Minions of overweening decency, arise! Eminem's biography is here, and in case you haven't heard, Eminem is the latest parental nightmare--a foul-mouthed white gangsta rapper. Huxley suggests that Eminem, who veritably drips authenticity as long as his producer, rap wiz Dr. Dre, hovers nearby, is the ultimate honky gangsta. Optimists looking for hope in a time of rampant teen angst probably won't be heartened by such mellow Eminem sentiments as "'Faggot' to me doesn't necessarily mean gay people. 'Faggot' . . . just means you're a sissy, you're a coward." And all the fuck-this and fuck-that bluster won't be too encouraging, either. This slim volume with big print covers Eminem's relatively short career in fine style, though, showing that, like Jim Morrison and countless other rockin' Satans before him, Eminem isn't quite as scary as his publicists want you to think--he's close, though! To get the skinny on this latest pop harbinger of apocalypse, blow an hour on this wee life. Then hand it to the kids.
Mike TribbyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Library Journal
This is the latest book by Huxley, author of several musician biographies. Skimpy and superficial, it's little more than an attempt to cash in on the popularity of rapper Eminem (n? Marshall Mathers). Huxley's tendency to focus on Eminem's rise to fame, leaving the majority of his youth untouched, begs the question of whether this book is really necessary; two major label albums and a few hit singles do not an icon make. Similarly questionable is Huxley's biased prose. While he does mention the uglier, well-publicized side of Eminem's character, these instances are rare and tempered by ridiculous descriptions of him as a "mischievous man-child" and "a sensitive soul whose confidence can still be bruised by a careless callous comment." On the plus side, the discography, which lists every record that Eminem has ever performed on, will be helpful to true "Em" fanatics. Overall, however, this biography is little more than a piece of merchandise to reside next to the CDs, all of which have infinitely more heart and soul invested in their creation.AVincent Au, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
