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eminem

eminem Many white rappers have had a difficult time making it in the black industry of rap. Eminem, the most recent white rapper to hit the mainstream has had his own share of difficulties in this industry and in his life as well. The poem written my Marshall Mathers, now known as Eminem, entitled “Life,” displays Eminem’s views on his life, and just life in general. Eminem has continued on the legacy of the contact zone between the white men in the black man’s industry, this being rap. What is a contact zone? “…Social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power…” (Pratt 584) In more simple terms a contact zone is where people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, etc., meet, and the outcome that it provides. Eminem definitely fits this description with his music. Born in Detroit, Marshall Mathers was raised by his mother, and welfare. Mathers never knew his father, or what he looked like for that matter, never even seeing a picture of him. His mother was forced to move around a lot because his mother never had a job, and they were forced to leave many of the places that they lived in. Eminem was quoted in saying that six months was a long time to live in one place. “I don’t like to give the sob story: growing up in a single-parent home, never knew my father, my mother never worked, and when friends came over I’d hide the welfare cheese.” (Eminem2000.com) Mathers was born in Kansas City and traveled back and forth between Kansas City and the Detroit metropolitan area. He switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends and stay out of trouble. Music and rap seemed to be a way out for Mathers. He was able to beat other kids in freestyle singing contests and brought joy to his painful existence. (Eminem.com 2) In Mathers poem, Life, he writes about life being one big obstacle put in front of you in order to slow you down, and whenever you think you are past it, it always comes back to get you. Mathers released his first album entitled Infinite in 1996. This album was accused of sounding too much like other rappers who were already in the industry, and presumably black. Mathers claims that he was just at a stage where he did not know how he wanted to sound on the microphone, and how he wanted to present himself. He considered it a growing stage and says that in no way was he attempting to copy these other artists. (Eminem.Com 2) “I think my first album opened a lot of doors for me to push the freedom of speech to the limit.” (Eminem2000.com) After hearing Eminem freestyle on a Los Angeles radio station, Dr. Dre, also known as the founder and father of rap, liked what he heard, and tried to locate Mathers. He then signed Eminem to his Aftermath imprint and the two began working together and became very close friends. (Eminem.Com 2) Together, Dre and Mathers released the album titled Slim Shady. I believe that Dr. Dre had a large influence on how Mathers turned his life around from poverty to success. Because of Dre’s status in the rap industry, and because of the color of his skin, he is respected and therefore, if he believes that Eminem is a good rapper, others will too. “It was an honor to hear the words out of Dre’s mouth that he liked my *censored*,” said Mathers, “Growing up…I wanted to be Dr. Dre.” (Eminem.Com 2) According to Pratt, Dr. Dre would be considered as the cultural mediation in this contact zone. A cultural mediation is the medium in which two cultures communicate. Dr. Dre brought Eminem into the rap industry and allowed other rappers to do the same, by seeing that Mathers was good at what he did and that his color has little to nothing to do with it. Pratt talks about how people perceive themselves as better than others for different reasons and then they stereotype, belittle, and judge others because of their feelings of superiority. The contact zone between white men in the rap industry can be difficult, but with the help of others, it can be easier. After Eminem’s huge success, many critics were bringing up the issue of race, color, and attitude. Mathers himself is very sick of the issue being brought up. He feels that his music and lyrics are a portrayal of himself and not his color. The issue of black and white doesn’t seem to affect Mathers; he seems more concerned with speaking his mind and telling people how he feels rather than dwelling on this issue. It is the media who has made a big deal of the issue. “At this point, I’m like ‘Come up with something new.’ I hate the same old questions. But it seems like “white” magazines such as Spin and Rolling Stone focus on my “whiteness” more than Black magazines.” It’s funny how all the magazines can dwell on my race, but they could NEVER say that my *censored* is whack because they know my *censored* is tight.” (Eminem2000.com) Rolling Stone magazine definitely focuses their articles regarding Eminem on his whiteness and his ability. The say that he really is a serious hip-hop artist, not a “cheesy white-boy pop-star wannabe.” They talk about his being white and that he can still rap, but no matter what they say, the always throw in his color. (McLeod 1) In his poem, Life, he writes about being tired of life, and tired of people. He doesn’t sit on the issue of being white; he mostly deals with the hard times that he went through and his struggle to make it as an artist. He states that he is tired of not having a deal, and not being a millionaire. Tired of not having a phone, or having a home, tired of having a lack of funds and resorting to guns. He writes about being fed up. His lyrics give off the impression that he is sick of being judged because of his color and that he just wants people to accept him for his rapping skills and that he’s “Tired of other rappers who ain’t bringin half the skill as me saying they wasn’t feeling me when nobody’s as ill as me.” Some may be offended by the remarks that Eminem makes, but he says that, “A lot of my rhymes are just to get chuckles out of people. Anybody with half a brain is going to be able to tell when I’m joking and when I’m serious.” (Eminem2000.com) You’ve got to work twice as hard as everybody else; the saying goes, to make it as a black man in a white man’s world. But what happens to an artist in the opposite situation? Fortunately enough for Mathers, I believe that his struggle wasn’t as difficult as other white rappers. Mathers was taken under Dre’s wing and shown the ropes of the industry. I do believe that he was stereotyped as being a white person. Which can mean a lot of different things. To most, a so-called “white person” doesn’t sing rap music, and cannot compete with the black industry. Eminem has proved this wrong, and wants people to know. He truly is a successful person. “I’m tired of being white trash, broke and always poor…I’m tired of all this bull*censored*, Telling me to be positive, how am I ‘sposed to be positive when I don’t see *censored* positive? …I rap about *censored* around me, *censored* I see, Know what I’m saying?” (Life) “Damn, if I’d just been born black, I would not have to go through all this.” (Eminem2000.com) Bibliography: Works Cited 1. “Eminem2000.” Online. Internet. Available: Http://www.Eminem2000.com 2. “Eminem.” Online. Internet. Available: http://www.eminem.com/bio.html 3. McLeod, Rodd. “Eminem. Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, April 15, 1999,” Rolling Stone Magazine, April 16, 1999.

Word Count: 1315