Published on Apr 23, 1999
For a moment, let’s talk about the lifespan of your typical
white rapper. Vanilla Ice: Flash-in-the-pan hit, instant success
followed almost immediately by equal hatred, and is still trying to
make a name for himself. Snow: Flash-in-the-pan hit with
“Informer,” only to fall off the edge of the earth. I’m sure he’s
still recording, it’s just that I haven’t heard any output from
this guy since I graduated college in 1993.
And now there’s Detroit-based Marshall Mathers, better known as
Eminem. On one side, you might see his recent hit “My Name Is…”
as a flash-in-the-pan… are we seeing a pattern here?
But Eminem was discovered by Dr. Dre, and Dre is no fool when it
comes to discovering rappers – look at his best-known protege,
Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dre is not known for putting the kind of energy
that he has thrown behind Eminem to artists who aren’t going to be
around for the long run.
It’s on that one tenet alone that I’d tend to believe that his
debut release,
The Slim Shady L.P., is the sign of bright things to come
from Eminem. That is, until you listen to the album – which serves
as even more concrete proof of the talent this young man has.
A quick note of warning: This album is definitely not one for
the faint of heart, nor is it for the kiddies. Even Eminem pokes
fun at what is about to blare forth on “Public Service
Announcement”.
Sure, there are occasional flashes of gangsta violence on
Slim Shady, but often these seem to be more retaliatory
actions against those who have tried to crush Eminem’s spirit and
body (“Brain Damage”) – and it is kind of funny to hear Dr. Dre as
the “voice of reason” to Eminem’s “bad angel” on “Guilty
Conscience”. In fact, tracks like “Guilty Conscience” show the
sense of humor that Eminem has; when someone catches their wife in
bed with another man and Dr. Dre says there has to be some
explanation, Eminem exclaims, “What? She tripped, fell, landed on
his…” well, you get the idea.
“’97 Bonnie And Clyde” is a track that has attracted much
criticism due to the violent nature of the song. However, I think
that people missed the overall humor in the song – and, yes, I did
say
humor. I highly doubt that Eminem is encouraging men to kill
their wives and have their kids help to dump them in the ocean.
Maybe I’m not reading enough into the track – but the fact is, I
don’t want to. I can appreciate it as a decent rap track, and one I
find myself going back to again and again. (If anyone at Interscope
is reading – yeah,
right – I’d give this track serious consideration as the
follow-up single.)
Even though there are one or two weak tracks on this album (“Bad
Meets Evil”), the balance of
Slim Shady shows that Eminem is a rapper who will easily be
around for the long run. “My Name Is…” still hasn’t worn out its
welcome to my ears, while other tracks like “My Fault”, “Role
Model” and “As The World Turns” sound better with each listen.
While some of the interludes on
Slim Shady are humorous (like his attorney asking Eminem to
“tone it down”), for the most part, I would have preferred Eminem
to have left these off and just concentrated on the raps.
What separates Eminem from the other white rappers? Simple: I
honestly believe he’s got the talent to stay popular for more than
one album. The talent is there, as
The Slim Shady L.P. proves without a doubt.