Eminem: Look, I was gonna go easy on you
and not to hurt your feelings.
Is it Eminem?
Is this Eminem? Whatever his name is?
Eminem: I'm only going to get this one chance.
I'm beginning to feel like a Rap God, Rap God.
All my people from the front to the back nod, back nod.
My pen'll go off when I half-cock it
Got a fat knot from that rap profit
-(Eminem) Made a living-- -I need captions.
Eminem: Ever since Bill Clinton was still in office
With Monica Lewinski feeling on his nutsack
I'm an MC, still as honest--
It's so fast that you can almost understand it.
Eminem: And at the exact same time
I attempt these lyrical acrobatic stunts--
He's really amazing.
Eminem: ...of a couple of [bleep] and crack it in half
I'm beginning to feel like a Rap God, Rap God
-(Eminem) All my people from the front-- -Oh god.
Eminem: ...Once in a while so I wanna make sure
somewhere in this chicken scratch I scribble and doodle
-(Eminem) enough rhymes-- -Rap.
Never understood it.
Eminem: Just in case cause even you unsigned
Rappers are hungry looking at me like it's lunch time
-Lyrics coming at you at supersonic speed -JJ Fad.
Uh, summa lumma dooma lumma you assuming I'm a human
-(Eminem) What I gotta do to get it through to you-- -Whoa!
Eminem: Innovative and I'm made of rubber, so that anything you say is
Ricochet in off a me...
Wow! (laughs)
Eminem: How to give a mother [bleep] audience a feeling
How do you know--mother what?
Eminem: Forever waiting for the day that they can say I fell off
Amazing.
That must be hard to do.
How many words did he just do in 30 seconds?
Eminem: Here's what they want from me.
Why be a king...when you can be a God?
-(Finebros) Do you know that? -Yeah, right.
Love him.
Eminem: Dear, Slim...
I wrote you but you still ain't callin'--
Slim Shady.
Eminem: I'm about to be a father.
-(Eminem) I know you probably-- -I love this one.
Eminem: ...but I'm your biggest fan
hit me back, just to chat
truly yours, your biggest fan, this is Stan.
Dear Slim, you done ain't called or wrote
I hope you have a chance
I ain't mad, I just think it's [bleep] up you don't answer fans.
Oh my.
Eminem: I can relate to what you're saying in your songs
Sometimes I even cut myself to see how much it bleeds.
Oh, whoa!
Eminem: The pain is such a sudden rush for me...
You gotta call me, man--
Is he making a social statement here or what is it?
Eminem: Dear Mr. I'm-Too-Good-to-Call-or-Write-My-Fans
This'll be the last package I ever send your ass
Stan is getting a little out of control here.
Eminem: See Slim? Shut up, bitch! I'm tryin' to talk!
Hey, Slim! That's my girlfriend screamin' in the trunk
I'm almost at the bridge now
Oh [bleep], I forgot,
how am I supposed to send this [bleep] out?
It's so cheerful.
Eminem: Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner,
but I just been busy.
I do want you as a fan,
I just don't want you to do some crazy [bleep]
I seen this one [bleep] on the news a couple weeks ago
that made me sick.
Some dude was drunk and drove his car over the bridge
and had his girlfriend in the trunk
and she was pregnant with his kid.
And in the car they found a tape,
but they didn't say who it was to
come to think about it, his name was...it was you.
You know that's right. He needs some medication.
Eminem: Yo...
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
here's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
There's vomit on his sweater already?
-(Eminem) Snap back to reality-- -Saw the movie.
Eminem: Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy
He's grown farther from home, he's no father
He goes home and barely knows his own daughter
Knows his own daughter.
Well...maybe that's saying something.
Eminem: And I can't provide the right type of life for my family
You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it--
Why are there so many angry, yelling rappers?
Eminem: do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime
It's got a beat, but is that music?
Wow. I mean, the guy's really got it down.
He's quite a rapper!
-Eminem? -(Finebros) Yes!
-Look at grandma! -(Finebros laughs)
(Finebros) So do you know who that was?
No.
No, I do not know who the rapper was.
I think that was Eminem.
Eminem.
Eminem, my homeboy!
Eminem...Slim Shady!
Slim Shady.
He's a genius!
I love him.
(Finebros) He is a rapper named Eminem.
Eminem? I've heard of him.
Oh, Eminem! Of course, yeah.
Definitely, definitely know who he is.
(Finebros) Why do you think he calls himself Eminem?
I have no idea. Cause it's his rap name!
(Finebros) Why do you know Eminem?
I'm from Detroit!
Because I saw the movie Eight Mile.
He was all over. MTV pushed him.
I might be old, but I'm not completely out of it yet!
(Finebros) How would you describe his music, overall,
from all of the songs we played for you?
Oh...I don't describe it as music.
I didn't know I was listening to music.
Predominately, it's rap, I would say.
Very dark.
Well, I like his beats.
I just wish he'd tone down his verbiage a little bit.
Cause the kids like it too!
It's not relaxing. It's not, "Oh, I'm going to listen
to music and I'm going to be transported into another place."
It's like, "I'm going to be beat up!"
That's kind of how I feel about rap!
I'm going to be pounded now!
I don't like that kind of language but with him,
I find he uses the language in such a way
that it's like a modern-day Dylan.
It comes from a deep-seeded place in his heart and his soul.
(Finebros) Do you like the songs?
No.
I'm just not a rap fan.
They go so fast that it's hard to, you know,
keep track of what the story is about.
Everything seemed to be about misery, problems, hate.
The second one was just so serious.
And I liked that one.
You know, I wouldn't say I like any of it,
but it's very clever.
He is talented.
(Finebros) His lyrics are also very controversial.
Lots of swearing. But he's also been labeled
as homophobic and condoning gun violence.
Do you think that his lyrics are a reason
not to like Eminem as an artist?
Yeah. Yeah.
You gotta clean up your lyrics because the young kids
are listening to this and they gravitate to things like that.
I understand if I was a parent with teenage kids...
I would find some of his stuff very offensive.
I think in the music business,
and in all entertainment business, anything goes.
Music and art and literature
and paintings have always done that.
That's part of art and it's the liberty
and the freedom that he has to express himself.
This makes me think about in the 50's
when Elvis was getting banned.
When Rock and Roll was starting up.
They were smashing the records and saying it was disgusting.
And the more we do that, the more we want to listen to it.
(Finebros) Eminem's first big album was back in 1999
and is considered by some to be the best
rapper and lyricist of all time.
I wonder who those "some" are.
(Finebros) Is that surprising for you to hear?
That he's considered to be the best?
That's very good rap from what I've seen of rap.
To me, he's not the best, but I like him.
He's one of the best.
Me, I don't know rap, but I do know Eminem.
No, not surprising at all because I think so too.
There's always been composers that were
considered the best there is, during the days of Tin Pan Alley.
Nothing stays the same, especially in music.
(Finebros) Some people are surprised or even angry
of people saying that he's the best because he's white.
What do you think about that?
I just think music knows no boundaries.
To me, it shouldn't be "Well, that's music for black people"
or "That's music for South Korean people."
It isn't like that anymore, like it was when I was younger.
I don't get into the black/white issue
because people are people, you know?
But he's a great artist, period.
He's so authentic that he crosses the color barrier.
That's what you look at.
You don't look at whether he's black or white.
You look at his artistry.
Truth!
(Finebros) What kinds of people do you think are listening to rap music?
This might get me into trouble. People with no IQs.
I'm not sure.
Maybe you guys! (laughs)
Younger people.
Certainly younger than me, but everybody's younger than me!
The younger generation and some older people.
It's accessible to everybody now.
You'd be surprised, people that listen.
We have a neighbor who's pretty conservative
and he's gay and he's lost his mate and
the thing that makes him feel better is listening to rap music!
Now, who would've thought a white, gay male
would find inspiration after the death
of his spouse through rap music...but he does.
(Finebros) Can you name other rappers?
No.
No. Not offhand.
Is Dr. Dre one?
Isn't there one called Ice Cube or something like that?
Tupac. Biggie Smalls.
Jay-Z?
Queen Latifah...and, supposedly, one of the top rappers.
Justin Timberlake.
Ice-T and Run-D.M.C.
Coolio!
-Snoop! -(Finebros laughs)
Aw, I love Snoop!
(Finebros) So, when you were younger,
there would be music that would be new
and the older generation would not consider it to be real music.
Then you get older and then there's music
that you don't consider to be real music.
Why do you think that is the case?
Because it changes.
I think the rap is just totally different...
in that it's really not like music.
Whereas the others were music, just different types.
And that's when you go,
"Oh, I know I'm getting old because I don't like the music."
It's amazing. I mean, I was there when Elvis hit the stage.
I was there when the Beatles came on board.
That was just like, "Ooooh! World's going to hell
in a hand basket really quick! These kids! They're crazy."
In the early days of Rock and Roll,
there was a thing called "good music"
and a thing called "Rock and Roll".
And the good music people said,
"That Rock and Roll will never last."
And I heard a comment the other day. Somebody said,
"That rap is never going to be here."
And I said, "Careful, buddy. It may be here longer than you!"
(Finebros) So now that you know more about Eminem,
and a little bit more about rap music, will you check out more?
No, but I might eat some M&Ms by choice.
No.
Of course, I have no problem with listening to Eminem
and anybody else with an interesting voice that comes along.
Only among younger company.
Just to say, "I'm gonna be cool!" (laughs)
And I'm not. (laughs harder)
Thanks for watching Elders React.
Let us know what music artist we should react to next.
Try someone in my generation!
To watch deleted reactions from this episode,
just click the bonus button below!
I like to "rap". I really do...
gifts for Christmas and birthdays too!
See ya'!