“Shit On You” song

� Shit On You � has probably angered a lot of people, but I guess the most offended were certainly feminist groups.

Eminem has been protested and demonstrated against by some intolerant groups, because of the misinterpretation of his lyrics :

http://www.nyrock.com/worldbeat/01_2001/013101.asp

This is a typical statement that comes from a feministic website :

� Occasionally, the level of hatred aimed at women will rise to a degree that earns attention�for better or worse. Critics have debated the misogyny of Eminem’s lyrics, yet his songs about rape and violence continue to sell millions of records. �

http://www.now.org/issues/violence/072403violence.html

The song is misogynistic on purpose :

� And all women ain’t SHIT
Only good for cooking cleaning and sucking dick- And that’s it (I said it)� �

What Bizarre expresses in those few lines is nearly equivalent to what Marshall says in his song � Business � :

� �there’s no such thing, like a female with good looks, who cooks
and cleans� �

The question is : I am a woman. Should I feel offended by those lyrics ? Should I feel demeaned or insulted by Eminem and his fellows ?

My answer is clearly no.

Why ?

First, because I got a sense of humor.
Second, because I know that those lines are � nuttin� but music �, those are words on the mic and they don�t necessarly reflect the entertainers� point of view in real life.
Third, if you take a look at � Shit On You �, you will clearly understand that Bizarre and Eminem are pissing off a specific category of women on purpose. Feminists from activists groups are targetted in particular :

� A lot of people say misogynistic which is true
I don’t deny it- matter of fact I stand by it
So please stand by at the start of a damn riot
If you don’t wanna get stampeded then stand quiet (that’s)
Boy girl dog woman man child� �

It�s sad, but there will always be narrow minded people, even at University :

http://www.dailyillini.com/nov00/nov03/news/news02.shtml

Accusing Eminem an his fellows from D12 to be misogynistic men is far too simplistic. It is so easy to misunderstand them at first sight. But open your eyes : the D12 group didn�t invent misogyny nor is the group responsible for any kind of demeaning behavior against women. What is expressed in Eminem and his fellows� lines is a parody of some typical masculine behavior towards women. While watching the video of � Shit On You �, Bizarre is so funny while saying those lines, that you immediatly understand that his statement must be taken at a second degree.
Eminem knows that he will shock people, but he doesn�t write his rhymes with the only purpose to shock people :

“I do say things, that i think will shock people, but i dont do things, that will shock people.�

�Shit On You� expresses a disgust of society and its hypocrisy. It points out its failures. The D12 �don�t give a fuck� if you like their words, if you find them correct or not. They really don�t care about who you are.
That also means they won�t make any compromise just to please you. So let them say what they have to say.
Swifty starts with a well written parody of violence, a �lyrical piranha� that will hit you and eat you, followed by Bizarre who makes fun of Islamic integrism, cumulates violence and mysogyny and sarcastically concludes with �Truly yours- The Idiotic Bizarre�. A conclusion that is made on purpose to piss you off.

The whole �Shit On You� video intelligently combines different elements that usually wouldn�t match: threatening thugs in the Detroit landscape and a lot of comical effects that are reinforced by Eminem�s different disguises.
Honestly, there is no need to get offended. The D12 crew points out some misogyny and people�s arrogance than is (so often) induced by the same conservative and activist groups who are so shocked by the content of D12�s lyrics.
The D12 crew also gives you a little taste of violence. A street violence they haven�t invented, but that they parody so well.

Well, if the D12 have offended you, there is nothing they can do for you anyway:
�If you people get offended I don’t care (stop cryin)
Tryin to get us to leave cuz what we say just aint clean (uh, uh)…� (�Ain�t Nuttin� But Music�)
It�s high time you realized it ain�t �nutting but music�.