Kids who were labeled wimps or losers by parents and peers. It's this emotional connection, not just his provocative rap style, that has won him a huge and fiercely loyal fan base.Įm's fans feel his pain because it reflects theirs: Many of them were, or still are, kids who, like young Marshall Mathers, got beaten up daily. His willingness to talk about his history of dead-end jobs, dead-end schools and a childhood spent as the neighborhood sissy have made him a working-class hero for every timid kid whose recess periods were marathons of fear. More important, "Marshall Mathers" isn't just an exercise in technical skill and inflammatory rhetoric: Running beneath its acerbic surface is a poignant vulnerability seldom heard in hard-core rap.Īt a time when many mainstream rappers give only lip service to their impoverished roots, while boasting about their top-dog street status and burgeoning bank accounts, Eminem continually rages against the everyday indignities that come with growing up poor and scrawny in a world built on wealth and power. For all its offensive content, "Marshall Mathers" arguably deserves its nominations for its brilliant freestyle rhymes and innovative, if stomach-churning, narratives. Adding to the drama is Elton John's announcement that he plans to perform a duet with Eminem on Em's hit single "Stan."Įlton and Eminem should make a sweet pair, but there's a more complex subtext to the Grammys hoopla. His multiplatinum album has sparked the most furious controversy over freedom of speech and artist responsibility since 2 Live Crew went head-to-head with Tipper Gore a decade ago.
Thanks to his nominations, these days Eminem is garnering more press for his homophobic and misogynistic lyrics than for his high sales. He's certainly one of the most successful: " The Marshall Mathers LP" has sold 8 million copies - more than 220,000 of them in the Bay Area - since its release last year. CBS owes what should be record-breaking Nielsen ratings to a pugnacious Detroit native born Marshall Mathers, also known as the rapper Eminem, also known as the most controversial pop star to ever land four Grammy nominations, among them Album of the Year.