Many white rappers have had a difficult time making it in the black industry of rap. Eminem, the most recent white rapper to hit the mainstream has had his own share of difficulties in this industry and in his life as well. The poem written my Marshall Mathers, now known as Eminem, entitled “Life,” displays Eminem’s views on his life, and just life in general. Eminem has continued on the legacy of the contact zone between the white men in the black man’s industry, this being rap. What is a contact zone? “…Social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power…” (Pratt 584) In more simple terms a contact zone is where people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, etc., meet, and the outcome that it provides.Eminem definitely fits this description with his music. Born in Detroit, Marshall Mathers was raised by his mother, and welfare. Mathers never knew his father, or what he looked like for that matter, never even seeing a picture of him. His mother was forced to move around a lot because his mother never had a job, and they were forced to leave many of the places that they lived in. Eminem was quoted in saying that six months was a long time to live in one place. “I don’t like to give the sob story: growing up in a Arthur 2single-parent home, never knew my father, my mother never worked, and when friends came over I’d hide the welfare cheese.” (Eminem2000.com) Mathers was born in Kansas City and traveled back and forth between Kansas City and the Detroit metropolitan area. He switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends and stay out of trouble. Music and rap seemed to be a way out for Mathers. He was able to beat other kids in freestyle singing contests and brought joy to his painful existence. (Eminem.com 2) In Mathers poem, Life,...
