Eminem Song "Insane" Should Not Have Been Rated
After reading a comment that was given by a reader regarding the Eminem album review, I realized that I may have made a mistake when it came to rating one song. The comment is posted on the website so anybody wants to read the whole thing can just go to the Relapse post and read it there, but it basically said that I may have given the song "Insane" an unfair rating (I gave it a 1) due to the fact that it touches on a very sensitive subject that many people throughout this country (and the world) deal with. He also made the point that music, especially hip hop, is supposed to touch on these types of issues and they should not be knocked for it.
First, thank you lang1 for your input, and I have to say that I completely agree with you that hip hop is supposed to touch on these types of issues, no matter how uncomfortable they may make listeners feel because certain things just need to be addressed. However, my problem with the song was not necessarily the content itself, but the way it is presented. While I will not type the quote word for word simply because I don't know who may be reading this blog and I don't want people to never visit it again, the line that basically turned me off from the song completely was when he mentions going back for a second helping of _ _ _ (to find out what the word is, listen to insane at about the 2:00 mark). Of course when telling a story like this, there are certain details that people may not necessairly like, but they are to be expected. Yet, when some details are presented in a certain way, especially in a song like this where there is much exaggeration (i.e. biting blades off of a chain saw), there are certain things that personally (which is what the review was based on), I feel either don't need to be brought up or that when brought up need be brought up in a certain manner. Even with the line mentioned above, it could be very true that this happens to young boys all around the world, but that line itself, I just wasn't feeling.
With all that said, I do feel as though I made a mistake by rating that particular song at all. If ANY of that song was true, regardless of the other exaggerations, it was definitely not my place to rate a song that was so personal and revealing such personal information as that. That can be said about many songs, but with a subject that touchy, I don't think that I had any right to do a review of that song. That is a big if because I haven't really heard any information on wether or not that song is based on a true story of if anybody has even asked the question, but either way, it was not my place to do that. If you go back to the review, you will now see that it states that there is no rating for the song.
If I felt that this song was created to address a national issue and bring attention to something that had been going around in the country, I'm sure that I would have had a much different outlook on it and probably would have rated it much different. There are many artists that do tackle serious subjects that affect our country and those are usually the songs that I enjoy the most. I also feel as though hip hop does not receive enough credit for doing those types of songs. The most recent one I can think of is Jadakiss' "Smoking Gun." I thought the song was fantastic and that is an issue that needed to be talked about. I can watch Law & Order: SVU all day, where the issue of molestation and things of that nature are mentioned often and although some episodes may make me a little uneasy, I can still enjoy it. But, in the case of "Insane", I thought that the way he said certain things were a little too out there, not what he was talking about. However, like I said before, if any of that song was true, I had no right to rate a song of that type.
Once again, I appreciate the very thought provoking and well constructed comment. It did make me realize that I was out of line with the rating. As DMX said, "I merely say what's in my heart and you call it a style". It is only natural to expect some sort of grade, review, ranking, etc. in almost any entertainment field, but we as bloggers, critics, journalists, and others need to understand that many people do put their personal stories into this music and we don't always have the right to give them some sort of ranking just because we didn't like something. You may be able to argue this for many songs that have personal reflections, but a song such as "Insane" is pretty much cut and dry and didn't deserve a rating.
What do you guys think? Was I out of line or just doing what most do? Am I wrong for taking away the rating that I originally gave? What were your thoughts on the song in general? Leave a comment here or email me at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.
Peace.
First, thank you lang1 for your input, and I have to say that I completely agree with you that hip hop is supposed to touch on these types of issues, no matter how uncomfortable they may make listeners feel because certain things just need to be addressed. However, my problem with the song was not necessarily the content itself, but the way it is presented. While I will not type the quote word for word simply because I don't know who may be reading this blog and I don't want people to never visit it again, the line that basically turned me off from the song completely was when he mentions going back for a second helping of _ _ _ (to find out what the word is, listen to insane at about the 2:00 mark). Of course when telling a story like this, there are certain details that people may not necessairly like, but they are to be expected. Yet, when some details are presented in a certain way, especially in a song like this where there is much exaggeration (i.e. biting blades off of a chain saw), there are certain things that personally (which is what the review was based on), I feel either don't need to be brought up or that when brought up need be brought up in a certain manner. Even with the line mentioned above, it could be very true that this happens to young boys all around the world, but that line itself, I just wasn't feeling.
With all that said, I do feel as though I made a mistake by rating that particular song at all. If ANY of that song was true, regardless of the other exaggerations, it was definitely not my place to rate a song that was so personal and revealing such personal information as that. That can be said about many songs, but with a subject that touchy, I don't think that I had any right to do a review of that song. That is a big if because I haven't really heard any information on wether or not that song is based on a true story of if anybody has even asked the question, but either way, it was not my place to do that. If you go back to the review, you will now see that it states that there is no rating for the song.
If I felt that this song was created to address a national issue and bring attention to something that had been going around in the country, I'm sure that I would have had a much different outlook on it and probably would have rated it much different. There are many artists that do tackle serious subjects that affect our country and those are usually the songs that I enjoy the most. I also feel as though hip hop does not receive enough credit for doing those types of songs. The most recent one I can think of is Jadakiss' "Smoking Gun." I thought the song was fantastic and that is an issue that needed to be talked about. I can watch Law & Order: SVU all day, where the issue of molestation and things of that nature are mentioned often and although some episodes may make me a little uneasy, I can still enjoy it. But, in the case of "Insane", I thought that the way he said certain things were a little too out there, not what he was talking about. However, like I said before, if any of that song was true, I had no right to rate a song of that type.
Once again, I appreciate the very thought provoking and well constructed comment. It did make me realize that I was out of line with the rating. As DMX said, "I merely say what's in my heart and you call it a style". It is only natural to expect some sort of grade, review, ranking, etc. in almost any entertainment field, but we as bloggers, critics, journalists, and others need to understand that many people do put their personal stories into this music and we don't always have the right to give them some sort of ranking just because we didn't like something. You may be able to argue this for many songs that have personal reflections, but a song such as "Insane" is pretty much cut and dry and didn't deserve a rating.
What do you guys think? Was I out of line or just doing what most do? Am I wrong for taking away the rating that I originally gave? What were your thoughts on the song in general? Leave a comment here or email me at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.
Peace.
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