White America
| White America | |
|---|---|
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| publication | May 27, 2002 |
| length | 5:25 |
| Genre (s) |
Hip-Hop , Conscious Rap |
| text |
M. Mathers , J. Bass , L. Resto , S. King |
| music | Eminem, Jeff Bass |
| album | The Eminem Show |
White America (English for: " White America ") is a song by the American rapper Eminem . The song is featured on Eminem's fourth studio album, The Eminem Show , which was released in 2002.
content
The song can be assigned to the genre Conscious Rap , as many text passages are political and socially critical.
In the intro, Eminem says how many citizens are proud to live in the United States and that the rights of free speech that now exist have lost their lives and the government has vowed to uphold them. Then the first verse sets in, in which the rapper reports about his rapid rise to the top of the genre and that he could not have dreamed that so many people would share his opinion who are now standing behind him like an army. He raps about the influence of his songs and that he now has problems with the government, even though he is just dumping the dirt he's shoveled all his life. In the chorus, Eminem says that he himself could be one of the little kids in America who celebrate his rap and that he has a huge fan base.
In the second verse, the rapper addresses prejudices about his appearance. He says that because of his blue eyes and white skin, he sells twice as many records as if he were black and had brown eyes. He also points out that when he was still unknown, nobody cared what skin color he was and that on the contrary, several labels did not sign him because of this. First Dr. Dre saw the real talent in him and nurtured him, both benefiting from each other and gaining fans of different ethnicities . The third verse goes into more detail about how Eminem gained so many followers. Because of the color of his skin, he would reach out to white suburban children who normally don't listen to rap and who talk to Dr. Dre also got black fans as a producer.
Due to the high level of awareness of Eminem, each of his texts would now be meticulously searched in order to spark discussions about his music and to ban concerts by him. The artist argues against it that he was not the first rapper and that explicit expressions were already in use in hip-hop before him . In the outro, Eminem attacks the wives of two former Vice-Presidents of the United States Tipper Gore , wife of Al Gore and Lynne Cheney , the wife of the then Vice-President Dick Cheney , who took action against his music at the time. He describes their politics as a democracy of hypocrisy and invokes the right to free speech. In the end, the rapper says that despite everything, he loves America.
On the follow-up album Encore there is a thematically similar song called Mosh .
production
The beat for White America was created by Eminem in collaboration with Jeff Bass , who served as co-producer. No samples from other songs were used. The song was recorded at Eminem's house and the 54Sound studio.
Music video
Although the track wasn't released as a single, a decision was made to create a fully animated music video directed by Stephen Marshall.
It shows life in a big American city between garbage and police violence. Fighter planes fly in the sky. At first, the young people stand on the streets with expressionless faces, but then go to Eminem's concerts and celebrate his music. Eminem posters hang on walls, while newspapers and television warn against his music. This is held responsible for violence in schools and drug use, among other things. The rapper can also be seen hanging on the gallows while the United States Constitutional document is torn up. All offensive scenes are covered with parental advisory plaques.
Awards
In 2018, White America received a gold record for more than 500,000 units sold in the United States .
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 United States (RIAA)
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 gold
|
500,000 |
| All in all |
1 × gold |
500,000 |
Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards
Web links
- Lyrics with interpretations (English)
- Lyrics (German)
- Music video on YouTube.com
Individual evidence
| Studio albums |
Infinite • The Slim Shady LP • The Marshall Mathers LP • The Eminem Show • Encore • Relapse • Recovery • The Marshall Mathers LP 2 • Revival • Kamikaze • Music to Be Murdered By |
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| Extended plays |
Slim Shady EP • Hell: The Sequel |
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| Soundtracks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compilation albums |
The Singles • Curtain Call: The Hits |
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| Video albums |
The Up in Smoke Tour • E • All Access Europe • Eminem Presents: The Anger Management Tour • Live from New York City |
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| Singles |
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| Featurings |
Dead Wrong • Forgot About Dre • The Watcher • Rock City • Hellbound • One Day at a Time (Em's Version) • Welcome 2 Detroit • Smack That • Drop the World • Roman's Revenge • That's All She Wrote • I Need a Doctor • Writer's Block • Throw That • My Life • C'mon Let Me Ride • Calm Down • Twerk Dat Pop That! • Best Friend • Speedom (WWC2) • The Hills Remix • Caterpillar • Homicide • Bang |
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| Splits |
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