“Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?” Recognized all around the hip-hop community, this popular phrase references the infamous rapper Marshal Bruce Mathers III. Alias Eminem, Marshal Mathers is special because he is arguably the most successful white artist in the hip-hop world. As an a-list celebrity, Eminem is highly admired and considered to be a big time star in Hollywood. His music involves a style of rap that many people relate to and love. However, there are also critics ready to analyze the message that Eminem is offering within his rap lyrics and crude tone. When performing for his fans, Eminem transforms into a passionate artist, and has been given the alternate nickname Slim Shady. It is evident that Slim Shady puts his whole heart into creating his music, through his drive for success. Examining his true accomplishments, some people wonder why Eminem has received so much praise and recognition. While some will make Eminem there idol, still others condemn him and blame his music for containing offensive material and the corrupting the youth in this generation. Are these people being fair with their assessments and accusations? How has Marshal Bruce Mathers III, alias Eminem, alter ego Slim Shady, affected the hip-hop culture as well as this generation in the 21st century?
There is no question about Marshal Mather’s rough childhood. It is apparent even within the lyrics to his own songs that his parents influenced him negatively. He was brought down a dangerous road of
alcohol, drugs and violence. Growing up without a father, Marshal and his mother never stayed in one place for very long. As a result, he found himself constantly moving from school to school. This made him feel like he needed to ...
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...ation from this article because it explains very well how Eminem became successful in this industry, and what he has affected since his success.
White, Russell. "‘Behind The Mask’: Eminem And Postindustrial Minstrelsy." European Journal Of American Culture 25.1 (2006): 65-79. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
This article presents Eminem as the pre-eminent hip-hop artist of his generation. Within this praise, the article relates to Eminem's relationship to certain constructions of authenticity within the judgmental hip-hop culture. The article goes deep into the reasoning behind Eminem’s coding as ‘white trash’, and his relationship to constructions of post-industrial white masculinity. The information I will use from this article will derive from the portion that examines the critics of Eminem’s work and why they find him to be an offensive artist.
Randolph, A. (2006). "Don 't Hate Me Because I 'm Beautiful": Black Masculinity and Alternative Embodiment in Rap Music . Race, Gender & Class Journal, 200-217.
Eminem, born as Marshall Mathers, has proven that with a lot of desire, drive and dedication, anybody can accomplish even their greatest of goals. Eminem was raised in the ghettos of East Detroit. He was bullied and victimized by other students in school. He worked to achieve his goal, against the odds. As a result, what he has become is one of America's most popular and successful music artists.
Music can rock your world, enlighten your mind and change your perspective. When you think of rap music who comes first to mind? Without hesitation, it must be the self acclaimed best rapper alive, Lil Wayne. He alone can make such statements as “My picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition of definition” (Wayne, “Shoot Me Down”). Lil Wayne is a prominent force in the rap world. His debut Album in 1999, Tha Block is Hot went double platinum upon its release and even his lowest selling album is still certified as gold according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rollingstone Magazine declares “Lil Wayne is one of the most popular — and prolific — recording artists in the world” (Kreps). Top this with eight Grammy nominations and four Grammy wins and it is definitely hard to argue with the rap star’s claims. Lil Wayne, with his simple beginnings, soon found his way to the top of the charts with his outstanding lyrics, unique vocals, and quick wit by shutting down all critics with his many gold and platinum albums and thus truly establishing himself as the best rapper alive.
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
“The Hip Hop Wars What We Talk About - And Why It Matters” by Tricia Rose explores what hip hop has done to society in recent years and what people think it has caused. Though it has become one of the most commercially successful genres in mainstream music Tricia Rose explains that the topics in hip hop music have narrowed. Commercial hip hop mainly consist of black gangstas, thugs, pimps, and hoes. In the book she looks into the different points of views of people who think whether hip hop invokes violence or if it reflects life in a black ghetto and if it slows down advancement for African Americans in US. The author goes back and forth with the opinion of the mass on hip hop, she says people view hip hop as a music like heavy metal which people associate with violence but she refutes most of these points by showing the positives of hip hop.
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
All of the articles dealt with hip hop as an industry and how that industry is portrayed to African Americans through the commercialization of hip hop and stereotypes in society. The articles also discuss how that portrayal influences the opinions of African Americans to others and themselves.
Negus, Keith. "The Business of Rap: Between the Street and the Executive Suite." Rpt. in That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Ed. Murray Forman and Mark Anthony Neal. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. 525-540. Print.
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
5. Rose, Patricia (1991, Summer). ?Fear of a Black Planet: Rap Music and Black Cultural Politics in the 1990s,?. The Journal of Negro Education, 60 (3).
To say it lightly, Stanley Crouch does not like the hip-hop genre of music. The dreadlocks, the clothing style, and the "vulgar": gold chains are just a few things he does not approve of at all. (Crouch, 1 ) It astounds him to see how far African-American music has fallen since the days of the Motown. Stanley was quoted as saying this about rap, "It is rudeness, vulgarity, and pornography disguised as ‘keeping it real.'" (Crouch, 1) He also went on to say the hip-hop music genre has the worst impact of all music genres on our culture today. (Crouch, 2) Crouch believes one does not need much talent to become a successful rapper unlike the jazz greats he listens to all the time.
In Total Chaos, Jeff Chang references Harry Allen, a hip hop critic and self-proclaimed hip hop activist. Harry Allen compares the hip hop movement to the Big Bang and poses this complex question: “whether hip-hop is, in fact a closed universe-bound to recollapse, ultimately, in a fireball akin to its birth-or an open one, destined to expand forever, until it is cold, dark, and dead” (9). An often heard phase, “hip hop is dead,” refers to the high occurrence of gangster rap in mainstream hip hop. Today’s hip hop regularly features black youths posturing as rich thugs and indulging in expensive merchandise. The “hip hop is dead” perspective is based on the belief that hip hop was destined to become the model of youth resistance and social change. However, its political ambitions have yet to emerge, thus giving rise to hip hops’ criticisms. This essay will examine the past and present of hip hop in o...
Eminem came from poverties that many would not succeed from. Many doubted Eminem for becoming a rapper because of his color, lack of lyrical skills, and lifestyle. It even accumulated when he dropped out of high school and pursued his rapping career. He never believed of failure which motivated him to engineer his own long rhyming skills. He used his own adversities to inspire his songs which many consider masterpieces. His daughter Hailey made a great contribution towards his career as he wanted to flourish in her eyes and give all he had never had. Eminem has changed the interface of rap music and has generated a new era of rap which he will be considered as the ‘Greatest Rapper of All Time’.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .