Matt Zeitlin

Ta-Nahisi, disappointed as I am at the relative mediocrity of Eminen’s latest album, has this hard question Does Em have a truly classic album? He’s a great rapper, no doubt. But does he have an It Takes A Nation, an Illmatic, an Aquemini or a Death Certificate?” In some ways, Eminen doesn’t have an album with the consistency of any of those classics. His three best albums — Slim Shady LP, Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem Show — have enough good songs for two great albums, but all three have a depressing amount of filler. Now, I don’t think this necessarily disqualifies Marhsall Mathers, after all, Stankonia has plenty of not-great songs.

But aside from this rather narrow question, I think it’s worth defending Eminem’s musical and cultural legacy. A lot of people try to denigrate Eminen’s accomplishments and acclaim by pointing out that he was able to draw so much attention due to his race. This is true, but only to a certain extent.

The popularity of Eminem among, say, white ten year olds (which is what I was when “The Real Slim Shady” dropped) has a lot to do with his race. But his race can not explain how much respect he got from other rappers. Sure, if you’re a great white MC, you’re going to get a lot of attention, but there’s still only been one white guy — Eminem — whose achieved so much. There’s a lot of reasons why so many rappers are black, but one reason is that white rappers have the same problem that ethnic minorities do in predominately white contexts. They have to be that much better than everyone else, or else they are instantly dismissed.

There’s a reason that Eminem has such technically perfect flow and technique, it’s what he needed to overcome his whiteness. That’s probably also why he was so daring and inventive with his self-characterization. He simply couldn’t rap about the same things — money, women, how great he was — that other rappers could, or he’d just sound silly.

And I think that’s why we have to recognize his amazing three album run as one of the most culturally significant moments in recent history. Has there been anyone else who sold as many albums as he did with so much self-consciousness and such obvious vulnerability? His best songs were about his tortured relationship with his wife, his issues with his mom and an obsessed fan who was something of a doppelganger for himself. When Jay-Z raps about himself, it’s him saying he’s the greatest, when Eminem does, it’s about his incredible dysfunction.

Has Eminem sullied his legacy with his recent stuff? Yes, of course he has. But I think it’s still important to remember just how important he was — and still is.