Music Blog

I think this is a thoughtful post about the influences of Eminem (and, more generally, western music) in the middle east.

Driving to Al Qantab, I passed through a small, poor village. Goats roamed freely, munching on rubbish, while young boys ran alongside the car, waving excitedly. Passing an old, disused building, I noticed two pieces of graffiti, both in red paint. The first was in Arabic – a fairly standard scribble praising Osama bin Laden. The next was in block-lettered English – EMINEM, it said. As I whizzed out from the town, it occurred to me that these simple scribbles explained a great deal about Middle Eastern politics, and regional attitudes towards the West.