3 Things We can Learn from the New Eminem Song
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Por: Staff | Fuente: Catholic.net

Eminem, a hip-hop emblem just pulled a pretty humble, deep song and you could even say... Christian. The music video came out last December. As always, Eminem left a hidden message in his song and video. He seems to open his heart to his fans and everyone he wants to be listen by. It leaves much to reflect on but here are 3 things that we can learn from this rapper who at one time was named: "Rap-God".

1.Fame doesn't last forever

The music video starts with Eminem just in front of a microphone. Beyoncé, who sings the saying, never appears in the video. Eminem has reached a point where it is difficult to overcome what he has done, and he says it himself

 

“The crowds are gone

And it's time to wash out the blonde

Sales decline, the curtain's drawn

They're closin' the set, I'm still pokin' my head from out behind

And everyone who has doubt, remind

Now take your best rhyme, outdo it, now do it a thousand times

Now let 'em tell ya the world no longer cares

Or gives a fuck about your rhymes

And as I grow outta site, outta mind, I might go outta mine”

 

To remove the blonde dye, for him is to say that he no longer has the fame he had before. And, that is so hard to accept. It’s a situation where people who have acquired an excessive reputation go through. After several years they’re forgotten and even rejected because they’re outdated and no longer make as much money or acceptance than before. They despair, they don't make sense of their lives. In the music video you see that salvation, the only source of light for Eminem is the stage, his microphone, live his music.

Although he almost always seems angry in his songs, in this one shows a desperation and a discontent that are perceived with the last lines of the song,

 

'Cause I'm just a man

But as long as I got a mic, I'm godlike

So me and you are not alike

Bitch, I wrote “Stan”

 

He wanted to finish the song with a defiant tone to his fans. Remember what you've done. He wrote Stan, he with a microphone is like a god. He's not like you... which contradicts most of the song. I understand this last part, because no one willingly accepts that they no longer have their fame, nor writes the same songs as before, but on the other hand, doesn’t want to leave his pedestal , so here comes  the arrogance that makes him remember with melancholy what he has done.

And, at the end of the music video, He uncovers a very tall statue that is on a frozen lake but never sees who it is. It makes so much sense the statue to be him because of the dichotomy that is living to be alone but to have a great past. Just because it’s in the middle of a frozen lake and no one can see it, and at the same time with a great past because that statue could be said to be dedicated to the millions of fans who loved him. 

This makes me think that these famous people should be valued, taken into account, loved by who they are and not by what they did.


2. The pressure the celebrities feel

The first thing Eminem sings is,

 

“Why are expectations so high? Is it the bar I set?

My arms, I stretch, but I can’t reach

A far cry from it, or it's in my grasp, but as

Soon as I grab, squeeze

I lose my grip like the flying trapeze

Into the dark I plummet, now the sky's blackening”

 

It’s true that an artist couldn’t be famous nor rich without his fans. But many artists come to put their value as people based on the approval of their fans, which puts them under a lot of tension and pressure to show that they can keep inspiring and giving the fans what they want.

The scene of the various "    Eminems" writing desperately verses testifies to this. One can imagine the artists working night and day to remain famous, to continue liking their fans. You can even think of how many real friends these people can have. With so many people trying to benefit from the "stars" they often distrust and shine by their loneliness.

They seek to be perfect to give pleasure to all but are discovered as fragile as any human being:

“It’s true, I’m a Rubik’s- a beautiful mess

At times juvenile, yes, I goof and I jest

A flawed human, I guess

But I’m doin’ my best to not ruin your expectations…”

 

So, unfortunately, it’s not surprising that many artists resort to drugs to escape the stress, the falsehood of their lives or the trauma that they are no longer valued.


3. They are human like us... Not semi-gods

Pope Francis said in an interview that the things he misses the most before being Pope is being able to go eat a pizza at a local street. You can't go out on the street without causing chaos, a multitude of people... and journalists.  Famous people seem to live movies instead of an ordinary life. Movies because everything is perfect, beautiful, and above all unreal. Their trips, their cars, their homes but also their relationships, their families, in short, their lives. Obviously not all of them, but it is the general trend with the status that society gives them.

It is enough to see the people who get in line 5 hours to get an autograph or take a picture, or the faces of the fans when they see Justin Bieber, or even the influence that celebrities have in the names of a son or in their haircut. And there’s nothing wrong with admiring someone or having a role model but when admiration becomes idolatry or even worship becomes very dangerous for oneself and also for the "star". As the "post-chorus" says:

 

“‘Cause  I’m only human, just like you

Making my mistakes, oh if you only knew

I don't think you should believe in me the way that you do

‘Cause I’m terrified to let you down”.

 

The fundamental orientation of your life should never be a mortal, fragile person who can disappoint you, but only God. It’s good and necessary to have human models for football (Messi), in the family (your father), for Holiness (the Saints are exactly this!), for a lifetime.

Eminem says:

“Kids look to me as a god, this is retarded

If only they knew, it’s a façade and it´s exhaustive.”

 

But the key to the whole song is Beyonce singing at the end of the last stanza of the saying.

 

“‘Cause I´m only human, just like you

I’ve been making my mistakes, oh if you only knew

I don’t think you should believe in me the way that you do

‘Cause I’m terrified to let you down,

If I walked on water I would drown.”