Eminem’s fans are the ultimate swing voters—Midwestern, middle-class, and overwhelmingly white. So it’s entirely possible that the strident Bush-bashing video for his new single, “Mosh,” might affect the election in ways that Michael Moore could only dream of. The animated short—created by director Ian Inaba of the Guerrilla News Network—is full of radical images: a soldier returning home from war to a notice reading “Re-assigned to Iraq” as Eminem raps “Stomp, push . . . fuck Bush! Until they bring our troops home”; a woman opening an eviction notice in her apartment and watching Bush announce tax cuts; a photograph of Osama bin Laden falling away to reveal a smirking Dick Cheney. “Mosh”—with its cry “Look in his eyes, it’s all lies”—has even made it onto MTV’s Total Request Live. This is protest music’s most mainstream moment since the sixties. If Bush is sent back to Crawford this week, he may have an emcee from Detroit to blame.

Related Stories
Our 2004 Election NYC Guide

Related:

• Archive: “Music Features”
• Articles by Ethan Brown
• Table of Contents: Nov 8, 2004 issue of New York | Subscribe!