Eminem’s new album, Revival, includes controversial content that has caused him to both make and lose fans. Eminem used a few songs in the album to express his opinion on injustices he sees in America and how he thinks the recent change in political climate has had an effect on these injustices. Although he may have captured the attention of people who believe there are racial injustices in this country, he may have pushed away supporters of President Donald Trump.

“Untouchable”:

In this song Eminem is showing his opinion of how some people in America perceive black people. At the beginning, he’s rapping from a white man’s perspective to get the point across that white people are not understanding enough of black people. By this, Eminem is saying a white person can get away with a lot more than a black person, making a white person “untouchable” by the police and/or other authorities.

He ends this perspective by rapping about being embarrassed to be a white man because of all the racism that has happened over the years in America. He touches on his view of the political climate by saying he feels like we are going back to the 1960s, when it was risky to be a black man.

He then changes his perspective to a black person. He touches on the reasons why black people are in poverty, why police brutality occurs, and why black neighborhoods exist.

Key Quotes:

• “Black boy, black boy, we ain’t gonna lie to you, Black boy, black boy, we don’t like the sight of you”
• “White boy, white boy, you’re untouchable (The world’s coming to an end, I don’t even care)”
• “Black boy, black boy, we don’t get your culture and, We don’t care what our government’s done to f*** you over, man”
• “it’s like we’re drifting back in, To the sixties, having black skin is risky, ‘Cause this keeps happening throughout history, African-Americans have been treated like sh*t And I admit, there have been times where it’s been embarrassin’ to be a White boy…”
• “Wait, why are there black neighborhoods? ‘Cause America segregated us, designated us to an area, Separated us, Section-Eight’d us, When we tear it up’s the only time attention’s paid to us, And education sucks, and every day’s another Freddie Gray for us,”
• “So they call it a Kaepernick tantrum, If you don’t stand for the national anthem…Got you singin’ this star-spangled spiel, To a piece of cloth that represents the “Land of the Free” that made people slaves to build”

“Like Home”:

Right from the start of the song, Eminem targets President Trump and makes his position clear that he dislikes the president. He goes on to criticize Trump and express why he feels the president should be impeached.

1. He only tweets.
2. He banned transgenders from the army.
3. His friends are racist, rich white men.
4. He is very similar to Adolf Hitler.
5. He hates blacks and degrades hispanics.

Eminem tries to end the song on a more positive note on how, people who feel the way he feels, can rise up against the president and the injustices he has caused or added to in America.

Key Quotes:

• “You don’t have to agree, But if you feel like me, Someone get this Aryan a sheet, Time to bury him, so tell him to prepare to get impeached”
• “This chump barely even sleeps, All he does is watch Fox News like a parrot and repeats, While he looks like a canary with a beak, Why you think he banned transgenders from the military with a tweet?”
• “Didn’t wanna piss your base off, did ya? Can’t denounce the Klan, ’cause they’d break off with ya”
• “Cause he generally hates the black people, degrades hispanics, Take it back to the shady national convention, Wish I would have spit on it before I went to shake his hand at the event, Or maybe to wherewithal, To know that he was gonna try to tear apart our sacred land”
• “The swastika with your name carved in it, Should be your trademark, ’cause hate’s all you plaid off, And you just licked the plate off, so I guess it pays to feed off of chaos, So basically, you Adolf Hitler”

Eminem brought out big controversies and strong opinions in this album, yet this is not the first time he has expressed his views on injustices. Eminem also touched on race and gay rights in one of his earlier song in the 2000s, “The Real Slim Shady”. In this song he brings up how people did not like him as a rapper because of his race: “yall act like you’ve never seen a white person before…” Also he questions that if people can eat other people, why is it wrong for two men to be together: “well some of us cannibals, who cut other people open like cantaloupes… then there’s no reason that a man and another man can’t elope”.

From the beginning of his career to now, Eminem has had no trouble stating his opinion through song. Since many of his songs are life stories and life lessons, it is easy to overlook the messages about injustices that he has hinted at in his songs. Eminem is bold for making his stance on racial injustice and the political climate clear in his newest album Revival.