Nov 30, 2015 It would wrong to say that people relate to him solely because he is white. Same way it would be wrong to say being white hasn't helped his popularity. There's no need to be at either extremity, i think he falls right in the middle. Music about black struggle, racism, guettos is only relatable to black people. Obviously if that's what most rappers rap about there will be less of an appeal for white listeners. I think people gravitate towards his music not because he's white but because his personal songs reach out to more people, and can be relatable to both black and whites. Saying people only like him because he's white is a lie. Most people who like his music also like many other hiphop artists which are all mostly black. Minimizing his talent because he's white is stupid. Would he have sold as many records if he was black? Most definitely not. Would he still be considered a respectable and talented artist? Yes
Nov 30, 2015 if you ask a number of Eminem fans I guarantee you some of the responses will be that they can understand him better, which really kind of opens the door to all of that racist bs in regards to listening to a rapper. basically, others are too black for a lot of eminem fans.
Nov 30, 2015 i didn't say that of white and black? you're thinking of drake "guettos" if you think music about issues faced by black people can't or shouldn't resonate with non-black people, you've got some soul-searching to do. you're also taking a substantive argument and turning it into a semantic one: white kids from the suburbs love music that's explicitly about ghettos, and have since nwa. the two big issues i'm seeing in your post/your argument more generally: first, music that is explicitly about things you haven't experienced can often resonate with you. that's so obvious i can't even believe i have to type it. my upbringing was nothing at all like jay z's, nor is my life now--but you don't think there are long stretches of his catalog that connect with me on a very personal level? good writers make their experience universal, and again, i shouldn't have to explain this. second (and this is actually related) is that the idea of "relatability" as you're framing it is a red herring. as i wrote before, lots of rap fans are voyeurs. (the racial politics of that are tricky too, but that's another discussion.) but songs can be "relatable" whether or not you look like the artist. setting aside the fact that you said "blacks," do you genuinely think that eminem is tapping into more universal veins of music than dozens and dozens--probably hundreds--of other rappers? give me a break. again, i didn't say that, and since i started this reply i'm realizing that you're probably not worth my time.
Nov 30, 2015 If I read a couple of posts correctly, they are saying that thinking eminem is more relatable is racist..? If it's wrong please correct me.
Nov 30, 2015 Relatability and rap is funny and a myth. Like all of us middle class college kids can relate to any respectable rapper's discography. Nobody ran the streets, nobody was starving, etc. We all sit in front a computer and pretend. Its all about entertainment. Sure some songs can hit home harder than others, but the majority of songs are just enjoyable sounding noise to us.
Nov 30, 2015 lol i see no point in arguing with you any further considering how biased your opinion is.
Nov 30, 2015 You don't have to be the same colour skin or live a similar lifestyle to relate to some a certain artist more.
Nov 30, 2015 @Views I don't think it's just about running the streets, sure Rap does cover that and if you can relate, better yet but to minimize Rap to that particular thing, I don't know bruh. I grew up in a lower class family, I didn't even have a mobile phone until I was 18 because we didn't have money. Everybody has some kind of problems and rap is ideal because you can say so much more on a 4 minute song than in another genre.
Nov 30, 2015 Yeah I kinda categorized it badly but I think you got my point. Your argument is very valid as well
Nov 30, 2015 Absolutely. Sometimes I even think we give artists way too much credit, we don't even know the guys we worship But then again I think to what Sing for the moment meant to me as a kid but I guess it's all relative at the end of the day, I definitely agree with you.
Dec 1, 2015 But w8, i feel like youre diminishing what made/makes Eminem appealing, like your argument kind of cannibalizes itself. certain rappers (jay, whoever) can rap x topic and its relatable... but when eminem raps about his specific experience or conjures up whatever fantasy, it's somehow diff -- like yes, his skin color was and is a mitigating factor, but that was packaged with this whole persona that (at least I and my suburban cohorts) hadn't been seen in popular rap before. Looking back, peak Eminem was transgressive to both the TRL crowd, but also within the larger fulcrum of hip hop. I think this idea of a white rapper who could cross certain off-limit lines traditionally held in the black community (attacking his mom, for instance) is absolutely what drove his initial popularity. There was something dangerous and compelling there in multiple segments of pop culture. I think there's also an argument his "personal songs" showed a level of vulnerability that again punctured the rap star stereotype in the late 90s -- jiggy puffy, gruff x, master p sayin uhhh, etc. which gets into marketability and how only a white star was allowed to transcend what might be construed as modern day minstrelsy. which might be your response my only point is i think while whiteness was intrinsic to eminem's success, i do think at his best, he was capable of making "universal" music. the sales argument is reductive and stupid, but few rap stars have the global i.e. multicultural following that he does. so clearly he can cater to non-white markets on some scale
Dec 1, 2015 yeah but we're at subtle--but important--cross purposes here. i'm not saying that eminem's whiteness is the only reason some of his "personal" songs got that big. i'm saying that his whiteness is (mostly) the only reason that now, a decade and a half later, someone would hold him as a favorable alternative to "other rappers." i also disagree with the notion that his "personal" songs were groundbreakingly so, which is probably what our differences hinge on?
Dec 1, 2015 fair enough, likely true... there's no accounting for taste. i think his "inspirational" watered down b rabbit image is also an easy sell -- he's both the fmrly crazy renegade who also.... loves his daughter and 'cares about the underdogs' am curious why? in my review, and also based off having been conscious in the late 90s, it seemed to me eminem's early output was a contrast to alot of what was popular at the time. or at least he was at the forefront of a wave that allowed mainstream rap to go beyond braggadocio and/or flash. you mentioned his propensity for cartoonish violence earlier and thats a wholly valid thing to tweak him on. but at his best, i think even those verses tended to have a certain context, or weaved within a larger artistic narrative, that made him kind of stand out. obviously other rappers had been emotional on records before -- dmx, ja rule hah. but i think the universe building was fairly groundbreaking no? songs in those first three albums were like chapters in a novel -- not merely in the cinematic kanye lucifer sense, but you knew ronnie, hailie, etc i'd never heard a track like cleanin out my closet before
