Rap God
Music is a beautiful form of art where artists can express themselves through the vibrations of sound. Each human generation is very unique and there are many similarities between the individuals within them that help to unite them together. To this respect, music has a way of relating people’s personal stories between all generations because all people have something in common, being human.
When I was younger, I used to listen to “Lose Yourself,” by Eminem. Lacking knowledge why it was written, I enjoyed listening to it because my older friends, who understood Eminem’s story behind the lyrics, told me it was good.
After recently watching “8 Mile,” directed by Curtis Hanson, I gained a deeper respect for Eminem’s music, specifically, “Lose Yourself.” The movie highlights the struggles that Eminem faced when he was younger. He faced personal issues with his family, friends, lovers, money, and quite frankly, himself. These struggles in the environment he grew up in caused him to be the artist we now know today, as a “Rap God.”
The issues Eminem faced were put into his music. People love his music because it is authentic. People specifically from this time period can actually relate to some of the struggles that Eminem faced, such as, being poor, in a gang, or not having a dad. These struggles are not only his generations issues, but quite common throughout history. This, then peaks my interest to say that through generations, some things do not change. An observable feature about humans is that they repeat their mistakes quite often.
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In the movie, there is much negativity everywhere. Between people cussing to people fighting one another, the negativity helps the audience build and feel the type of environment Eminem grew up in. Typically, when someone grows up in an environment like that, it is difficult to be strong enough to get out of it. Eminem’s story gives hope, in this sense, that being who you are can get you farther than following what is expected, and being who you are not.
Also, the movie does a very good job about not going into him being successful based on his monetary situation. The movie ends by Eminem not backing down to the bullies in his life. By expressing his deepest and purest self, he completely shuts out his opponents through rapping. In return, he won the rap battle gaining the credit on the street he deserved. More importantly, after he wins the battle, his friends ask him to go out to celebrate, but he politely declines. He goes back to his job and focuses on himself from there on out. The rest of his fortunes are yet to come. This is such a powerful way to display his life because the audience is able to see how Eminem overcomes these difficult battles by doing something he loves. If the director were to add his fortunes to the end, then the movie would not have as much of a lasting effect.
Passion has the natural tendency to helps people’s dreams, not be dreams.
