Joe Maiorino
In "Eminem's construction of Authenticity" the author tries to explain how Eminem was able to gain credibility as a white gangster rapper. Gangster rap is said to be music about the life of the intercity African American male's life. The author claims authenticity comes from three areas being true to oneself, were they grew up, and support form established sources. He goes on to say that Eminem with the guidance of Dr. Dre capitalized on the doubts of his authenticity other artists had due to his ethnicity. All the while the relating with the white audience which is said to make up 75% of the rap market. The author even goes as far as saying Dr. Dre choose Eminem as his successor because he was white not his talent.
In "Political Rap: The music of Oppositional Resistance" the author looks at the political movement in early rap music. This article take samples from some of the biggest rap artist of the late 80's early 90's and looks for themes of social and economic reform. These range from police abuse to health care reform. They select six artist to analyze there lyrics in a quantitative manner. The biggest of which were Ice T, Ice Cube, and NWA. Showing key issues and whether they were directly or indirectly referenced. Of all the themes the researched the only one which had statistical relevance was re inviting the black family. Basically bringing African Americans together as a people. Finally they did not account for came through that of "gangsterism". Overall this article showed Gangster rap of the early 90's was about more than what the mainstream media through of it as. It was a platform for those without a voice those who otherwise wouldn't have one.
I think that article on Eminem and his authenticity would be really interesting to read. I don't really follow rap anymore, but as far as I know he is the only white guy to ever make it in the rap industry - which makes me question the claim that Dr. Dre chose him simply because of his skin color. According to the author, Eminem had every necessary element to establish authenticity; I imagine having the support of Dr. Dre was the most influential factor in his rise to fame. I'm curious how well Eminem would have fared if it weren't for 75% of the audience being white though, because he did have an upbringing pretty similar to that of a typical African American inner-city kid (though I don't think this expectancy violation would be welcomed with open arms to most African Americans).
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