Perhaps no artist of the late—twentieth and early twenty—first centuries has been more controversial- or more successful-than Eminem. His horror—movie fantasies of drugs, violence, and rape, often voiced through his dark alter ego, "Slim Shady," caused a stir in 1999 with his Dr. Dre-produced The Slim Shady LP, but it wasn't until the release of The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) that Eminem became a cultural lightning rod, igniting a firestorm of debate that extended from record buyers all the way up to the 2000 presidential campaign. A white rapper who appeals to predominantly white suburban teens, Eminem has brought a particularly savage version of gangsta rap to middle America and, as a result, drawn supporters and detractors in seemingly equal numbers. Chris Norris, a contributor to Spin magazine, attempts to give a balanced assessment of Eminem as both a musical talent and a cultural phenomenon.
