USA/GERMANY: CONTROVERSIAL RAP SINGER EMINEM IS POISED TO TAKE HOME ANOTHER FOUR GRAMMY AWARDS THIS YEAR

Record ID: 390954

  • Title: USA/GERMANY: CONTROVERSIAL RAP SINGER EMINEM IS POISED TO TAKE HOME ANOTHER FOUR GRAMMY AWARDS THIS YEAR
  • Date: 15th February 2001
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 12, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) SV MICHAEL GREENE, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS AND SCIENCES (NARAS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) "Our decision to put him on the show had a great deal to with the fact that there was a lot of heat around this record. And, when a record sells 8 million units, that means t
  • Embargoed: 2nd March 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/ HAMBURG, GERMANY/ VARIOUS MUSIC VIDEO LOCATIONS
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA8SA1MZSQJOO80GBUDREY3D6HI
  • Story Text: Eminem, the music world's controversy of the moment, has his tongue planted securely in his cheek and is laughing all the way to the bank behind his middle finger. The Grammy Award winning rapper is poised to take home another 4, including record of the year, when music's biggest prize is handed out on February 21.
    He goes by any number of names. His given name is Marshall Mathers. Many of his fans call him Slim Shady. His 4 Grammy nominations say Eminem.
    Controversial rap star Eminem is in the news again, a familiar place for the man who already has 2 Grammy Awards sitting on his shelf for last year's debut album "Slim Shady."
    The tatooed, bleach-blonde's latest bout with controversy concerns both his Grammy nods and an invitation from NARAS, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, to perform at the 43rd annual presentation of music's top honours. An invitation Eminem has accepted.
    "Our decision to put him on the show had a great deal to with the fact that there was a lot of heat around this record," said NARAS President Michael Greene in a recent Reuters interview.
    "And, when a record sells 8 million units, that means there's a lot of people out there who are fans of the artist and whether it's Madonna ,or U2, or Paul Simon, or whoever these are artists that people are interested in seeing. And, Eminem is one of those artists."
    The general public may not mind Eminem's homophobic and masogynistic lyrics, but the targets of his hateful words are speaking out against the rapper's success. One of the most outspoken groups is GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which is planning to picket the Grammys, and its executive director Joan M. Garry.
    "How can you separate the music from the lyrics?," asks Garry.
    "And, the second question to ask is who should know better than the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences that music has an extraordinary influence on our culture, particularly on the youth in our country?"
    "Marshall Mathers is an important record," according to Greene.
    "The rhyming schemes are brilliant. The irony and humour in it is undeniable. Dr. Dre's production is amazing.
    Unfortunately, art can get into some pretty extreme places from time to time."
    Those places can be pretty dark when it comes to Eminem, including lyrics about raping and killing his own mother.
    "What makes Eminem stand out among the lot, for us, is that really his lyrics are among the most homophobic and hateful that we have seen, bar none, in many years," said Garry.
    "Secondly, he has an extraordinary following, so that we know that his impact is broad and deep. We also know that he reaches young kids, really young kids."
    So, what does Mr. Mathers have to say for himself? "Well, you know what? I don't have to say anything to my fans about my music and try to explain it because they get it.
    And, that's why they are fans," Eminem recently told Reuters in Germany.
    "As far as adults and people, older people, who just don't understand, or critics who don't get my music, I don't need to explain to them either because they just don't get it."
    One guy who seems to "get it" is Sir Elton John. The once equally controversial gay musician will join Slim Shady on stage for a duet of the controversial international hit "Stan." The move, according to Greene, should calm those prepared to rally against the Grammys when they take place in Los Angeles in late February. It hasn't.
    "We've not ever heard anything from Marshall Mathers the individual to counter the character of Eminem in any way that makes a statement about if he feels differently from his character," said Garry.
    Greene disagrees.
    "If anybody believes for a second that if Elton John thought that Eminem was truly homophobic that he would perform with him," said Greene, "Or vice versa, if Eminem truly was homophobic, he wouldn't ask Elton John to perform with him."
    And, the piece John and Eminem will perform, "Stan," could possibly be considered socially conscious. The lyrics tell a story about an obsessed fan who gets angry when his idol fails to reply to his letters - driving him to commit a murder-suicide of himself and his pregnant girlfriend.
    It's not exactly sappy, but it's as close as this rapper is likely going to come.
    "Welcome to the big world of music," said Greene. "It's not sanitized for your protection. It's just here."
    Eminem will take center stage when the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards take Los Angeles on February 21.
    --
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