Ritsumeikan University

Eminem & Dr. Dre: Guilty Conscience

by

Lyle De Souza, Tomiko Minami

My choice of poem to analyze may surprise you as a bit unconventional. I will analyze the hip-hop music star Eminem′s song Guilty Conscience. I was initially going to choose Milton′s Sonnet VII, a poem that is more than 350 years old, contains some of the classic themes of poetry, and is written by one of the most renowned poets ever. With Guilty Conscience, my approach will be almost the equal and exact opposite. The "poem" is a mere one-year in age, it contains some themes that do not yet seem to have been really discussed in the English literature academic community, and is written by someone whom most adults know at best as a controversial entertainer. Nonetheless, it is my opinion, which I hope to henceforth argue, that hip-hop music (also known as rap music) is another form of poetry and therefore is as valid a candidate for analysis as other poems.

I am grateful to the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia CD for the following background of rap. Hip-hop or rap music is a style of music that first appeared in the mid-1970s as an outgrowth of popular dance music. Developed by urban African-Americans, its format originally consisted of a disc jockey (D.J.) playing snatches of a record in short bursts, punctuated by rhythmical scratching of the needle on the record, while a "rapper" sang or recited in fast, slangy, rhymed lyrics.

Originally popular with a limited audience, especially in discos, by the early 1990s rap had become part of the American mainstream, with albums regularly among Billboard′s top 40 charts and with rap slang and fashions permeating teenage culture. Both black (Run-DMC) and white (Beastie Boys) rap groups spread rap′s early popularity; and recently mixed nationality acts such as P.O.W. have become popular.

Although rap lyrics often dealt with harsh subjects such as gangs, drugs, and crime, rap′s mainstream popularity was typified by such lighthearted artists and groups, black and white, as MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, and Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Rap music also became the subject of widespread criticism and controversy because of sexually explicit lyrics by such groups as 2 Live Crew, which was charged with obscenity and acquitted. Other rap groups and artists, such as Public Enemy, NWA (Niggers With Attitude), Ice-T, and Ice Cube, were criticized for glorifying violence (especially towards women), graphic sex, and extremist political views.

The artist whose work I will analyze today, Eminem (real name Marshal Mathers), spans nearly the whole spectrum of rap′s styles and issues as well as being one of the most lyrically talented artists. He is therefore a particularly good subject to study. In terms of a worldwide audience, he is perhaps the most famous, influential and controversial rap artist to date. If one has the occasion to watch nearly any youth-focused TV, such as MTV (Music Television), one is likely to see Eminem - who is sometimes hailed as the angry, uncompromising, honest, direct voice of modern urban youth.

Rap is an art form that attracts much criticism for its style and content. This criticism is often unfounded since many critics do not even listen to the whole work (often relying on media representations or "sound bites") and often ignore the importance of context. I must admit that I was initially a typical "critic" of hip-hop music and culture until recently. Gradually, although I may ultimately never belong to the hip-hop culture or agree with some of what it espouses, I began to see things with an open mind. This was most probably first triggered by someone I saw on TV who said, "Hip-hop is modern poetry". I began to see that beyond the shocking language was real substance and meaning that I could relate to since it is modern.

Some see the style of rap as monotonous and repetitive since it habitually uses a uniform drumbeat of 96 beats-per-minute as its base with accompanying heavy-sounding bass. I would argue that a sonnet or haiku could be criticized on the same level, since they too are bound by a narrow stylistic base. Yet, within these limitations there is much scope for creativity. Similarly, although there is some truth that some rap music is poor and uncreative (just as there is poor and uncreative haiku), I would argue that there is plenty of excellent, creative, rap rhyme and prose. Indeed, when one compares the fact that Milton wrote some of his poetry over decades and certain rap, known as "freestyle", is performed instantaneously ad lib, acknowledgement ought to be conferred towards the rap artist as the more ′naturally creative′ of the two.

The content of rap music is often attacked by the media and "concerned" adults, such as parents who worry about themes such as drugs, violence and sex. Though this may be true in the case of some artists, it is rarely gratuitous, and there is often much sarcasm, and tongue-in-cheek involved, particularly in the case of acts such as Eminem. It should also be noted that some of the themes of rap music are quite commendable and socially progressive depending on one′s standpoint. Two examples are the problems experienced by African-Americans in the past due to slavery and the problems that they experience today due to inequality and prejudice. These themes, in addition to universal themes like love, peace, religion, make rap music a highly thematic genre of poetry.

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