8
NEWS
What Do Women See In Rapper Eminem?
By Gregory Clay
Knight Ridder/Tribune News
' Service
One woman said he's so
delicious, she wants to have
his babies. Another said he's
sexy. Still, another said he's
dangerous-looking but
angelic at the same time. No,
we're not talking about Ben
Affleck or Justin Timberlake
or Leonardo DiCaprio.
We're talking Eminem.
The descriptions are from
women who eagerly ven
tured to New York theaters
recently to view Eminem's
new movie,'' 8 Mile," which
grossed an astounding $54.5
million during its opening
weekend.
Eminem is the rough-as-
nails, foul-mouthed gangsta
rapper whose lyrics have
included references to gang-
raping his sister and killing
his mother and ex-wife. He
even cal^|||jBritney Spears
"garbage,for gosh sakes.
How blasphemous. Poor
Britney.
Despite his vileness,
some women apparently find
an attraction toward the rap
star turned movie idol. Wait
a minute: Is he becoming a
clean, white version of Will
Smith?
But women flocking to
Eminem? What gives, we
ask with a high degree of
incredulity.
Perhaps, at the root of this
attraction is a type of innate
mothering (or smothering)
reflex from women. Call it
the savior mentality. Yes,
he's cute, he's bad, but we
can save him with our
motherly instincts. Maybe
they don't see him as
Eminem, the gangsta, but as
Marshall Mathers, a vulner
able and overgrown 30-year-
old adolescent.
We know Eminem's past.
He grew up in a
hardscrabble environment on
the east side of Detroit, bom
to a 15-year-old mother,
whom he says never had a
job, and a father, whom he
never knew. He failed ninth
grade three times, then quit
school altogether.
He once asked: "Why is
it so hard for people to
believe that white people are
poor? I wouldn’t say I lived
in a ghetto. I'd say I lived in
the 'hood. The same friends I
had back then are the same
people on tour with me
now."
Bottom line: He's a tough
white guy who's been
urbanized in a black subcul
ture.
Like him or not, Eminem
is real. He's lived it; no
prevarication here (did
someone conjure up images
of a previous white rapper, a
packaged myth known as
Vanilla Ice?) Perhaps, some
admiring n are magne
tized by Eminem's sort of
Horatio Alger biography.
You know, from a nobody
going nowhere to a some
body suddenly supposedly
special. Eminem is an
individual who probably
should have been a statistic,
but, instead, is making
millions through sheer dint
of his perceived "artistic"
ability.
Perhaps, Eminem's
rebellious reputation invokes
a magic-wand effect. Some
women are naturally at
tracted to "bad boys." We
see it with Pamela Anderson
(notice her high-strung
alliances with Kid Rock and
the even-more notorious
Tommy Lee before him.) We
see it with Whitney Houston
and trouble-maker Bobby
Brown. How many times has
he been arrested now? We've
lost count, and they ostensi
bly are still a couple.
As one woman said in a
New York newspaper: "If
men don't have overtly
aggressive confidence or an
exfra edge, they're not
interesting enough."
Some guys who live on
the edge apparently seal a
romantic deal with a unique
appeal to women. They
purport an element of
danger, though some women
euphemistically call it
excitement. Besides, "bad
boys" are never considered
boring, are they?
Perhaps, some women
gravitate toward Eminem
because of that perceived
authenticity. He's viewed as
a real roughneck, and not
some musical creation.
Remember, we earlier
mentioned Vanilla Ice. That's
the guy from the early 1990s
who hed about his back
ground to gain credibility,
said he was ghetto, but he
really wasn't. Look where he
is now.
KRT Campus
everyon^Tlse did or to join
clubs because your friends
joined them. Those days are
long gone. As lonely as it
may sound, we have to set
^ our own paths. Sometimes
there will be people along
the way to help and at other
times, we will have to walk
alone. Nevertheless, we
must always remember that
we are in control of our
own lives.
There are many things
that we freshman have yet
to learn and experience. I
have refused to let that
stand in my way because we
From Page 2
History
"^Jordan scored on a 3-yard
touchdown run and
^^quarterback Jabali Smith
ran in the two-point
conversion.
Bowie State was forced
to punt on its next
possession, giving
Fayetteville State the ball
back with about three
minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs stopped the
Broncos, forcing them to
go three-and-out.
With 1:04 left in the
game, Bowie State took
over on its own 30-yard line
after Fayetteville State
punted away.
But the Bulldogs’ efforts
to get into field-goal range
to tie the game were
thwarted by two sacks by
the Broncos. Bowie State
was unable to stop the
clock, having used all of its
timeouts earlier in the half.
all have to^rart somewhere.
As for now, my colleagues
and 1 feel that we are apart
of something great. We feel
like we have inherited a rich
legacy just by being
students here at FSU.
There’s no doubt that the
first few days were a little
From Page 1
unorthodox, but smiling
faces and extended hands
have definitely closed the
gap.
In the words of our
Chancellor Dr. Willis B.
McCleod, “If I look like
somebody and I act like
somebody, then you might
think I’m sonRody and
you will treat me like
somebody.” The way has
been paved and now the
Class of 2006 is climbing
the ropes.
ATTITUUUUUDE
CHECK??
Perhaps the most
frustrating part for the
Bulldogs was their inability
to slice into Fayetteville
State’s lead.
The Broncos fumbled
the ball nine times, most
due to the constant rain that
kept the ball wet.
But Fayetteville State
never turned the ball over.
“They fumbled nine
times and we didn’t get any
of them,” Bowie State
sophomore linebacker
Atcheson Conway said.
“We weren’t able to take
advantage of any turnovers.
And that’s a big part of our
game as a defensive unit.”
Despite the constant
downpour, Fayetteville
State had success throwing
the ball. Broncos
quarterback Te’Mon
Wallace threw for 208 yards
on 12 of 18 passing with
touchdown passes to
London and Camell
Thornton.
“We knew coming into
the football game that if we
gave Te’Mon some time in
the pocket that he’ll be able
to hit them with a couple of
pasess,” Fayetteville State
coach Kenny Phillips said.
In other football news:
Some of the players
responsible for the best
football season in
Fayetteville State history
were recognized for their
achievement when the
Central Intercollegiate
Athletic Association
released its All-CIAA
football team.
Broncos senior
linebacker and Douglas
Byrd graduate Brian
Holliday was named the
Defensive Player of the
Year. Holliday, who is third
in the nation in NCAA
Division II with 128
tackles, is one of 12
Fayetteville State players to
be recognized on the all
conference team, the most
by any of the CIAA
schools.
Holliday is also a finalist
for Division II Player of the
Year.
“Brian has got one of
those qualities that you
don’t coach,” Phillips said.
“He’s got a knack for the
football.”
Offensive linemen
Karson Lown and Johnny
Surrat were first-team
selections, as were running
back DeAngelo Bridgers
and freshman kicker Justin
Langdon.
Holliday, punter Alan
Zero and defensive backs
Duron Donald and Phil
Crumb made the first-team
defense.
Offensive lineman
O’Gene Jacobs and receiver
London were second-team
offensive selections, while
defensive lineman Damien
Adams and rover back
Shawn Morgan were
second-team defensive
selections.
“From day one, when
we came in here we knew
what we had to do to lift
this program to the top of
the conference was to
recruit quality young men,”
said Phillips. “All of the
guys on that team are
quality young men.”
Andregus Holmes was
cited during the CIAA
Championship game for
having the highest grade-
point average.
Portions of this story
courtesy of The
Fayetteville Observer