Judge me not

Don't you just love your friendly neighbourhood rapper. Wonderful souls, with kind hearts and the most benevolent intentions. Why are they are called misanthropic, violent, homophobic and psychotic? Why are they misunderstood? Can't we realize that, like everybody else, they just want to love and be loved.

Those apocryphal names - Eminem, 50 cent and Puff Daddy. Did you know that the name Eminem is derived from the popular candy M&M (em and em, eminem). Can an individual named after a candy be evil, vile and full of bile.

Their lifestyles. I am sure you have heard stories in the news about rappers consuming illegal substances, having wild parties and being a threat to each other's lives. But, are you gullible enough to believe that rubbish? Could anyone possibly live a life so decadent? So superficial. So shallow. It cannot be. It's a campaign by their record labels to sully their names, and boost record sales - all in the name of profit. Remember, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, how they loved each other, and how their love grossed a couple of hundred millions at the box office. Isn't it beautiful to see the most sacred of emotions, love, used to make tonnes and tonnes of money. That beauty must have hurt so bad, a feeling of deep betrayal, of treason, a feeling that doesn't go away with extra pints of Hefeweizen. What sacrifices success doth demand! What courage! What inner strength!

Their words. How maligned. How misunderstood.

"In the gym I see your a** on a stairmaster
B**** you are on level two go a little faster
Look girl I ain't gonna lie, I am going to tell you how I feel,
I am going to handcuff your big a** to the treadmill"

The pour soul has a gf who isn't looking after her physique. See, too much adipose tissue leads to coronories. He must have told her like a million times, "Cmon go to the gym no please no", but she just wouldn't listen. Just wouldn't. Understandably, he gets all worked up. He couldn't control his strong feelings towards her. A little tact, a little diplomacy goes a long way. But, what to do.

"I must be cruel, only to be kind:
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind."
- William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

He just felt he had to give her some tough love. We should be loath to blame him.

"So much chrome on my benz
That you see your face on my rimz"

This needs to be understood in the right socio-economic perspective. There are many in this country who live a life of despair and penury. They have nowhere to go and are forced to live on the street. But, doesn't every man have a right to his dignity? And a little bit of vanity? He deserves a shave, at the very least. What could be a better a way to do it?

"I am the boss on this boat, you can call me skipper,
The way I turn the money over, you can call me flipper"

See, a nature lover. Not many people can summon the courage to compose songs on the flipper the dolphin . Yes, one must agree that he does tend to be a little possesive about his things, but aren't we all. He just wants to get on a boat and watch dolphins. But, we misunderstand him. We call it greed. We call it avarice. We call it vanity. Aren't we jealous? Woe to us.

"I don't care if you are white or black,
Tall or short or thin or fat,
(Errm...cough cough..), and I like that"

Doesn't he believe in equality, in non-descrimination, and in deeper principles that rule the heart of every righteous man. In a world ruled by crass commercialism, where many a woman's self image is under constant pressure to live up to unattainable stereotypes, isn't this a welcome break? A perfect proponent of Martin Luther's idealistic reality. How can you judge him by the facade that is his language? In today's decadent world, don't we need more people like this? As an indignant Shylock tells Salarino in the old bard's 'Merchant of Venice',

Hath not a Jew eyes?
Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?
If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
If you poison us, do we not die?
If we run up on you with a knife,
Should you hate us?
If we corrupt your daughter,
Should you detest us?
If we are a danger to society,
Should you put us in jail?
If we are brainless nincompoops,
Should you think we are stupid?
Should you? Should you?