Word: eminem
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...city: Detroit. A few years ago, white rapper was almost an oxymoron. In the Motor City, however, a kind of groundswell is under way. In the past few weeks Kid Rock, smarty-pants rapper Eminem and the horror-hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse--all from the Detroit area--have scored...
...three acts make music of varying quality. Kid Rock often displays a throbbing power; Eminem is a clever, albeit socially irresponsible, lyricist; and the Insane Clown Posse is just plain malicious and dumb. But all three acts do share some core attributes: they make jagged, angry music, full of violent imagery and snide, snotty humor; and they perform songs that grind and groan like auto plants closing down...
Detroit's reputation as a tough, working-class city also gives its performers credibility in the rap world. Eminem's bad-boy poses on his album The Slim Shady LP (Aftermath/Interscope) seem more believable because he hails from the Detroit area rather than, say, Palo Alto, Calif...
...suspect. Kid Rock had to beg his skeptical father for a loan to put out an indie record (he has his own small label, Top Dog). At a local record signing early in his career, Kid Rock was challenged by a young Marshall Mathers--who would eventually become Eminem--to a battle rap. (He declined.) Kid Rock eventually signed with Atlantic/Lava. MTV embraced Devil Without a Cause, and he soon found himself trying on swimsuits with Rebecca Romijn-Stamos on House of Style...
There is a fear in hip-hop that white rappers will displace more talented black performers. Says Kris Kelley, music director for the Detroit radio station WJLB: "Eminem, Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse are good rappers, but you could probably comb the nation and find 500 black rappers just as talented...