Eminem Speaks About the NRA in “Nowhere Fast” ft. Kehlani

By ELIZABETH
VALENTIN
Arts Editor

In the wake of the Parkland mass shooting on Valentine’s day, several celebrities and artist have taken it upon themselves to talk about gun violence and the gun control that they believe is vital at this moment in American history. Eminem is among these artists who have used their platform to talk about this important issue.

This is not the first time since the Trump Administration took office that he has used his platform to speak out against the government. He targeted President Trump directly in his BET cypher in October.

In his newest song, “Nowhere Fast,” which features Kehlani, Eminem targets the NRA and calls them out for their inability to make the lives of children a bigger priority than guns.

The song starts with the lyrics “Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas, another lone-wolf gunman.” This immediately evokes the pain of these two tragedies.

He goes on to say “And the NRA is in our way. They’re responsible for this whole production. They hold the strings to control the puppets and they threaten to take away donor bucks. So they know the government won’t do nothing.’” This is a criticism of both the NRA and the government officials who he believes do nothing to pass common sense gun laws because of the funding that they receive from the NRA.

The song continues with “And no one’s budgin,’ gun owners clutchin’ their loaded weapons they. They love their guns more than our children.”

Throughout the song, he goes on to describe other terrorist events and explains that these events do not scare our government who “act like a two-year-old.”

In the song, he acknowledges that he may appear to come off the wrong way and too aggressive, but he says “if at times my heart it seems like it’s in the wrong place because it’s on my sleeve.” This exemplifies that he is tired of these acts of violence continuing to happen, and that he believes that our elected officials should find a way to help us prevent future events like this.

Later in the song, he also mentions foreign threats that have surfaced since President Trump was elected. He says “Go to war with me, you’ll end up blew to Timbuktu. I send at you a ten-ton nuke like Kim Jong-Un.” It is clear that Eminem has strong feelings about political issues.

In this song, Eminem’s raps are coupled with Kehlani’s vocals, as she sings that we will be “Ashes blowing in the air. Our world’s on fire, but we don’t care, yeah wasted youth, always on the road. Never looking back and we’re never getting old.” This beginning for the chorus is an indication that if our nation does not work to fix the problems that are mentioned throughout the song, that there will be consequences as the world falls apart around us.
The chorus continues with “The skies are black, but our heart’s made of gold. F*** doing what you’re told. We’re going nowhere fast.” This is a testament to the fact that the citizens of our nation want to see our country become better and more peaceful, but we are unable to obtain this in reality.

Overall, this song is powerful and shows that these two artists are socially aware and are willing to sue their platform to make a statement that is much needed in our current climate. This song is unapologetic because Eminem and Kehlani both know that these are things that need to be said. They are speaking up, so let’s hope people were willing to listen in order to enact change.