In lecture, Suzanne mentioned that Eminem’s success was
“built on white privilege”. I would have to agree that in that time, he was definitely
the black sheep in the community, but I have to say, Eminem is where he is
today because of his talent. As a rap and hip hop artist he is one of the best
out there. He is not the best because he is white; he is the best because he is
a lyrical genius. He is a fast thinker making him an amazing freestyler and rap
battle champion. His fame is not purely due to his skin colour. I have watched
many interviews with black rap artists and many including Jay-Z, 50 Cent and
Wiz Khalifa admitted that Eminem is the best. Some also said that they would be
afraid to battle him. Eminem although white, he didn’t grow up wealthy. He had
a lot of struggle growing up and that is one of the reasons he became so
popular; his lyrics are although sometimes rude or offensive, they are different.
Every song has its story and is not repetitive rubbish like most of today’s
rap.
On the other hand; yes he has had some luck simply
because he is white, because not only was he good, white hip hop fans could
relate to him. However, we have to remember that without Dr. Dre who is one of
the biggest producers in the industry and also happens to be black, Eminem
would have had a very different life. Growing up, he was raised by single
mother after his father left when he was only six months old, he changed
schools two to three times a year, got beat up, moved house often and lived on welfares.
Discovering rap as a teenager let him find his voice but it wasn’t as easy as
it may seem.
He was often the only white guy competing in underground
clubs where he was underestimated and under respected. Rap being predominantly
black music he was told that he didn’t belong because he was white but he
wanted to prove everyone wrong. By the media and white parents, he gets singled
out for what he says in his rhymes even though other rappers say just as offensive
things as he does. It is just the language he grew up with. He is not a “homophobic,
misogynistic highly problematic person” as Suzanne described him. If his rhymes
define him then which rapper isn’t? Not to mention that the women he mainly had
a problem with was his drug addict mother and very problematic drug addict
wife. Black rappers hardly ever get pulled up for their language but since
white Eminem is a role model for white children, parents blamed him for their
kids’ bad language and not their parenting style.
Love this. I'm a huge fan of his and respect everything you have to say. I think the thing is, the fact that he acknowledges his white privilege and puts it in the spot light makes him an even better artist. He doesn't hide behind it or let it define how he is perceived, he addresses it loud and clear and lets people know that he knows he's different because he's white, but he won't let it define him as an artist. I think it's also really important to acknowledge that although he points out that a majority of his audience is white youth, that this is not solely his audience anymore. White youth are the largest paying audience for hip hop and rap as a genre, and just because Eminem is white doesn't mean he is being favoured over other rap artists anymore. His upbringing and early life is closer to most african american kids then it is to the white kids who are buying his album, so it doesn't seem fair to credit his success to the fact that he looks a certain way.
ReplyDeleteYeah i agree with you also. He does complicate the issue of appropriation but his skill is undoubtedly up there with the top hip hop artists. Its kind of a curse and a blessing that he is white. its a blessing because his success is very closely related to his white privilege. Eminem himself is always first to acknowledge this. he is aware that it allows him to exceed other artists simply because he is more appealing to wider white audiences. Its a curse in the sense that he will always have that argument against him that his success is due to his whiteness and not skill.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on some points. I believe Marshall stood out to the media and his audience (no the audience of his rap battles) because of his ethnicity. However, I think because he is "white" he was disadvantaged among african american rappers. He had to do better because he was seen as a "cracker". He had to earn it to be in a crowd of successful african american rappers.
ReplyDeleteYeah i agrree with that! I think he definitely had to earn it. You can even look at it as racism from the African American community at the time as they must have doubted his skills due to his skin colour before even hearing him rap.
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