20th Dec 2002
Muslim Rappers Choose Uncle Sam Over Eminem
This is a bizarre little story in the present issue of the New Yorker, more along the lines of the Bush administration trying to woo the rest of the world with questionable information strategies. In this case, the State Department has enlisted the help of the DC rap group Native Deen — a group of African American Muslims whose hits include “M-U-S-L-I-M,” “I Only Fear Allah,” and “Drug Free” — to spread the message of America’s diversity and tollerance by sponsoring their international exposure. So, while selling out to the U.S. government appears not to trouble them, of Eminem two of the band members say:
He has skills. Anybody in the rap world knows that he’s a very good lyricist.
He’s definitely taking the rap world by storm. But what we have a problem with is the subject matter, the content, the image, you know.
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