We've had our share of celebrities who are viewed as bad influences, ranging from Mike Tyson, to Dennis Rodman, to Britney Spears. Sure, kids may look up to these types of people, but it's not like they base their lives on the actions and interviews of their favorite famous people. Does the media influence people? Maybe, but not a whole lot. Maybe things have changed since I was a little kid, but I don't recall ever creating a totem pole comprised of the heads of my favorite celebrities, and making it a daily ritual to bow down and praise them. As for media influence, if playing Doom on your computer causes you to pull out a gun in the middle of a movie theater and start shooting people, you're likely to have done it anyway. If watching Power Rangers makes a kid want to kick the sh!t out of people at school, then he probably has violent ideas to begin with. The media has some effect on people, but not to a great degree.
But there are some bad influences out there, and one of the worst has got to be that rapping SOB, Eminem. Think about it. His fans are mostly kids, I don't think anyone the age of 18 or older listens to his music. I hear people b*tch a blue streak about Britney Spears being a bad role model. Sure, she has boobs and isn't timid about showing them, but that's about it. You wouldn't want your 5-year old watching her on tv dancing and wearing that hot glitter outfit, but most of her child fans care about her CD's, not looking at her body. And there's nothing wrong with her music. You may think her songs suck, but they don't have any swearing, and don't center on drugs or crime.

And then there's Eminem. Kids who look up to him are listening to songs about drugs, rape, and killing people, and have those lyrics going through their brains. This is a worse influence than Britney Spears, who it seems is the reason women can't breast feed their babies in public. Seriously, I heard that on the news. Why not just blame World War II on her? It seems some of us are oblivious to the fact that public breast feeding has been a controversial issue since long before she was even born. So before you start spitting out profanities like projectile vomit every time someone mentions Britney's name, think about what kind of music really has an impact on young people.

Now that I got all that out of the way, let's talk about Eminem's music. I'll try not to be too harsh here.....but it's terrible! I could eat a 30-pack of White Castles, set up a microphone in the bathroom, and create songs more melodic than this. And then there's the tough Eminem character. Someone please tell me what's so "badass" about him, because I can't seem to figure it out. I'd bet four dollars, all my collectable Pokémon toys from Burger King, and possibly a testicle that if he got in a fight with any given Backstreet Boy, in the end we'd be hearing "More Than That" as a victory song in pro wrestling-esque fashion.
I probably should mention that I don't like rap music at all. I guess I just can't appreciate an "art" in which the songs are basically just an 8-second loop of music while a guy is singing about drugs, or how much he likes big butts.
You're probably going to tell me "But Eminem IS tough! He uses bad words!". Sure he does. But so does an angry 5th grader in a public school bathroom. The majority of the people who think he's cool also carry Dragonball Z lunch boxes and giggle uncontrollably upon hearing the double meaning of the word "nuts". And here's the thing that baffles me most: what exactly IS an Eminem? Is he named after the candy? Why Eminem is any cooler of a celebrity than Captain Crunch is something that is far beyond my comprehension.

I'll end it on that note, you rap freaks can bring on the hate mail and expect me to care.