Is Eminem the John McCain of rap?
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The other day, a guy sent me a link to this poll over at Vibe where it was determined that Eminem is the greatest MC of all time or some such, and he was like. “Dude, you gotta say something about this?”
My guess is that he wanted me to discuss the racial implications of the fact that Eminem, a guy who hasn’t put out an album in over four years now, and hasn’t put out an album that’s worth a shit in even longer, can still be considered relevant, when a black rapper who didn’t put out an album for that long probably would have been arrested for trying to hold up a bank, or working the flour table at a Church’s Chicken or some shit.
Clearly, it’s because he’s white, right? Never mind the fact that he is a pretty good rapper, and he once put out one of my favorite albums evar. Nas once put out one of my favorite albums evar, and you don’t see him winning any greatest rapper polls, now do you?
The thing is, it’s hard to be too upset with a guy like Eminem winning this poll. I mean, I don’t doubt that his race plays into his popularity. But it just so happens that he is really good. And it could have been way worse. Soulja Boy, for example, is really popular on the Internets. What if he won this thing?
I’ll take hip-hop being taken over by white people over hip-hop being taken over by illiterate black kids every day of the week and twice on Tuesday.
However, you do have to wonder if the results of this poll weren’t influenced by the current climate in this country with regard to race relations. For example, is it only a mere matter of coincidence that Eminem is being crowned the greatest rapper of all time in the same issue of Vibe where they’re endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time evar, and it just so happens to be a black guy? (I’m sure it was his health care plan that got him the nod.)
Or could it be that this is evidence of some sort of Obamania-fueled backlash against the black communty? The same backlash we’ve seen manifested, in the past couple of weeks, in cracka-ass crackas going on TV talking about how OJ Simpson finally got what he had coming to him, as if anyone still gives a shit about the OJ trial 13 years after the fact; and mofos shouting out, “He’s a terrorist!” and “Kill him!” and what have you at Klan McCain-Palin rallies.
Would Eminem have won the same poll if it was held, say, a year ago, when most people still figured this election was gonna be another showdown between Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton? (God forbid.) I guess it’s hard to say without there having been such a poll. But I will say that I’m not aware of any other such polls that Eminem has won. Just this one that’s being announced in the Barack Obama issue of Vibe.
More importantly, you have to wonder what this poll suggest about a potential Bradley effect amongst white voter in this year’s presidential election - the political phenomenon that has to do with white people fronting about whether they’d support a black candidate. If white people have somehow managed to elect Eminem as America’s favorite rapper, in 2008, what’s there to suggest that they’re not gonna select John McCain as their next president?
McCain’s supposedly way down in the polls. But it’s not like Eminem’s got any songs on the charts right now, and he just managed to beat a whole bunch of black people in an election. And keep in mind, the contest Eminem won took place in the pages of Vibe magazine. I wasn’t even aware that anyone read Vibe magazine other than 47 year-old black chicks. Could it be that white people these days are just that much more adamant about actually winning something?
What do you fruits think? Did Eminem winning this Vibe poll have anything to do with this year’s presidential election? Or do I need to cut off the CNN for a bit and go back to looking at Internets pr0n? Speak on it.
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=26519
This article seems a little old, but I never remember seeing it
