RASQACHEPEDIA: EMINEM
Eminem is an interesting figure for a
number of reasons, but most notably for being a poor white kid from
Detroit who would eventually emerge as one of the biggest names in
Hip Hop ever. While his socioeconomic status fueled him as an early
MC, his skin color initially held him back (with special thanks to
Vanilla Ice). Facing adversity as a child made it a little bit easier
to face the haters in the rap game, which he did so with a balance of
grace and rough edges.
In a genre dominated by artists who
told glamorized tales of their lives, Eminem stood out by using the
ugly truths in his life to tell much more engaging stories and
connect to fans on the personal level. His earlier albums allowed for
him to uncover battles with drug addiction & the emotional scars
of growing up in a broken home and starting one of his own. Like a
snake shedding dried up skin, a more confident Eminem was able to
emerge, sharing his experiences as a father, a role model, and as a
more mature artist with a political conscience & humbler sense of
humor. While it can be easy to miss the old Slim Shady, the raw
nerve, it has rewarding for fans to watch him step out of the fire.
Let's not forget about his technical
abilities. Eminem may not be the greatest rapper to ever live, (and
who can even make that call,) but he is the best at what he does. Even
if you are not moved by his songs or don't agree with the content, it
is hard not to respect his ability to put syllables together and use
his voice like an instrument at a degree of intricacy and variance
that dwarf's his contemporaries. He handles pressure on the mic in a
line of work that is incredibly competitive and never loses his edge.
Eminem has a way of getting better the more the odds are stacked
against him, and even uses them to his advantage, a quality we can all
admire.
