Feb 17
Eminem the new Shakespeare?
It seems Mitch Benn (musical comedy genius & guitarist for G.o.D.) was on to something with his song ‘MacBeth (My name is)’ (which is sung in the style of Eminem), considering this story in London Eye.
Two years ago Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney lavished praise on Eminem, saying the hip-hop star had “sent a voltage around a generation”.But he is not alone in his admiration for the noble art of rap: veteran actor Corin Redgrave even compares it to Shakespeare. “I raised an idea with my son that, since Shakespeare’s plays use a vocabulary of 20,000 words – three times that of any other playwright – perhaps not all of his accredited plays are by him,” he says.
“My son was outraged, suggesting it was more likely that Shakespeare had searched for language and acquired a means to express himself. I think he’s right.
“Look at rap stars: when they take to the mike and compete with each other, they are like medieval poets.”
NB: Listening to Mitch Benn while driving is a dangerous endeavor. I was recently in a car with Wolfie, and he almost whacked a headgerow because of intense laughter. Wolfie is a rather good driver and this was the only time I was at all worried about becoming part of the scenery. Mitch’s latest CD, called ‘Too Late to Cancel’ is rather good as well.
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For some reason my memory harks back to a Dean Martin roast of Redd Foxx. Orson Welles (!) gets up to the podium and says that the man of honor is branching out into Shakespeare: “To bleep or not to bleep, that is the bleeping question.” (Exact quote – this was broadcast TV, ya know.)
Why do they hate him?
I don’t think I’ve seen it really spelled out, but to me it’s obvious: people who hate George W. Bush are simply re-enacting the jocks vs. nerds trauma that they suffered in high school. (Via Andrew Ian Dodge.)...