Furious Styles: Eminem's race and relations

The real Slim Shady? He's not quite as cute as we originally thought. Two years ago, rapper Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) released his debut record, The Slim Shady LP, to the cheers of teens and groans of wary parents, who blanched at music with such overtly violent lyrics. One song, "'97 Bonnie & Clyde," provides a scenario in which Eminem kills his wife, Kim, and dumps her body into a lake while their young daughter watches; in another, Eminem gives the thumbs up to sex with pubescent teens. Elsewhere, such as his breakout hit "My Name is ... ," Eminem offers something more palatable to MTV audiences; he toys with fans, pokes fun at himself, tosses out humorous rhymes drenched in pop culture references. The record made Eminem an instant star and provided enough fuel to make his latest product, The Marshall Mathers LP, the fastest-selling hip-hop record of all time. The record sold 1.76 million copies its first week, and spent eight weeks atop the Billboard album charts.

Even more shocking than Eminem's sales figures is the content of The Marshall Mathers LP, which took Eminem's vitriol up a notch, maintaining violence while spitting numerous homophobic slurs, misogynistic taunts and more profanity than a Quentin Tarantino film. Go figure. Eminem is the John Rocker of hip-hop.

Eminem says it's all a joke, and he's quick to throw around witty sound bites to support his cause. Last year, when I asked Eminem about his critics, he said he was a victim of right-wing posturing. "Everybody wants to fuckin' preach, man," he said. "They say, 'Stop porn, stop porn!' Then they go home and they beat off to a fuckin' porno mag under their bed."

But these days, it seems, the chickens are coming home to roost — with Eminem's family the victims of his own bad karma and responsibility dodging. His mother filed suit against him after he consistently disparaged her in his rhymes and in interviews. The rapper's bread and butter, MTV, under pressure from gay and lesbian organizations, said they would reconsider any further promotions with Eminem. And a few weeks ago, Eminem's wife Kim, the butt of so much of the hatred in his lyrics, unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide.

But the album continues selling briskly — over five million copies thus far — and his current "Up In Smoke Tour" is filling arenas nationwide. Why not? After all, Eminem is the ultimate cross-over artist: a rapper with solid urban credibility (courtesy of his collaborator Dr. Dre), blessed with pin-up good looks and an undeniable gift for melody, rhyming and phrasing. But his truest asset, of course, is the white skin that allows him to masquerade through 'N Sync's pop world with material as objectionable as the grizzliest of gangstas.

Eminem performs with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Warren G on the Up in Smoke Tour, at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Fri., Aug. 4.