Originally Posted by Conan

I disagree. Firstly, there is a fine line between a One Trick Pony and a signature style. Second, you dismiss the possibility of his having artistic integrity by claiming he uses his musical career to bring attention to himself. And yet, I'm having a hard time remember the last time Eminem did something that could legitimetly be called a publicity stunt. He even took a musical hiatus and dropped off the face of the Earth for a while to deal with his problems privately. It's only through his music that he exorsizes his personal problems. And I ask you, isn't that the hallmark of a great artist?

Was his stuff a little immature at times? Definetly. But he was always deeper than his lyrics, the naivety of both his persona and his fans wrapped themselves in infinate layers of irony. A true satirist. Was a lot of his subject matter used purely for shock value? Yes. He's even said this himself. Listen to any D12 song and it's clear that it's just bullsh*tting, makes for some fun hip hop though. And when he did delve deeper into his pysche, the results were sincere and often quite beautiful. Over all, he's a great emcee and i'm sure a pretty cool guy.

And be careful about how you use the term "white trash". As far as I'm concerned it's as derogative as a few other words.