The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Eminem and Tupac: a comparison

Quite some time ago my friend's mother asked me if I thought there was racism in music. I was somewhat bewildered by this question because, not only had I never thought about it, but also because I didn't really understand in what context she meant.

Was she referring to song lyrics, the music industry as an entity or both?

I think everyone would pretty much agree that racism and discrimination is ever present in song lyrics.

They range from both blatant, outright remarks to subtle, subliminal messages music artists send.

But racism in the music industry - no way. Who would have ever thought or imagined such a thing existed?

After all, minority artists enjoy their fair share of the spotlight in mainstream entertainment.

From old school, melodic songbirds like The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and The Five Heartbeats to contemporary hip-hop and rap artists like Jay-Z, Nas, Outkast and Kanye West, minority artists have broken color and cultural barriers, creating popular music that appeals to all people regardless of color.

Whites are the largest consumers of the hip-hop and rap music genres, which are dominated by black artists.

With this in mind, how could one possibly say minority artists are discriminated against? If anything they are widely accepted and recognized.

This acceptance is shown in their constant winning of Grammy, Video Music, American Music and other awards.

In 2001 Alicia Keys snagged five Grammys for her debut album "Songs in A Minor." At the 2004 Grammy awards show Beyonce took home three awards for her solo project "Dangerously in Love."

Sunday, during the American Music Awards ceremony, Usher was the night's big winner, accepting awards in all four categories in which he was nominated. Outkast wasn't too far behind, winning three awards for their work on their double album "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below."

But what do all of these artists have in common? I would say in many ways they are conformists. They make music a multitude of people can relate to. Their lyrics aren't hardcore, they aren't laden with social issues and violence, and they don't represent the "struggle."

However, if you look at black artists whose music mirrors these very things, you find two problems: one, either they are not mainstream and two, if they are mainstream they are not or have not been recognized in the form of awards.

Take Tupac for example. He is considered one of the most prolific, compassionate humanitarian and complex rap artists of our time, his song and poem lyrics so powerful the University of California-Berkley, at one time, offered a course studying their content. With songs like "Brenda's got a baby," "Keep ya head up," "Trapped," "Me against the world" and "Dear mama," and multiple other platinum and double platinum singles and albums, I would say he was the last mainstream rapper with a real sense of social awareness and responsibility.

But, despite this, and five Grammy nominations as well as two American Music Award nominations, one of which he won, Tupac has never really been recognized for his work with a major award.

And he is not the only one. Nas, 50 Cent, DMX, Snoop, Dr. Dre and others have also gone with very little or no recognition.

Eminem, on the other hand, a white rapper whose songs possess the same woman hating, violence and death ridden lyrics as other artists has won a Grammy Award for every album he has made to date, with the exception of his most recent work "Encore," which was just released Tuesday.

His collection consists of eight Grammys, including a ninth for a collaboration with Dr. Dre, four American Music Awards, an Oscar for his "8 Mile" video plus various others.

But what is the real difference between Eminem and Tupac and other black rap artists who have yet to win awards?

By any standard or measure, Eminem is definitely a non-conformist.

Although he has taken a fair amount of criticism, what really distinguishes his music from that of others?

Could Eminem's musical success be in large part due to his white skin? When he raps about drugs, violence and hating women is it simply entertainment and not a reflection of his true self?

Could it be that Tupac, who also rapped about guns, violence, drugs and the like, as the son of Black Panthers was too much a reminiscent of the Black American struggle? Could it be that when black artists talk about the same things Eminem does they are viewed in the larger public eye as violent, gang banging criminals?

Eminem is applauded and legitimized while black artists who talk about the same things are stigmatized and condemned.

Left and right these artists are being overlooked and the only ones receiving awards are the more playful, soft image artists like Jay-Z and Outkast.

Ashley is a senior in journalism. Just Call Me Miss Right appears every Thursday. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the DAILY EGYPTIAN.

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