“So be it”: Eminem doesn’t care if he divides his fanbase over Donald Trump
Eminem has always been an outspoken figure, and from the day he arrived in hip-hop, he has never been afraid to say what he thinks, especially about other celebrities and people in high places. That said, recently he has become more political.
Until 2016, when Kanye West announced his support for Donald Trump and the Republican party during the Presidential election, rappers covertly supported the Democratic party.
That said, since Donald Trump’s entrance into politics, hip-hop has become more divided than ever. Although MCs like Kanye West and Lil Wayne have decided to endorse the Republican party in recent years, there are still several lyricists who find Trump abhorrent. Eminem is one of the latter.
As such, it is unsurprising that last year, during the Republican presidential primaries, Eminem was extremely angry that presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was using his 2002 track ‘Lose Yourself’ at rallies. In fact, the Detroit legend was so infuriated that he sent a cease-and-desist letter to the hopeful politician.
That said, it is safe to say that Em isn’t just an anti-Trump emcee but hates the Republican party at large. In 2016, he didn’t just write a mere tweet or take legal action against the billionaire Presential nominee but wrote a diss freestyle. Some of the lyrics suggest that Donald Trump is an avowed racist, with lines like, “he tormented Hillary for, and he slandered / Then does it more / From his endorsement of Bannon / Support for the Klansmen / Tiki torches in hand for the soldier that’s black and comes home from Iraq.”
Eminem added bold claims in verses such as, “Trump, when it comes to giving a sh*t, you’re stingy as I am / Except when it comes to having the balls to go against me, you hide ’em / ‘Cause you don’t got the f*cking nuts, like an empty asylum / Racism’s the only thing he’s fantastic for!”
However, as there are only two parties to choose from, all of the above means that Eminem is most likely alienating a large portion of his fanbase with his explicit support of the Democratic party and hatred for Trump. But he has since revealed that he is not bothered by this.
During an appearance on Chuck D’s Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World, the Michigan native insisted that sometimes you have to use your platform to stand up for what you believe too bbe right no matter how unpopular it may be.
Speaking on the documentary, he shared, “At that moment, he divided the country. Some of the things that were coming out of his [Trump’s] mouth!.. I don’t know. It was getting me angry! You need to be aware of your platform. Sometimes, you might need to take a stand and say certain things.”
On the subject of division, he concluded, “If it’s gonna divide my fan base, then so be it. You might divide some people, but you also can bring so many people together. And maybe I can take this opportunity and this platform I get to be somebody who could inspire change. The power of rap has brought so many people together. So many different nationalities, so many people from all backgrounds, and I don’t know if that happens without hip hop.”