I’ve watched about 597 TikToks doing Eminem’s “My Darling” and each one is dope

Horrorcore Rap >>>>>>>>>>>

I think a lot of his horrorcore rap got lost in translation bc he came out swinging and with Dre. Folks put him in one space when he was in another (and others additionally)

Just listening to some D12 stuff tells you that

And heads have perpetually slept on horrorcore rap

I’m old enough to remember turning on the radio and being able to hear various types of rap music all at once. Comedy. Dance. Gangsta. Conscious. Party. Boom bap. Storytelling.

Those were the days.

Horrorcore rap relies on so many of the things we condemn today, so going back to look at the “greats” is tough bc it means accepting the ISMs as essential

It’s funny cuz we allow so much for others who relied on the same devices but were 1. Black 2. Not horror

“Kim” is a decent example of that
It’s a horror rap, like to the letter, but it’s about killing a woman and folks were justified in their anger

But when they graphically rap about 1. Raping women 2. Killing each other they go all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for freedom

I think a lot of the dismissals of Em are rooted in resenting that a white guy was able to be as big, sell as much, win as much, etc when other talented PoC weren’t and that’s also justified anger.

I’ve just always found it weird when folks say he isn’t talented

Everyone can have their opinions and be like “I don’t like Eminem as a rapper” or “I don’t like Eminem’s music” and that would be fine. Totally acceptable! But then they go on to say that he isn’t talented. That just never flies with me.

Anyway back to the horror
Eminem/ D12 were mainstreaming it a bit and I think for those who hadn’t been deeply exposed to it, it was off-putting, especially coming from such a “mainstream” artist

Folks really will try to have you catering to them bc they feel entitled to you

Horrorcore was localized a lot too... Memphis and Detroit were big centers for it. Houston got a piece of it too

Kool Keith is a name you should know. Scarface and Geto Boys. Big L can definitely be thrown in the mix

Em being a white dude immersed in Hip Hop in the D, well

So we kinda accept when Mobb Deep, Biggie, NWA, etc y’all about the violence they engage in and accept it as part of Hip Hop but get weird when horrorcore artists push beyond “typical urban violence” and get into the really twisted, haunted, psychotic, etc

That’s something

Biggie laughed about defacating on a woman and folks laughed along like “Oh, Biggie ha ha sigh you so crazy”. What? 2 Live Crew went to the SCOTUS over a song abt raping women. Huh?

But horrorcore rappers sticking to the elements of their genre is troubling...

So again I think it was about who “Kim” and “My Darling” etc are coming from. The guy folks feel benefited from white privilege and occupied space others deserved. The guy w/personal issues (like others with DV, drug, murder, assault charges—which we kinda let slide)

I’ve just always thought it was dope he got Dre in on the horrorcore and psychedelic notions cuz that opened him up a lot. Dr. Dre has been a garbage human being for like ever but he didn’t catch the flack for the same music that Em did