Editor’s note: Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
This special edition of Arachnophonia features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love‘s MUS 235 class: “I Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.”
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by MUS 235 student Justin and features rap MC Eminem’s fourth studio album, The Eminem Show. Thanks, Justin!
Eminem – The Eminem Show album cover (2002)
When I hear the name Eminem, the first thing that comes to mind is a white rapper and that most likely is the same for most people as well. What most people don’t know is who he really is and where he came from until you listen to his music. The Eminem Show was the fourth studio album released by the Detroit MC and was released on May 26, 2002. His second album go Diamond in the United States would reach the number one spot in 19 different countries and was the best-selling album of 2002. The album would be nominated for a Grammy in 2003 and won the award for best Rap Album. Much has changed since then, but Eminem has always stayed true to one thing in his music which is telling a story.
One of the most commercially successful songs from the album was “Without Me” where Eminem addressed many critics of his alter ego Slim Shady. After his success with The Marshall Mathers LP this song can be considered a sequel to the song “The Real Slim Shady.” In simpler terms, Eminem’s message in the song is that he is back to save the world which is a reference to his role in the music industry and his effects on the culture of hip hop. Within the song lyrically, Eminem pokes fun at the likes of Dick Cheney, Chris Kirkpatrick, and even Prince. He also attacks his own mother in one of his lines for the lawsuit she filed for the slander of her name in one of his earlier songs. The song uses samples from songs such as “Rap Name” by Obie Trice, “E” by Drunken Monkey, and “Buffalo Gals” by Malcolm McLaren.
Yet even though the album was a success, and critics saw this as a more mature Eminem who, according to Sal Cinquemani, “peels back some of the bullshit façade and reveals a little bit more of the real Marshall Mathers” his use of intense profanity in his lyrics had many parents concerned about his influence on so many young children who were listening to his music. To deal with this, Eminem released a clean version of the album where most of the profanity is edited out with a few exceptions on certain songs, but Eminem has stood strongly on his stance of using profanity. In an interview with 60 minutes in 2011, Eminem told Anderson Cooper that profanity was something he grew up with and that he didn’t invent saying offensive things. He actually felt that he was being singled out because of the color of his skin and when asked about why he doesn’t feel guilty about young children using profanity as a result of his music, he stated “I feel like it’s your job to parent them. If you’re the parent, be a parent.” Eminem has two daughters of his own and told Cooper that he does not use profanity at all in the house.
This album is helpful for my project because I am currently looking into hip hop and the influence it had on the world during the era of MTV and currently as it develops to a global stage. As one of the first successful white rappers who established legitimacy as a hip-hop MC, Eminem opened the gates in a way for other people from different cultures to enter the world of hip hop that was predominantly African American to begin with. Previous rappers like Vanilla Ice and the Beastie Boys were viewed more as white males excelling in a “black man’s” game. This was due to their sound which still had to appease to the mainstream “white” audience. Since Eminem worked closely with Dr. Dre, you would think that there would be a hint of the West Coast sound, but interestingly enough Eminem doesn’t fall under either “coast” of hip-hop. This is because Eminem focused heavily on his lyrics and the stories that he told within them.
Since Eminem grew up in Detroit in a predominantly black area, he grew up around the culture of hip hop. He attended many underground rap battles to gain legitimacy, but struggled to do so because of the color of his skin. This stayed with Eminem throughout his career until Dr. Dre gave him a chance when everyone was telling him not to. A reference to that can be found in the song “I Need a Doctor” featuring Dr. Dre.
It was you, who believed in me
When everyone was telling you don’t sign me
Everyone at the fucking label, lets tell the truth
You risked your career for me
I know it as well as you
Nobody wanted to fuck with the white boy
Dre, I’m crying in this booth.
An interesting aspect that is related to the topic of breaking culture barriers in hip hop is the movement going on in Asia and the hip-hop scene that is developing there. While some view it as being “culture vultures,” this can be viewed similarly to Eminem’s case. While Eminem became successful because of his intense, but relatable lyrics, Asian artists such as Rich Brian, Joji, Higher Brothers and Keith Ape have found success by incorporating Asian language in their lyrics. But with success does come some mishaps. One of the first songs that Rich Brian released called “Dat Stick” contains the n-word which created a lot of backlash and this has happened many times during the era of hip-hop. Artists like Post Malone have also had trouble with using the racially charged word in their songs.
The Higher Brothers are a Chinese hip hop group
This ties into Eminem’s career because even though his use of profanity was very generous in his songs, he never crossed that line by using language from a culture that he did not come from. If artists are able to incorporate their own special twist on genres of music from other cultures, then they will have a chance of succeeding because they can appeal to their own desired audiences while also still appealing the rest of the masses. For example, with the Higher Brothers, most of their songs use Chinese with bits of English here and there, but because the beat of the song is still hip-hip, there is still that comfort that the song is still under the umbrella of hip-hop.