Did Eminem predict Trump?

Interesting analysis, but I don't think so.

Eminem is obviously creating contradictions to show some inconsistencies in our nation's social structure, but primarily the song is a ballad describing the fact that he couldn't get a job because he was a white guy in a predominantly black field, till Dr. Dre came along and took him seriously as an artist and produced his music, and now, ironically, he gets more sales precisely he is a white guy appealing to a wealthy, white audience. Trump, on the other hand, is not in a position not to be taken seriously. His real-estate field, his reality show, and the presidential game are all dominated by white guys already. Rich white guys at that.

You could try to make the argument that Eminem wants to "make America great again." One assumes little eric is a metaphor for suburban USA. (Eric is in the middle of AMERICA, so eric is middle America, or suburban America.) The "hypocrisy of democracy" is referring to the censorship that came with rap lyrics. (Tipper Gore and Mrs. Cheney, being mentioned by name, were major proponents of labeling rap lyrics in the late 90s and early part of this century.) But his song isn't about making anything great. It's in your face. See how successful I am, bitches? It's also a rant: Eminem wasn't the first rapper to have violent content ("smack a bitch") in his songs, but people seem to blame him for it. Why? Because white suburbanite parents thought their children would never be gangbangers. They understood rap-obsession among suburban white youth as a trendy fetish that they would lose as they grew older. Then suddenly Eminem, a bleach-blonde whiteboy with a white T-shirt, shows up and now parents are scrutinizing everything he said because now their children are listening to him and emulating him. ("That's why they put my lyrics up under this microscope.") Helicopter parents and over-reaching congressmen were taking lyrics too seriously and taking their meaning literally, rather than just enjoying his the music. (Harlem folks understood it to be metaphorical, but conservative Boston did not, as Eminem points out.)

There are some parallels of narcissism and unorthodoxy between Eminem's message and Trump's personality, and they're both exploiting extant venues in order to make a buck--I'm certain that Trump's candidacy is one big publicity stunt--and some even blame Eminem (then) and Trump (now) for violence and criminal behavior, but I think that the phenomenon described by Eminem and the phenomenon known as The Donald are too different to say that Eminem predicted it.

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