ince his debut album, The Slim Shady LP, Eminem has pretty much dominated the hip-hop and rap portion of the Grammys in the years he has been eligible. Each year he has released an album, he has performed at the awards ceremony, usually as the lone hip-hop act. In addition, he has stayed in the limelight in dull times by battling spotlight hungry artists like Benzino, Evidence of Dilated Peoples, and the Insane Clown Posse. His critics are numerous, but his fans measure at least five times that. Like it or not, Eminem is America’s ambassador and link to hip-hop.


But when we begin to contemplate it, is there anyone better than Eminem? It could be argued that the late greats Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. would be excellent choices, but today, I’m not sure there is anyone. Yes, hardcore hip-hop fans might be happier with Common or the Roots as their greatest representative, but they aren’t flamboyant or mainstream enough, unfortunately. When Nas tried to reach a wider audience, he failed miserably because he forgot his original fans, those who supported him while he was underground. He wouldn’t be a bad choice, but does he want it? Dr. Dre is too old, and Snoop? Snoop could have been the ambassador, but he wasted everyone’s time with multiple subpar albums. Unfortunately, an ambassador really needs to do more things than just make music to gain mainstream acceptance, and to do this, many hip-hop artists have ventured into acting (with varying results). The Fast and Furious twins, Ludacris and Ja Rule, seem to have potential, but Ja has too many problems with other rap artists like 50 Cent, and even Eminem, plus he is almost “too” pop for many people’s taste. Ludacris is a future possibility, but right now, he’s too concerned with getting high and having a good time, which also rules out another great possible pair, Method Man and Redman. So who does that leave us? DMX, right now, is the only person who could even approach the position as a representative of hip-hop at the level Eminem is. Sad to say, X even has a leg up on Em because of his skin color, which is more indicative of the average hip-hop artist. The problem with DMX is that he tries to portray too much of a gruff image, both through song, and in his acting like the recent Crade 2 the Grave, which I had the fortune to catch on its opening night. While DMX is talented both as far as music and acting, he’s no Eminem. Eminem, although he cheated himself and his fans with The Eminem Show, one of the most disappointing albums of all time, there’s no question that he has the talent to be the best artist in rap music today. He also was critically acclaimed for his work in 8 Mile, despite the fact that he really didn't need to do any acting.


Eminem represents hip-hop because he is lyrically proficient, but also for far greater and far reaching reasons. Musically speaking, his first single from each album, “My Name Is”, “The Real Slim Shady” and “Without Me” all rely on name dropping and goofiness, belying his depth and talent. By the time millions of Americans have already bought the CD, he releases the songs that shows a better representation of the remainder of the album, like “Cleaning Out My Closet”, “Guilty Conscience” and “The Way I Am”. This is why hip-hop will never be as mainstream as pop music is, because, to succeed and sell records, one must create pop music. At least Eminem had the presence of mind to thank his predecessors, like Ice Cube and Run DMC in his Grammy speech. He came from the underground, and still remembers where he came from, representing his past. This is why he is a damn good ambassador for the present era we are in.


Hip-hop is about speaking your mind and everything on it. Yes, swearing and violence are a big part of rap music, because that's the lifestyle that many of these people who become MCs are. Eminem grew up in a horrible area and has become one of the most popular artists for a reason. He has the talent to be the greatest MC of all time, even better than the current one, Biggie, who overtook the past one, Rakim. Will he be the best of all time? Maybe not, but right now, we should be happy with Eminem as the ambassador to mainstream America- it could be a lot worse.