Eminem and Rap, Poetry, Race

Eminem is the best-selling musical artist of the 21st century. He is also one of the most contentious and most complex artists of our time. His verbal dexterity ranks him among the greatest technical rappers ever. The content of his songs combines the grotesque and the comical with the sincere and the profound, all told through the sophisticated layering of multiple personae. However one finally assesses his contribution to popular culture, there’s no denying his central place in it. This collection of essays gives his work the critical attention it has long deserved. Drawing from history, philosophy, sociology, musicology, and other fields, the writers gathered here consider Eminem’s place in Hip Hop, the intellectual underpinnings of his work, and the roles of race, gender and privilege in his career, among various other topics. This original treatment will be appreciated by Eminem fans and cultural scholars alike.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Scott F. Parker lives in Bozeman, Montana.

Edited by Scott F. Parker
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 17 illustrations, appendix, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7675-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1864-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments v
Foreword (Talib Kweli) 1
Introduction (Scott F. Parker) 5
Race … and Other Four Letter Words: Eminem and the Cultural Politics of Authenticity (Gilbert B. Rodman) 17
Beats by Em (Ben Hoerster) 44
The Fanatic Lyric: Eminem as Poet (Aaron Apps) 54
The Black Vernacular Versus a Cracker’s Knack for Verses (Darin Flynn) 65
The Melodic Nature of Rap and the Importance of the Phrase (Martin Connor) 89
Somewhere in Between: Eminem’s Ambiguities (E Martin Nolan) 110
Eminem 2.0: The Redemptive Subjectivity of Whiteness (Julius Bailey and David J. Leonard) 133
The Farther Reaches of Human Proficiency (Steve Bramucci) 150
The White Negro Gone Mad: Race and Pathology in Eminem’s Construction of Slim Shady (Miles White) 158
Neither Black nor White: Poor White Trash (Sylvie Laurent) 170
Appendix. He Is Whatever We Say He Is: On Eminem, Fame and ­Hip-Hop Aesthetics (Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre) 191
About the Contributors 199
Index 201