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Introduction
Rap is arguably the most dominant force in popular culture (Parley, "Hip-Hop"). American teenagers rate rap their favorite musical genre ("Tunes"), and rap has reached ascendancy globally (Bennett, Cultures). Nearly every country in the world features some form or mutation of rap music (Krims). Gangsta rap is the music's dominant subgenre such that artists offering other kinds of rap are categorized as either "alternative" (Bennett, "Rap") or part of the "non-gangsta wing of hip-hop" (Pareles, "Uncommon" E6). Eminem, a gangsta rapper, is the music's biggest star.
Eminem is the "professionally known as" name of Marshall Mathers III. The name is a metonym derived from the sound of his initials, "M&M." Eminem also uses the nickname Slim Shady. Other artists and music commentators employ the sobriquet "Em." By 2002, Eminem had become a franchise and the hope of the music industry (Pareles, "Eminem"). He is world's biggest selling rap artist (Hilburn) and the most popular living gangsta rap artist.1 His film debut in the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile won him critical acclaim ("Critics"). 8 Mile had the eighth highest opening week gross of the 296 movies released during 2002 ("Movie"). Eminem has won consecutive Grammy awards for best rap album. In 1999, The Slim Shady LP earned the honor, followed by his 2000 release The Marshall Mathers LP. The latter became the fastest selling rap album of all time, the fastest selling album by a solo artist, and the second fastest selling album ever (Violanti).2 In 2000, Eminem joined luminary gangsta artists (e.g., Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube) as part of the "Up in Smoke" tour, the most successful rap tour in history. At the time, Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, a concert industry trade publication, correctly predicted the tour's outcome: "The timing absolutely could not have been better ... Eminem brings a huge cross-cultural appeal" (Boucher, "Cover"). Eminem's fame is such that the Neiv York Times reported a rumor that Time magazine would name Eminem its "Man of the Year" for 2000 (Strauss, "Pop"). In Summer 2001, Eminem's group, D-12, saw its Devil's Night move to number 1 in the charts upon its release.3 A year later The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack did likewise. The former was the biggest selling...