2017 Eminem Is Basically Rachel Maddow In A Hoodie

By Caitlin Johnstone

My God this is depressing.

The once artistically relevant hip-hop artist Eminem has caused quite the stir in establishment liberal circles today. Corporate Democrats across America are currently squealing with delight over a viral freestyle Marshall Mathers recently aired on the BET Hip-Hop Awards, in which he denounced the sitting president in a way that is indistinguishable from the innocuous neoliberalism-friendly criticisms leveled by the likes of Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, and Peter Daou.

In what is without a doubt the single whitest thing that has ever happened, Clintonist McResistance millionaire Keith Olbermann publicly praised Eminem’s performance with the ejaculation that after 27 years of doubts about rap he is now a fan, adding, “Best political writing of the year, period. [clapping emoticons] #Eminem2020”.

After 27 years of doubts about rap I am now a fan.

Best political writing of the year, period. ????????????????????#Eminem2020 https://t.co/JCcrYOIw4f

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) October 11, 2017

It’s unclear why Olbermann singled out the seemingly arbitrary year of 1990 as the beginning of his rap skepticism. Equally perplexing is his inability to appreciate an immensely rich musical genre full of brilliant artists until he saw a caucasian man expressing opinions that can be heard daily on MSNBC.But it is not at all confusing why Olbermann found this particular piece appealing.

Just like every other pro-establishment corporate liberal partisan hack, Mathers voiced support for Colin Kaepernick only in the context of opposing Donald Trump, without saying a single word about the police brutality against African Americans which Kaepernick has been protesting.

Just like every other pro-establishment corporate liberal partisan hack, Mathers gave “props” to Wall Street crony and drone bombing king Barack Obama, decried the way Trump “tormented” and “slandered” Hillary Clinton, defended bloodthirsty neocon John McCain, invoked the “deplorable” pejorative of the Clinton campaign, and said he loves the US military.

Just like every other pro-establishment corporate liberal partisan hack, Mathers had nothing to say against the system which forced a nation to choose between an obnoxious billionaire reality TV star and a corrupt warmongering neocon under FBI investigation, nothing to say about how none of the evils Trump facilitates originated with Trump, and nothing to say about the way America’s elected officials are essentially lackeys for an unelected plutocracy which thrives on a paradigm of economic injustice which hurts minorities and other disadvantaged groups worst of all.

There was once a time when Eminem was widely considered a legit artist and countercultural icon. In 2017, he’s just Rachel Maddow in a hoodie.

Mathers wrapped up his embarrassing display of oligarchic sycophantry with the following verse:

And any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his
I’m drawing in the sand a line: you’re either for or against
And if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split
On who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for you with this:
“Fuck you!”

Wow, like, boom. That’s some dangerous wordcraft you’re wielding there, Marshall. Be careful you don’t cut yourself on all that edge.

I’m not including the above video by Infowars’ Paul Joseph Watson because I agree with him ideologically, but because, in this particular instance, he is absolutely right. Watson is humiliatingly, infuriatingly correct when he says that conservatism has become the new counterculture because pro-establishment liberalism has become the dominant culture in western society. Corporate fauxgressivism is now the official ideology of the mainstream music industry, Hollywood, social media providers and other key areas of cultural influence, which is why you’re now seeing Eminem regurgitating CNN talking points with pasty old oligarchic stalwarts cheering him on. If a young man wants to find something that’ll piss off his parents and teachers, he’ll now have much better odds looking to the Kekistanis on 4chan than to any famous hip-hop artist.

I’m not saying it’s a good thing that conservatism has become the new counterculture, I’m just saying it’s true. The corporate liberals are winning the culture war, the anti-establishment conservatives are winning the counterculture war, and meanwhile those of us who are on the actual left side of the political spectrum are sitting out in the cold while our presidential candidate gets one percent of the popular vote.

This has got to change. As long as the true left is allowing itself to be shouted down into silence and submission by the dominant mainstream liberal culture, we’ll be lost in the margins while the establishment Democrats duke it out with the right-wingers. Nobody wins in that battle. If you recognize the status quo as bullshit and partisan politics as a farce, speak up! Make noise! Make art — for fuck’s sake, please make art! And when they try to shout you down, shout louder! Speak your truth like you mean it, and say it like you’re right, because you are.

Don’t settle for Eminem, please. Let’s create a real counterculture and usher in something fresh.

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