0 - See Appendix I (link opens in another window) for a list of all the Eminem songs referred to in this essay with appropriate album information. Lyrics are my own transcriptions.
1 - Most biographical information on Eminem in this essay, except where otherwise noted, comes from his entry at AllMusic.com. The AllMusic Guide is a relatively reliable and well-regarded source of information on popular and other musicians.
2 - Goodwin, Andrew. Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television & Popular Culture. University of Minnesota Press, 1992. (In particular, note chapter five, "Metanarratives of Stardom and Identity," pp. 98-130.
3 - Goodwin argues, I think convincingly, that the need for star-texts is produced both economically (record companies do best when their released music is attached to stars) and culturally (we have some sort of tradition, going back at least as far as Beethoven, of Romantically identifying auteurs and celebrating them). The economic mechanism is a bit clearer and more plausible than the historic one - and unfortunately the scope of this paper cautions against a thorough examination of the economics of Eminem's stardom. Hopefully others are working on this, as I think it would prove interesting.
4 - "Tangled Up In Blue"'s verses tell a long, rambling story full of unique characters and events - the hook is simply the evocative and abstract line, "Tangled up in blue." "In Da Club" is something of a weak example in that the verses are not overwhelmingly confessional - but it's tough to find any in hip-hop which are, adding to Eminem's somewhat unusual status. The verses do, however, refer to problems specific to the life of 50 Cent - his history of being shot, and his professional relationship with Dr. Dre and Eminem. The chorus is simply an anthemic celebration of a tough, debaucherous club lifestyle.
6 - Again, an attention to economics is probably very important in discussing in Eminem, but beyond the scope of this paper. See footnote 3.
7 - I am particularly reminded of Andrew Dice Clay and Howard Stern. While neither has done exactly what Eminem has, both have employed similar strategies for evading responsibility for their offensive speech. The documentary Tough Guise by Sut Jhally and Jackson Katz discusses these two men in more detail.
8 - Two examples, both from singles: In "Just Don't Give A Fuck," one verse integrates a litany of semi-prominent white rappers. "I'm Nicer than Pete / but I'm on a Serch to crush a Miilkbone / I'm Everlastin', I'll melt Vanilla Ice like silicone." "Role Model" features the charming line, "My nerves heart / and lately I'm on edge / Grabbed Vanilla Ice and ripped out his blonde dreads."
9 - While it is not entirely relevant to this discussion, I'd like to give Eminem credit by noting something of a change on this count. More recently in his career, Eminem has taken to bitter and/or ironic commentary on the advantages granted to him by his whiteness. I personally see this as a positive step in that it is uncommon to see a white star drawing attention to America's often-unstated preoccupation with race; and while it is . The best example of this is the album track "White America": "Look at these eyes, baby blue baby, just like yourself / If they were brown / Shady knows Shady sits on the shelf […] Look at myself / Let's do the math / If I was black I woulda sold half."
10 - The song's lyric makes reference to "My Name Is," quoting the line "And Dr. Dre said…" but following it not with an interjection by Dre but with a silent pause and then Eminem's declaration, "Nothing, you idiots! Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement! Ha ha!" The video softens the strange fratricidal implication by having Dre actually appear (making it clear that he and Em are still pals enough for him to appear in the video) but only as a "MISSING:" face on a milk carton - emphasizing the point of the line, which is Eminem's claim to independence.
11 - Note that in "White America" (see earlier footnote) Eminem acknowledges Dre thusly: "Until I met Dre / the only one who looked past / Gave me a chance / And I lit a fire up under his ass / Helped him get back to the top / Every fan black that I got / was probably his / In exchange for every white fan that he's got / Like damn we just swapped."
12 - See Walser, Robert. "Forging Masculinity: Heavy-Metal Sounds and Images of Gender" in Frith, Goodwin, & Grossberg, eds. Sound & Vision: The Music Video Reader. Routledge, 1993.
13 - The claim that "nobody listens to techno!" in reference to Moby may charitably be deemed inventive, Moby's public recognition stems largely from the fact that his album Play came out of left field to sell close to ten million copies worldwide. (Clearly, somebody listens to techno.) Note also that while the insults against Moby immediately follow similar jabs at Chris Kirkpatrick (rhymes with "you could get your ass kicked") and Limp Bizkit, only Moby is pictured in the video at all.
14 - Lewis, Lisa A. Gender Politics & MTV. Temple University Press, 1990. (Particularly, the second chapter pp 27-42, "The Making of a Preferred Address."
15 - To bring us perhaps a step closer to the genres Lewis was examining, note that "Fight Music," unlike most of Eminem's larger oeuvre, uses hard rock samples as part of its musical text - a chunky, slow guitar riff during the narrative intro of the video, and a searing, almost metal-esque series of licks during the hook.
16 - Note that in both cases, Eminem uses video trickery and body doubles to place his non-drag self alongside the ridiculous feminine caricature. What better way to be absolutely sure nobody thinks you're queer?
17 - There is, of course, some overlap here with the discourse on race.
18 - From "The Real Slim Shady."
19 - This quote comes from an interview with "NY Rock" available at Eminem.net, specifically http://www.eminem.net/interviews/lonely_at_the_top.shtml. Eminem.net is a fairly interesting fan site which includes such useful things as an illustrated list of Eminem's enemies.
20 - D-12's "Purple Hills" is an interesting case - somewhat tangential to this paper, but still of interest. The song is titled, on the album, "Purple Pills" and is an extended paean to the wonders of mind-altering substances, with the chorus, "I been so many places / I seen so many faces / but nothing compares to these blue and yellow purple pills." In producing the video, someone either guessed or was told that such a message was not apt to fly, so in the video/radio edit the song has been changed to "Purple Hills." This necessitated a transformation of most of the lyric to the point of rendering the song nonsensical - many illicit drug references become over-the-counter stomach pain medication references….but, taking the changed title literally, the video's producers crafted a brightly-colored, "psychedelic" world which does indeed feature purple hills from which the group sings (a la "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke"). The video thus works to provide another link in the chain of Eminem's claim to being a harmless joker, as well as offering a clever joke for those in the know.
21 - The use of the term "band" in this song can only be a way to make the song a somewhat more generally-applicable statement that could be taken as a comment on boy bands and rock bands. I say this because "band" is not typically the collective term for a group of rappers. Or, as Proof raps during the song, "We ain't a band, bitch / We don't play instruments.
22 - There is also an allusion to the much-hyped Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl fiasco, with D-12 member Bizarre in the Janet Jackson role.
23 - Line from "The Way I Am."
24 - Yes, the same Limp Bizkit later referred to in "Without Me" as the group of "little bastards" that would not get their "asses kicked" quite as badly as N*SYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick. I confess to being ignorant of any feud that may have led to this change of heart, although perhaps Eminem.net has information.
25 - See Frye's now-classic "Oppression" article and White's book "Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut." It is interesting that Eminem has not bothered to revisit his attacks on Christina now that she has herself adopted a posture of sexual experimentation and openness. I also speculate that Aguilera's feministic duet with Lil' Kim, "Can't Hold Us Down,"is in some measure a response to Eminem's charges here.
26 - Of course, in the mix of the song provided for video, many words have been deleted and changed. Rest assured that this "chick" appears on the album as "bitch."
27 - If nothing else, if this video was supposed to be comical you could bet there would be at least one scene of Eminem in a Superman costume. He's no stranger to one - in "Purple Hills" he shows up as Superman for the endearing line, "It's Mr. Mischief with tricks up his sleeve / roll up on you like Christopher Reeve."
28 - Credit goes to my classmate Kim for spotting this dismissive shot at the end of the scene.
29 - I note that Eminem also apparently has a beef with the ICP, but that aside, consider these curiously similar lyrics from the chorus of that group's 1999 single "Another Love Song": "I'd rather cut that neck in half / I'd rather choke out that bitch-ass / I'd rather chop and never stop / cause you did my homie."