b****, bleed! Bleed b****, bleed! Bleed!”
Then there’s Love The Way You Lie…
“If she ever tries to f****** leave again / I’mma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire,” now that’s messed up.
But that still hasn’t stopped his behavior.
And recently people on social media have taken matters into their own hands, trying to cancel him for his songs.
People recently bashed the rapper for cultural appropriation, with many expressing outrage over an old music video.
‘My Band’, which featured D12 and was released way back in 2004.
In the video, Eminem could be seen dressed as a matador, while D12 was dressed like a Mariachi band.
This hasn’t sat well with some social media users, and his lyrics are being pulled apart too.
In one part of the song he says “salsa makes all the pretty girls want to dance and get in their underpants.”
But why are people only bringing it up now?
Well, it seems to have come from the recent backlash rapper, Tyga got after he released a music video for his song ‘Ay Caramba’.
He could be seen dressed as, what many have called, a stereotypical Mexican man. He later apologized for the video on the L.A. Leakers and American Cholo podcast, saying: “I want to apologize to the Mexican community and my fans that are Mexican.
“I have a lot of Latin fans that are Puerto Rican or Dominican that probably weren’t offended by this video. But, my Mexican fans in L.A., there definitely was some that were offended.”
One Twitter user wrote: “How come there’s no outrage in the Latino community for Eminem doing this huh?”
Another added: “I wonder why these folks aren’t demanding an apology from Eminem.”
A third said: “Invent a time machine and travel back and/or forth to whichever era and this s**t will STILL not be funny.”
Since the rapper started to receive backlash from Gen Z on social media, Millennials have spoken out to defend him.
Lauren Oakley, a user on TikTok, posted a video in which she called out Gen Zers for being “sensitive.”
“Now listen up, Gen Z,” she raps. “‘Cause I’ve had enough of it. This whole ‘cancel culture’, damn y’all are so sensitive.”
She added: “At first I ignored it, now you’ve crossed the line by going after a dear friend of mine. You wanna cancel Eminem because he’s too aggressive and mean? Your feelings are hurt? You wish his lyrics were more clean?”
Concluding, she said: “…It’s crumbling to think a generation that’s so open-minded can’t appreciate this and put the past behind them.”
After this rather emotional post, others followed suit.
One wrote on Twitter: “gen z is trying to cancel eminem? ummm- excuse me? gen z. is trying to cancel eminem?”
Another commented: “Kim is one the most vile songs if not the only one out their, they artistic approach to @Eminem is a genius…… Waiting for Gen Z to stumble on this….A soft generation.”
“Just been reading that Gen Z don’t approve of Eminem and South Park. They want to make sure Eminem doesn’t make a comeback and they want South Park cancelling. What a sad little existence,” a third wrote.
You can watch the TikTok video here.
What do you think?