This quote demonstrates how Eminem becomes motivated to write a song--to prevent himself from actually following through with any of the actions in his songs. People accuse him of plotting plans to murder his wife, whereas, according to the above statement, he is simply relieving stress. While people constantly misunderstand what Eminem's message, similarly graffiti artists are also misunderstood. As people attempt to put an end to graffiti, they fail to realize the reason these artists continue to graffiti, "We haven't looked at why they're painting," says Marty Trotter of the Vernon Central Merchants association "They want to communicate something to us, and we're not listening" (Martinez 174). People that listen to Eminem's music need to understand the message, whether or not fans take Eminem's lyrics literally has nothing to do with Eminem. He has made several statements similar to the following; "A lot of my rhymes are just to get chuckles out of people. Anyone with half a brain is going to be able to tell when I'm joking and when I'm serious" (Brown 76). Fans may be influenced by his lyrics, but no one has actually attacked a homosexual or killed their wife and held Eminem responsible. Furthermore, as true fans they should know that Eminem is not telling them to do the actions in his songs, he is simply saving himself from doing them. Growing up in Detroit, Michigan must not be easy; however, obviously none of Eminem's enemies can relate to this (Walsh 1). Eminem was constantly teased for being a white boy in a mostly black neighborhood and attempting to rap along with them. Not only does Eminem's past childhood have an impact on his songs, the situation with his wife also adds to the controversy.
The wife of Marshall Mathers, Kim Mathers, filed a $10-million lawsuit against him in the year 2000 for defamation of character due to interviews and songs that Mathers released (Walsh 1).