Who’d want to punch Lana Del Rey “in the face twice”? Eminem apparently.
Or at least that’s the impression given in his controversial freestyle rap video.
During the 18-minute rant set to music, the 42-year-old rap artist said the following about the “Young And Beautiful” singer:
But I may fight for gay rights, especially if the dyke is more of a knockout than Janay Rice
Play nice? Bitch I’ll punch Lana Del Rey right in the face twice, like Ray Rice in broad daylight in the plain sight of the elevator surveillance
‘Til her head is banging on the railing, then celebrate with the Ravens
So not only did Slim Shady brag about a desire to hit female pop artist, he used a highly controversial situation involving an alleged victim of domestic violence in order to make his point.
.@Eminem hits out at @LanaDelRey in his new freestyle. Check out what he said >> http://t.co/gpGtNvqK5k pic.twitter.com/Iwo0O4Bfwl
— MTV | The Wrap Up (@mtvwrapup) November 11, 2014
Sadly, this type of imagery is hardly foreign to rap music.
Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z made a reference to domestic violence on her track “Drunk In Love”:
I’m Ike Turner … baby, no, I don’t play / Now eat the cake, Anna Mae
Who is “Anna Mae”?
Domestic violence survivor Tina Turner.
The “eat the cake” line is a reference to a scene in the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It?, which goes into the abuse that Turner said she suffered at the hands of her former husband in graphic and disturbing detail.
There are other, far too many examples of anti-woman language that can be pulled from hip hop.
Lana Del Rey and Janay Rice just happen to be the latest in a long line of women held up as examples of the contempt many male rappers have for women.
Although many will rise to condemn rappers like Eminem and Jay-Z for their words and behavior, how many of the outraged will express this opinion towards the people who buy their music?
Both men and women will continue to spend money on the misogynistic music made by these artists.
The Lana Del Rey line and reference to abuse will hopefully help shine a brighter spotlight on the problematic attitudes casually expressed in modern rap music.