More than a decade after Eminem forced his way into mainstream hip-hop culture, he is even more hated, contested, and celebrated. His albums, autobiographies, and motion picture(s) have catapulted him into the upper echelon of American cultural icons. In Eminem: The Real Slim Shady (Preager Press, 2013), Marcia Alesan Dawkins, acclaimed author of Clearly Invisible: Racial Passing and the Color of Cultural Identity, offers a fresh way of looking at Eminem that will excite those who already love the artist and inform those who want to understand him.

Eminem (aka Marshall Mathers, aka Slim Shady) is hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the top 100 "Greatest Artists of All Time" and as "The King of Hip Hop." He was listed as number 58 in the book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and his lyrics are often condemned for containing foul language and promoting violence, misogyny, and homophobia. Eminem has also publicly supported gay rights, made videos that promote voting and anti-bullying, stressed the importance of being a good parent, founded a charity to help disadvantaged youth, and changed the face of the recording industry by seeking “digital reparations” for all artists. Will the real Marshall Mathers please stand up?

Eminem: The Real Slim Shady examines the rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor who has become one of the most successful and well-known artists in the world. Providing far more than a biography of his life story, the book provides a comprehensive description, interpretation, and analysis of his personas, his lyrical content, and the cultural and economic impact of Eminem's work through media. It also contains the first in-depth content analysis of 200 of the rapper's most popular songs from 1990 through 2012.

The book is organized in three sections, each focusing on one of the artist's public personas (Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Eminem), with each section further divided into chapters that explore various aspects of Eminem's cultural, spiritual, and economic significance. Besides being a book that every fan of Eminem and pop music will want to read, the work will be valuable to researchers in the areas of race and ethnicity, communication, cultural and musical studies, and hip-hop studies.

Features:

• Includes never before conducted analysis of 200 of Eminem's most popular lyrics, presented visually with tables and charts
• Provides an up-to-date, combined discography, videography, and bibliography of the rapper's work

Highlights:


• Poses the question of whether the Marshall Mathers persona can be considered a spiritual rapper
• Traces the development of the Slim Shady persona as mixed race
• Provides a discussion of today's white rappers who came after Eminem as reflections of his three personas
• Discusses Eminem's impact on the recording industry via court cases and social media