Introduction
Eminem is a white male rapper in his 40s. He was signed to Interscope Records by Dr. Dre is 1999. He has always experienced controversy being a white man in the rapping world. if it wasnt for Dr.Dres endorsement Eminem may have never made it in the rap community. it was the combination of his amazing talent and the backing of Dr.Dre that gave him the chance to become such a sucessful white rapper. His popularity grew in the early 2000s due to his willingness to go after anyone andnot hold anything back. He released a semiautobiographical movie called mile in2002. The movie gave insight to his life in detroit and how he began his career as a rapper. This allowed fans to feel even more connected to him which created a cult like following
In my project I want to show how Eminem uses words and phrases in his music to express his ethnic identity as well as his professional identity without excluding himself from the community. Eminem is a master at expressing his individuality while still identifying as a rapper. He uses words as a tool to teach us about his culture, worries, and personal history, as well as his beliefs and fears. It is my hope that by exploring the world of a white rapper we will be able to understand the dynamics of the rapping world as a whole. The rapping community devloped from the struggles of the African American community in the 1970s till today. this history has grown into a perdominatly African American rap community. The lack of diversity in the rapping community creats a difficult path for white rappers to try to follow.