Lil Nas X reacts to ‘Cancel Eminem’ trends.
Eminem recently becomes the target of the ‘Cance Culture‘ once again after Gen Z on Tik Tok started the trend over discovering offensive lyrics by the Detroit Rapper. Eminem then received support from the millennials around the world as well as from some celebrities.
A lot about how listeners across generations perceive Eminem and, to some degree, how they interact with music and society in general is revealed by the vast spectrum of strong responses to the TikTok. Gen Zers excitedly echoed the message in the film, and recordings with the hashtag #canceleminem2021 have amassed more than 8.6 million views overall. However, a quick scan of the hashtag reveals more apparently millennial Eminem fans standing up for the musician than youths in their twenties spearheading a cancel campaign.
Gen-Z said that Eminem should no longer have a platform because of his “problematic” songs, notably citing his poisonous remarks in “Love The Way You Lie” with Rihanna about burning down a house if his girlfriend attempts to leave him. Millenials pushed back, claiming that Slim Shady is too huge to be cancelled since they grew up listening to his angsty rhymes, which is possibly accurate.
Lil Nas X, who previously mocked rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine for making a public homophobic remark, has lately posted a video of himself ‘freestyling’ over Dr. Dre and Eminem’s “Forgot About Dre” in support of Eminem when Gen Z attempted to cancel him on her viral TikTok video.
Now Rapper Lil Nas X, the ‘Old Town Road‘ fame from Georgia also reacts to the attempts to cancel Eminem as he makes fun of the Gen Z while playing ‘Forgot About Dre‘ in the background.
Lil Nas X, possibly the music industry’s most smart Internet user, saw the generational struggle as an opportunity to enter the ring as well. While he doesn’t appear to be siding with anyone — instead of mocking the millennial rapping to save Em from cancellation – his perspective brought some much-needed levity to the conversation. Nas defended Shady with some of the most difficult bars TikTok has ever seen. “Generation Z wants to cancel Eminem? / Generation Z wants to cancel Eminem? / Yeah, listen up, Generation / Z, you’re a generation of Z / Z, generation of Z.”
Furthermore, Lil Nas X has revealed that his new single, ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name),’ will be released later this month. According to a tweet from the rapper, the tune will be released on Friday, March 26. The single’s cover image was also unveiled. The record has been in the works for a long time, with Nas releasing snatches of it as early as July of last year.
Earlier this year, he appeared in a Super Bowl ad for Logitech alongside environmentalist Leah Thomas, illustrator Mercedes Bazan, and streamer Meg Kaylee, among others.
“We stand there in defiance,” Nas said in the clip. “We the makers. We the groundbreakers. We the creators, the screamers and dreamers.”
He continued: “We defy expectations, perceptions and misconceptions. We defy what logic says we should look like, sound like, be like. We defy genres, algorithms and entire industries.
“See, we defy that little voice that says, ‘oh no we can’t’, with a roar back that says, ‘oh yes, we will’. Because to create the future we must defy the logic of the past. We must defy logic.”
Eminem recently released his new music video for ‘Tone Deaf‘ which is called to be a response to Cancel Culture. The 48-year-old Detroit MC retaliated against his detractors on Friday (March 6) with an animated lyric video for the song “Tone Deaf” off his 2020 album, Music to Be Murdered By – Side B, in which he doubles down on his controversial reputation over the decades. “I won’t stop even when my hair turns gray (I’m tone deaf)/ ‘Cause they won’t stop until they cancel me,” Em tweeted when dropping the video, referencing a line from the track.
In the chorus, he declares his commitment to a life of childish comedy, macabre fancies, and trivial complaints, treating the insults levelled at him as a badge of pride rather than causing him to lose sleep. His admirers should follow suit.
Eminem himself discussed “cancel culture” during a Shade 45 track-by-track talk in late 2020, saying that it happens “every other day” for him. “I’m canceled for whatever the f**k it was,” Em said. “It’s funny because I see some of the same people… who bi**hed about things back then that I said and then going back now and saying, ‘why can’t he be that again.’ What the f**k. When I was that you had a problem with that too. I understand some of the s**t but for the most part like for people who just sit online and they feel like they need to b**ch about whatever it is to feel like they’re a part of something. With cancel culture, it’s like nobody really gets canceled though.”
Eminem stated in a January interview with Complex that someone tried to cancel him “basically every f*****g every other day.” “I’m cancelled for whatever the f**k it was,” he continued.
Eminem claimed he understood some of the criticism, but said the most of it came from individuals who “just sit online” and “feel like they have to b***h about whatever it is to feel like they’re part of something.”
