During the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards on Oct. 10, 2017. Eminem freestyled at the classic “The Cypher,” lashing out and dissing President Trump, criticizing the actions and remarks made by him and his administration. It was controversial to many given the fact that Eminem is a white man highlighting the issues of discrimination, and, as he has throughout his career, he was given the support of many of his fans and the opposition of others.

The freestyle was moving, and towards the end, he gave Americans a call to action. “The rest of America stand up, we love our military, and we love our country, but we f**king hate Trump.”

Eminem made his deep seeded hatred of the president apparent, blasting his recent political decisions and controversial actions.

“..and any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his, I’m drawing in the sand a line: you’re either for or against. And if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split on who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for you with this: F**k you!” Stated Eminem.

The issues that Eminem discussed are genuine problems in society that directly affect West Orange High School (WOHS), a place that has faced issues when it comes to race in the past. Students here at WOHS were interviewed to see how they felt about the freestyle and its message.

Courtney Opoku, a sophomore, said, “First off Eminem is getting really old, he doesn’t look the same. However, I think he stated a really powerful message and could have made it into a song. But I applaud him for saying something other people with voices in the world wouldn’t dare say.”

Gustav Hall, also a sophomore, added, “I was surprised and relieved to see a rapper or any mainstream artist in general finally speak out about the president in a direct manner using their musical platform. And I was extremely happy to see another celebrity use this platform to speak out against the current administration. The more aware people are, the better chance that we won’t elect another president like Trump in the future.”

These students, who come from such a diverse community, believe that Eminem’s rap was extraordinary. The issues discussed by Eminem need to be addressed sooner than later so that today’s issues do not become tomorrow’s.