Eminem: The Truth Behind the Artist

Father of three girls, recovering addict of drugs, and one of the greatest rappers and entertainers of all time resides all in the soul of one individual. Growing up in the ghetto of Detroit, Michigan, Marshall Mathers, also known as Eminem, only way to success was one that took him many places, with many peaks, but never brought him to the “promise land.” Unlike many young, Caucasian teenagers, Eminem had an addiction to music that brought him to the highest point in his life, but also the lowest.
Being a minority in a country where white skin is all around, Eminem grew up in a life style of drugs and hip-hop. With the world against him, Eminem brought a whole new name to the stereotype of a “white rapper” despite the troubles it brought to the individual, Marshall Mathers. Coming from a torn down household, Mathers was an entrepreneur in his first album, “The Slim Shady LP” in 1999. Unlike others from his surroundings, Eminem took on the challenge of not praising his road to success in his lyrics, but creating pictures of pain and anger lyrically through his alter-ego, “Slim Shady.” In his song, “Guilty Conscience”, Eminem and Dr. Dre are described lyrically to succeed in convincing a man to murder his wife and her lover. In other songs, he touches on murdering his wife, or getting rid of her corpse by trashing it in the ocean.
Catching many individual’s attention with the Slim Shady album, Eminem received mixed opinions from all over. With parents wanting his cds trashed, and his radio play ended, young teenagers leeched their life from Eminem’s lyrics like a parasite in need of power. Unlike sell-out artists, Eminem stuck with his persona through his next album, “The Marshall Mathers LP.” Not leaving his aggressive nature from his first album, Eminem expanded his anger and aggression not only towards his high-school sweetheart, and ex-wife, but to famous people in general. In his top-selling single, “The Real Slim Shady”, Eminem not only bashes celebrities like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears about their private lives, but also bashes his own fans. By saying “Will the real Slim Shady please stand up,” he is referring to the fact that there is only one Eminem. There is only one Marshall Mathers, and that adolescent white boys who die their hair blonde do not have the same talent or drive that he possesses for his music.
Taking a chance with that album, Eminem topped the pedestal of hip-hop by bashing celebrities, family, and his fans. Instead of rapping about sex, drugs, or money, Mathers spoke the truth about his past life, others fake personas, and his fan’s ability to be lackeys of his. Knowing no limits, Eminem showed his versatility as an artist stretches farther than the eye can see. In his movie, “8 mile”, Eminem played himself as he portrayed his struggle as a white male in the ghetto of Detroit aspiring to be a rapper. Knowing that his past struggles are behind him, Eminem shows his soft side in his 2004 album “Encore.”
Being a father, Eminem took a side-step in his single “Mockingbird” to recognize his love for his daughters, Hailie and Lainey. Recognizing the fact that things between Eminem and his ex-wife Kim did not work out, he understands that he is human. Although he is rich, Mathers knows that what a child really needs is a stable house. Mockingbird was more than a song for single fathers; it was a message to his children apologizing for the troubles he has caused. It also expresses his soft side, knowing that his daughters are the only people who inspire him to keep on going. Known for being able to switch the message of an album within the snap of a finger, Eminem went political with his release of his single “Mosh.” Although just a rapper, Eminem obtained respect through his harsh lyrics towards the country’s political decisions during the Bush administration. Demanding a resistance to follow what Eminem thought was poor leadership for our country, the lyrics to a slow, demanding beat of a drum convinced plenty towards the cause.
Conquering everything from capturing his fans through bashing celebrities to taking a strong political stand, Eminem captured everything any artist could aspire to become. Because of this, Eminem decided to step down from the rap game as an artist, and give it a try as a producer. Although his artists including D12 were successful, Eminem was not meant for just being a producer. Of course he can produce big hits; he’s been doing that his whole career with the great Dr. Dre himself. On the other hand, Marshall was never a leader without his lyrics to back him up. Nor a leader or follower his whole life, his absence from creating his own music took its toll on the individual Marshall Mathers.
As any Hollywood artist, Eminem had his fair share of encounters with the law and drugs. Being sued several times by ex-wife, and mother for defamation through lyrics, Eminem seemed to have grown throughout his career to a more mature individual. As soon as one was ready to put a stamp on that opinion, Marshall decided to become addicted to something else other than number one hits: zolpidem, a type of sleeping pill. Like a seesaw, Eminem’s sober lifestyle depends on the weight music has on his life. When he is away from writing his lyrics, he depends on drugs and alcohol for a sort of high while when he is in the studio, his voice is all he needs.
Eminem’s career is far from over. With the releases of his albums Relapse and Relapse 2, Eminem showed that he still has what it takes to be on the top. With his past not far behind, we all know trouble isn’t far from Marshall Mathers. As an individual, Mathers is no better than any average Joe. Then again, as an artist, there is no one near as enthusiastic and meaningful with their lyrics. Words spoken through his songs have touched people all over the world. The pace, content, and meaning behind his lyrics change like a river’s current. Yet, they always lead to capture his audience in some shape or form, just like a river always feeds into the ocean.

Do Critics Matter?

Although critics are just individuals who have a strong opinion about a certain subject, I believe they play a huge role in creating society's opinion about certain subjects or individuals. There are many reasons to prove this, but the most vital one is the fact that critics speak the mind of many individual's opinions, and also give an option for those who don't have a patricular opinion on a certain subject. Although everyone is entitled to their opinions, some are not decisive with theirs, so critics help sway individuals one way or the other.

Critics also matter because of the range and diversity of them covering the same subject matter. Because of this, you hear many opinions with facts to back-up their stand on a certain issue. This brings individuals of society the most vital pieces of information about a certain subject. Although critics can be annoying at times, overall, they are useful tools to obtaining facts about a certain subject matter.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata

Starting off with a slow, distinct sound of the piano, Beethoven seems to be playing in an impression of some type of meditative state. Almost following asleep while listening to it in the beginning, he strikes the keys with force to awaken his audience, and once he does, continues with his original tone of the instrument.
The middle of the piece is sometimes used to recapture the audience. With my ears fully aware of the mood he is trying to set, Beethoven instead changes paces a little more frequently than he did to start off his piece. Keeping the usual beat in the background from the beginning, he adds a little more strike into his notes, and speeds or slows down the pace. While listening to it, one might catch themselves trying to nod their head to the loud notes, timing it in their minds.
Unlike other pieces, there is no point in the sonata where you find yourself saying, “now that just takes the cake.” Although this may seem like a pivotal error in the eyes of a fan, the musician knew exactly what he was doing by this. By keeping a steady beat with occasional changes in intensity and rhythm, audiences are sub-consciously sucked into the song because of the consistency of the sound of music.
In a sense of the degree of difficulty in the piece, it is far from the best. Yet, in the sense of capturing an audience by playing notes into creating a certain mood, the entire piece “takes the cake!”

808s and Heartbreak Critique

808s & Heartbreak
808s and Heartbreak is Kanye West’s transition from an inspirational style of rapping about equality, tough times, and family to singing about his feelings of hurt, doubt, and anger with an auto-tuned style. As a member of the well-respected Roc-A-Fella Records, Kanye West was known for his brutally-honest lyrics towards culture, race, and society in general. With the release of 808s and heartbreak, West’s movement towards complex drum beats and a style of singing through auto-tuning changed West’s voice in an irregular manner. The change of style is what makes and breaks West’s album.
One of the biggest hits on the album, “Love Lockdown”, was done originally both lyrically and structurally. Using tribal beats with a variety of wide-ranged vocal pitches West captures his audience in a positive and negative aspect. At some points throughout the entire album, some transitions from a low to exceedingly high pitch will hurt your ears rather than caught my attention. At some points, it was like listening to nails scratching against a chalkboard or a desk being pulled across a wooden floor. At other points during the album, West’s vocals captured my attention, and went perfect with the tribal beats using taiko drums. Using the same style throughout the album West covers every aspect of life lyrically from personal relationships with women in his single “Heartless” to self-confidence in other single “Amazing.”
808s and Heartbreak is an album that shows West’s potential as a multi-dimensional artist, his ability to reach pitches that some would receive noise disturbances for, and his stardom’s domination of musical opinion. Because of his stature, West can rap under water, and still sell a multi-million album.