The Many Shades of Slim Shady

                Back when he first came out Slim Shady, aka Eminem, was one of the most unique and interesting rappers in the industry. He was a white man from Detroit dominating a musical genre filled with African-American artists. What made him so interesting was that he was different, someone that the white suburban kids could relate to on a level that they couldn’t with his black counterparts. Eminem knew this and he decided to take full advantage of it. His first single was “My Name is” and it was an extremely clear parody of the society we lived in. What was so interesting about it was that it evoked every type of active audience. Anyone could listen to it by themselves in their home and determine what the song meant to them. The song could be viewed in the social setting and people could analyze the jokes it was making about our society. Or finally, people could talk amongst their group of friends and try and debate the many meanings of the song. It was a revolutionary rap song and audiences around the world could come up with many different meanings to it.

                Slim Shady did not stop there though, he went on to record numerous hit records, such as “Stan”, “The Way I am”, “Lose Yourself” and countless others. What made him so successful though was that different social groups could find different meanings from his song. Those coming from the urban poverty stricken area could relate to the struggles he faced everyday in his life and what he had to overcome to reach his success. White teens from the suburbs could relate to him as there was finally a white artist in the genre that they enjoyed. It is amazing to think of the many different social groups that he was able to reach, and that is why he will always be considered one of the greatest rappers to ever live.

                Rap and Hip-Hop are my favorite musical genres and Eminem is one of my favorite rappers. I used to memorize his most popular songs and listen to them any chance I got. Just as Janice Radway’s research illustrated that romantic novels were a way for women to escape reality I used Eminem’s songs to transport myself to a different world. I used his music as a way to get amped up for a big basketball game or I would listen to it in my room as a source of entertainment; whatever the situation, for that brief moment I would suspend my reality and let go of everything and just enjoy the music. To this day I can put on a pair of headphones, and take myself into another world by just playing one of his many songs.

Eminem-My Name Is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNPnbI1arSE&ob=av2e