The
Biggest Newsmakers of Y2K
By Disco
Stu - Editor in Chief : Issue 5, Vol. II
Eminem has been in
the news so much this year for so many different
reasons that his life has almost become comical.
But, the year started well enough for Eminem, as
he kicked off the year 2000 by releasing his
third album, The Marshall Mathers LP,
which followed his successful 1999 release, The
Slim Shady LP. The album promptly sold 1.76
million copies the first week, an amount second
only to *NSync.
Though critically
lauded by some, others objected to Eminem's harsh
lyrics. Homos, um, I mean Gay rights groups and
soccer moms in particular found his music
offensive: gays wouldn't tolerate his
encouragement of hurting homosexuals, while
parents didn't like the fact that he killed his
wife in his songs. Dr. C. Delores Tucker (National
chair, the National Political Congress of Black
Women) has even categorized Eminem's music as the
latest form of "gangsta-porno." Jeez,
even Vanilla Ice is making fun of Eminem. Most of
the aforementioned critics sought to boycott
Eminem's album, but obviously it didn't work.
But, Eminem's
troubles didn't end there. He was sued by his own
mother for defamation of character, citing an
interview Em did with Rollingstone magazine. He
was also arrested for pistol-whipping a person
who was allegedly kissing his wife. And speaking
of his wife, she sued Eminem, tried to commit
suicide, separated from him, and subsequently got
back together with him just recently.
And that was the
small stuff. Em was almost banned in Canada after
the release of his album. What the heck is Canada
thinking? They need all the celebrities they can
get. C'mon Canada, get your act together. Anyway,
Eminem's lyrics were also cited as a source of
violence during a Senate hearing concerning
violence in the entertainment industry. My guess
is he'll write a song about all of this.
You gotta give the
guy some credit, though. Even if he is a bad ass,
Eminem is lyrically talented; only a fool would
fail to recognize that. Magazines, web sites, and
programs everywhere have consistently put The
Marshall Mathers LP near the top of their
"Best of" lists for the year. MTV
decided to recognize Em's efforts by giving him 3
awards at this years VMAs: Best Male Video and
Video of the Year ("The Real Slim Shady"),
and Best Rap Video ("Forgot About Dre").
Who's Number
1?
10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
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