Member-only story
Eminem’s ‘White America’ Predicted the Latest White Rebellion
The Detroit rap legend is the patron saint of White entitlement and violence.
I can’t talk about Eminem without bringing up his obsessed audience.
To use his word, they are Stans. No matter their background, Eminem fans elevate him as a rap god, resurrected on Earth to drop intricate rhyme patterns about rape and farts. Whether or not you believe his status is earned, an Eminem album mints platinum sales; colossal success is his brand.
Eminem dabbles in babble. His prattles skedaddle into cadaver palaver — even citing his work inspires devious wordplay. More precisely, Eminem’s catalog is full of omens of the downfall and inherent resistance forged by Whiteness in the 21st century. Nowhere is that imminent insurgency more explicit than his 2002 single “White America.”
Controversy and entrenched entitlement are also the Marshall Mathers brand. His nom de plume could just as soon stand for mayhem and misogyny, meth and masochism. Yet, as he skirts a line between cultural barometer and outright bigotry, within his songs bubbles the fermented elixir of the grand experiment that created him. America has loved Eminem for the same reason it clings to its exceptionalism myth: He will never apologize for his anger.
