Eminem

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I gotta' hand it to my kids.

They won't give up.

"I have a song you'll like," Jake said to me the other day. "It's an Eminem video that's funny."

He sat beside me on the couch and handed me his phone. The song was all set to go.

It was funny.

The video was well done.

The lyrics were understandable.

Pee Wee Herman's laugh was featured prominently, and that made me laugh.

"I got another one," Jake said.

This one was a bit more serious. It was about a stalker fan who didn't hear from Eminem and became violent and was killed while in pursuit.

Again.

It was thoughtful.

"He's good, isn't he?" Jake asked.

And I'm in a weird position here because I am not a fan of hip-hop. I kind of like the music in music. You know...piano...guitar...drums. The music behind this particular genre is usually produced on a computer. The words are also really fast, and there's a lot of anger behind all of it.

But.

I can see it now.

"I didn't hate it," I said.

"Bruce has a couple of good songs," he answered.

So we have a compromise of sorts.

I can understand why there are people out there who think the guy has talent. Yet I don't want to make a mistake here because perhaps the true draw is that my son is sitting beside me on the couch showing me something that he finds interesting.

Eminem will never end up on my I-pod. Neither will Jay-Z or Drake or Lil' Wayne.

But.

I've softened a little on it.

God help me.

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