Written in Partnership with James Hill
As the vegan lifestyle rapidly grows in popularity throughout hip-hop, Hollywood and the world at large, plant-based eating has now officially arrived on the plate of one of the most iconic names in the music industry: Dr. Dre. Now a viral music video by Toronto-based hip-hop artist Gaia’s Eye aims to reach Dré’s most famous protogé, Eminem, in the hopes of recruiting one of the most listened-to voices on the planet into the “V-GANG”.
The music video, which has now reached over a million people on various social media platforms,weaves together overt and subliminal references to Eminem’s own music and life story to make its case. Its main message is that although the Detroit legend is infamous for his ruthless annihilation of lyrical opponents, Marshall Mathers the person is an extremely intelligent and good-hearted human being who is already a vegan at heart and mind.
While Eminem is well-known for his controversial lyrics written under his alter ego Slim Shady, he has matured in recent years and radically changed his image in relation to the LGBT community, as evidenced by his famous cameo in Seth Rogen’s The Interview, his transformative friendship with Elton John, and his decision to give the first song on his recent album to LGBT artist Young M.A. Eminem has also become outspoken on other important social issues, including gun violence with the song “Darkness”, and famously sacrificed a significant portion of his fan base to speak out against racism and former President Trump. Beyond just the wordplay he is known for, Mathers has also donated over $180 million to help underprivileged youth in Detroit over the years.
Inspired by Marshall’s metamorphosis into a force for good in the world, the music video appeals not only to Eminem’s ethics, but also to his health/survival instincts, pitching a plant-based diet as a way to help make sure the artist “lives long and prospers” after Eminem’s close brush with death due to alcoholism and multiple drug addictions. It then zooms out to look at the global ecological crisis.
Once the music stops, Gaia’s Eye casts a vision for the future, crunching the numbers on what the consequences would be if Eminem inspired just 1% of his fans to follow him and Dr. Dre towards using more plant-based protein sources. While the environmental numbers referenced are truly staggering, what is especially sobering is the fact that just 1% of Eminem’s fans going vegan would save the lives of 75 million animals per year.
No celebrity, of course, especially the notoriously recluse Eminem, is easy to reach, so a new stage of the campaign is already being implemented. In a follow-up video that has already reached over 100,000 people, Gaia’s Eye recently traveled to Detroit to film a message for the members of Eminem’s inner circle, who are more active on Instagram and might be able to pass the life-saving message on to the “GOAT” himself.
It remains to be seen whether these videos may actually reach the mind of Marshall Mathers himself. But whatever the result may be, they are drawing attention to animal cruelty and veganism and hope to persuade a new generation of Stans to switch from animal consumption to “plant-based bacon cheeseburgers” and other alternatives. That, whatever Enimen may do, will be a win for all of the cows, pigs and real life goats of this world.
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