Eminem has a song called "The Yellow Brick Road."  At the beginning of it is not the familiar figure of Dorothy, but the voice of Morris Casuto, the San Diego regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

The rap signer heard an interview that Casuto gave to KPBS producer Lee Harvey about two years ago  for the documentary "Culture of Hate," dealing with  skinheads in Santee. Eminem had an intermediary contact Casuto and ask for permission to use his voice on the track. Casuto agreed providing the rapper send a copy each for his sons, Loren and Simon,  of the Eminem Encore CD that includes "The Yellow Brick Road."

It is difficult to understand Casuto's exact words on the CD about children who become so alienated that they become skinheads. After listening to the track a couple of times, the Anti-Defamation League director said his quote was as follows "What we have to do is deal with it when these individuals are young enough, if you will, to be saved, not in a religious sense, but not to constitute what this country at times calls their throw-away children."  

Following that quote, someone else, not known to Casuto, apparently says:  "We seem to be approaching an age of the gross. We all have this idea that we should move up from our parents' station and each generation should do a little bit better."  

Eminem then begins his rap, which begins:

Come on, let's cut the bullshit enough
Let's get it started, let's start addressing this issue and open it up
Let's take this shit back to bassmint
And we can disscuss statements thats made on this tape
And its whole origin of the music that we all know and love
The music that we all enjoy the music you all accuse me of tryna destroy 
 
From there the rapper goes on to talk about growing up in Detroit, about getting into fights with people of all ethnicities, having troubles at home, finding a girl friend, and later finding his ability to rhyme.

A representative of Eminem's told Casuto that the "bullshit" to which the rap singer referred was the way society treats its children—and not, of course not, to either of the quotation preceding "The Yellow Brick Road" rap.

When Casuto handed one of the CDS to Simon, 16, he mentioned off-handedly that his voice might be on it.  Simon said he and a friend immediately put it on a player.  "It was kind of a shock," said Simon. 'It was odd in a way—I had thought maybe Eminem would have used his words, not his voice."

His opinion of Eminem?  "He's okay; I kind of think he is a good rapper."

Simon, however, added, "I don't really listen to rap—it's okay—but I'm actually getting into old-time music, like Bob Dylan's.  I like "Mr. Tambourine Man."  Simon also enjoys the music of Guns and Roses.   —Donald H. Harrison