We Made You (Eminem)

[(Artie Ziff)]

Going to Modern stations next week per Billboard.

I remember him charting before, but I don't understand why he always gets added to alternative radio. I have no idea on this one, but if it's like his earlier releases I don't see why.

[PHOBES]

This is horrible

[American Idiot]

I'm hope my station never ends up playing this. Thankfully, I don't remember them ever playing anything from Eminem before.

[Crushcrushchris]

This is such a bad idea. The song doesn't work for this format. I could understand Asher Roth's I Love College being added, but this has nothing really alternative about it.

[tortuga]

Its because he's white.

[Nicholas2.0]

I don't understand why all his first singles still have to be novelty songs. ("Just Lose It," now this.) He's making his career less and less relevant by putting out generic mainstream dreck like that (and "Shake That" and guesting on Akon's "Smack That"), which only serves to demonstrate that he's run out of original, artistically important things to rap about.

[Ivy Leegue™]

Apr 10, 2009 0:31:17 GMT -5 @tortuga said:

Its because he's white.

Pretty much. I spent 4 years on-air for 95.5 WBRU (a commercial modern-rock station M-Sat and an "Urban" station on Sundays). In my 4 years there, I was the principal on-air jock for a few different shows on Sunday and we NEVER played Eminem songs. Yet, his songs were played during the week. Why Eminem was considered "modern rock" and why he was never added to any of the hip-hop playlists (I was only able to play his music when I did the 12 AM - 2 AM timeslot), I will never fully understand but I think you summed it up nicely.

[blurple]

No, just no. This song won't work at all here.

[halo19]

I don't think he is of interest at Alternative radio anymore. Not like he'd need the format. Nothing from Encore was released, either. And while "Lose Yourself" fit and was deserving that one was also a pretty ubiquitous radio hit, while just moderately successful on the format.

Also, Nick's first sentence might be another thing against it, too. I think the general public grew tired of those songs by the time of "Just Lose It." All of those are always about the celebrities and such but it's just not interesting anymore... "Crack a Bottle" sold as many downloads as it did due to anticipation.

[(Artie Ziff)]

Agreed on the bad idea without even hearing it. I don't know any Eminem song titles from each other, but I do remember Altnation playing one a while back. I'm pretty sure it was when Eminem won the Academy Award.

[jdmasta289]

Apr 10, 2009 0:31:17 GMT -5 @tortuga said:

Its because he's white.

Isn't insinuating that 70-whatever percent of alternative stations are overtly racist a bit of a stretch? That is how I interpreted this comment, but maybe others' will differ, or you can explain this further. I don't believe Eminem has ever been solely one genre. I believe arguments could be made that he is, or was, alternative. "Mosh" certainly sounds like an alternative song, as do singles "Stan", "Lose Yourself", among others.

I'm, admittedly, a bit of a homer for Eminem. I'm anticipating this track because of politically-oriented material that surfaced on Encore and the family/personally-oriented material from albums' past. Eminem defied and transcended the hip-hop genre by overcoming many of the stereotypes that surround it. Yes, it's another mockery of recent-day pop culture icons, literred with juvenile language but, hey, that's part of the act. In my opinion, his rapping style - and rapping talent, overall - has improved immensely, for what it's worth. That's enough for anticipation on my part. I do wish he would stop 1998-2003 Offspringing it with the first single and mix things up, but I don't believe his first singles shouldn't ever be taken seriously, anyway, unlike the other album tracks.

[Young Money]

How is it doing? I've heard it on rock stations here

[jdmasta289]

Apr 10, 2009 18:17:42 GMT -5 Young Money said:

How is it doing? I've heard it on rock stations here

www.allaccess.com/ (Registration required for chart viewing)

It hasn't yet hit the Alternative top 50. It's currently #49 on CHR/Pop, with a +505 bullet (and 505 spins, overall). #50 with 481 spins on CHR/Rhythmic.

I'd like to add that I wouldn't mind much of the album sounding similar to something like "Crack A Bottle."

[Nicholas2.0]

Apr 10, 2009 18:29:47 GMT -5 jdmasta289 said:

I'd like to add that I wouldn't mind much of the album sounding similar to something like "Crack A Bottle."

Can't believe I forgot to include "Crack a Bottle" as part of the problem. I realize that people were starved for Eminem and that the record company just let it go when the leak got an overwhelming amount of interest. But it's just a bulls**t typical club song. And Em, Dre, and 50 was a great collaboration idea for a song...5 years ago when it was a much better song called "Encore." I found the success of "Crack a Bottle" highly irritating.

[crash46]

Apr 10, 2009 18:16:32 GMT -5 jdmasta289 said:

Apr 10, 2009 0:31:17 GMT -5 @tortuga said:

Its because he's white.

Isn't insinuating that 70-whatever percent of alternative stations are overtly racist a bit of a stretch? That is how I interpreted this comment, but maybe others' will differ, or you can explain this further.

I don't think it's racism at all (that would mean they're not playing black rappers because they're black), and it's definitely not on the station's part.

He doesn't get played on rock stations because he's white, per se. It's because the demographic of white suburban teenagers who hate their lives--a major portion of Alternative's target audience--all said "f*** yeah, a white rapper!", and since some of the songs, as jd mentioned, don't sound too terribly out of place on rock stations, their phones started ringing off the hook for Eminem and he started posting Alternative hits.

[Cody]

yes, and white rappers are more likely to have more instrumental features in their songs, while black rappers USUALLY use generic computer generated beats

[Deleted]

Apr 11, 2009 10:28:07 GMT -5 Cody said:

yes, and white rappers are more likely to have more instrumental features in their songs, while black rappers USUALLY use generic computer generated beats

That is a gross generalization, especially when you consider that most of Eminem's songs have "computer generated beats".

[pen]

Apr 11, 2009 10:28:07 GMT -5 Cody said:

yes, and white rappers are more likely to have more instrumental features in their songs, while black rappers USUALLY use generic computer generated beats

I may not know anything about rap but I think I know enough to know that this is not true, and honestly sounds like a pretty stupid thing to say.

[Cody]

I dont see why its so exaggerated. If that isnt it, then I dont see why the hell white rappers successful on alternative but black rappers arent?

[pen]

Apr 11, 2009 13:19:47 GMT -5 Cody said:

I dont see why its so exaggerated. If that isnt it, then I dont see why the hell white rappers successful on alternative but black rappers arent?

I think it's because largely white rappers tend to be a novelty. And that might sound equally ignorant, and it probably is, but I think that makes a lot more sense, because there are white rappers that use beats and there are black rappers that use instruments.

Unless you're talking about rap-rock bands, which are a completely different category and ball of wax.

[crash46]

How many alternative hits do Bubba Sparxxx or Paul Wall have? White rappers are most often not successful on Alternative, and with the few who are, to say "it's just because they're white" is supreme ignorance. Eminem was moderately successful due to his appeal and his attitude, which I already explained. I don't know who else there is. Somebody mentioned Asher Roth but that's the same thing. Every reason Asher loves college could have already been found printed on a T-shirt at Hot Topic long before the song was made, and everybody knows the sample.

It isn't a black/white issue here.

[pen]

Thanks, I had a feeling I was being ignorant somehow, but I don't know a whole lot about rap and its relation to alternative.

[(Artie Ziff)]

Other than Beastie Boys, Rehab, and that band that was out last year that knew all of the words to De Colores (the song and group escape me), I can't think of many rappers that have had success on Modern surveys.