Bon Iver Is Pissed After Eminem Refused To Remove A Gay Slur From Their Collab
He promises to "kill" the track.
On Friday, Eminem surprise-dropped Kamikaze, his tenth album — and while early reviews are celebrating that it’s an improvement from the mess of last year’s Revival, one track is copping criticism for featuring a gay slur.
In ‘Fall’, Eminem disses several rappers, including Tyler, The Creator. In one line, he raps “Tyler create nothin’, I see why you called yourself a f****t, bitch.” The word is censored, but given that Tyler’s LGBTIQ identity was centred on his last album Flower Boy, the intent is clear.
You can’t say the N word UNLESS you’re black. You can’t use faggot UNLESS you’re gay. Minority groups are allowed to reclaim words that have been used to oppress them!!! Tyler can say faggot because he’s gay. Eminem is not.
— 𝓂𝒾𝓀𝒾 𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓎 ♡ (@mikipeach_) August 31, 2018
Bon Iver’s (aka Justin Vernon) distinct and pretty voice features on the track too, though the musician has distanced himself from it in a series of tweets. Responding to a fan, Vernon explained that he was not present in the studio for the song’s recording, and his vocals came from a separate session with producers BJ Burton and Mike Will.
He also wrote that he was “not a fan of the message”, and “asked them to change the track” to no avail.
Was not in the studio for the Eminem track… came from a session with BJ Burton and Mike Will. Not a fan of the message, it’s tired. Asked them to change the track, wouldn’t do it. Thanks for listening to BRM https://t.co/E0wmt732ty
— blobtower (@blobtower) August 31, 2018
In two follow-ups, Vernon clarified that he was referencing the slur, and said “it is certainly not the time for slurs. Wish they would have listened when we asked them to change it.”
He also Tweeted that he would “kill” the track, though it’s unclear what that means, exactly — when Pitchfork reached out for clarification, Eminem’s representatives offered no comment.
Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time , there is no doubt. I have and will respect that. Tho, this is not the time to criticize Youth, it’s the time to listen. To act. It is certainly not the time for slurs. Wish they would have listened when we asked them to change it
— blobtower (@blobtower) August 31, 2018
I was wrong and we are gonna kill this track
— blobtower (@blobtower) August 31, 2018
Tyler, The Creator has not publicly addressed the track. Judging by his Instagram, he’s too busy with the launch of a flagship Los Angeles store for Golf Wang, his clothing line. It looks like he had a nice weekend.