Eminem Faces Backlash for Controversial Rape Lyrics on Dr. Dre’s ‘Compton’
Campaigner Karen Ingala Smith angered by Medicine Man rhymes that ‘contribute to a conducive context for sexual violence’.
Eminem has been accused of denigrating victims of sexual violence, following the release of Dr Dre’s album Compton, which features a controversial lyric by the rapper.
Campaigners condemned the rapper for propagating views that “amplify” the conditions in which rape is normalised.
During Eminem’s verse on the track Medicine Man, he says: “Ain’t no one safe from, non-believers there ain’t none/I even make the bitches I rape cum.”
Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of the London-based charity Nia Project, which supports women and girls who have experienced men’s violence, said that Eminem had parroted a line designed to disempower victims of sexual violence.
She said: “Women and girls who have suffered sexual violence often blame themselves or question whether they were really raped. Peddling the lie that orgasm equals consent silences victims of sexual violence.”
“When we minimise, celebrate, glorify or condone men’s violence against women, we are amplifying the conditions in which it can occur. Lyrics like these contribute to a conducive context for sexual violence.”
Eminem was also widely lambasted for the lyrics on social media. One Twitter user wrote: “I love Eminem, but that rape line in Medicine Man made me cringe. Damn, Em you gotta get better than this.
Another said: “As good as the line was … Eminem didn’t need to include that ‘rape’ line especially as passionately as he said it.”
Eminem has previous when it comes to lyrics that downplay rape. In a song called Vegas, released in 2014, he seems to be rapping about raping Iggy Azalea.
The lyrics include: “So what’s it gon’ be? Put that shit away, Iggy. You don’t wanna blow that rape whistle on me. Scream! I love it. Before I get lost with gettin’ off.”
Azalea responded to Eminem’s verse, telling her followers: “I’m bored of the old men threatening young women as entertainment trend and much more interested in the young women getting $ trend.”
