The collection of angry reviews for “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)” is growing, exposing more authors who do not understand music in general and hip hop in particular. Mr. Porter came out to tell them.
Eminem’s longtime collaborator and producer, Mr. Porter, has ignited a discussion after publicly criticising music web media Pitchfork for their assessment of “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)”.
The album met with a mixed bag of reviews, received a less-than-stellar 4.8/10 rating from Pitchfork, a score that perplexed many fans and industry insiders alike. Porter took to Instagram to voice his frustration, questioning the qualifications of the reviewer, a musician who creates ambient music and is ill-equipped to evaluate the intensity and energy of a hip hop album.
In a scathing Instagram comment, Mr. Porter also questioned Pitchfork’s connection to Vanity Fair and Vogue, suggesting that the publication’s focus on fashion and high-end consumerism culture does not allow them to evaluate hip hop authentically:
Someone sent me their trash review, these people claim to be the most trusted in music reviews how?! The Guy that you choose to review the album Makes Ambient Music.. His names “Gardner” on band camp… meaning he makes music that you meditate to!! How you the most trusted source of music and you choose guy that can’t stand hearing a snare on a song to review and album 😂 these probably the worst people in the world to have talk about music. They are connected to vanity fair and vogue, both who know nothing about hip hop at all. I don’t normally rant idc when people don’t like something it’s natural.. but Pitchfork shouldn’t be commenting on anything masculine you are geared towards all things soft and androgynous.. you are also owned by the same company that owns Vanity Fair and Vogue.. y’all not hip hop.. 🤷🏽♂️😂 fans gotta be smarter than to listen to some of these peoples opinions. You can’t go to a car lot to buy a boat.
While some might disagree with a word choice, this comment starts an important conversation about the role of critics in shaping public opinion and the importance of understanding an artist’s musical context.
And when it comes to Eminem’s music, it always seems to be very little of the latter from the critics. The good thing is that many more people listen to Marshall’s music than read these reviews.
