Werner, ValentinValentinWerner0000-0003-2669-35572022-08-312022-08-31202297810031477189780367707309https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/55336Eminem has been labelled the most successful rap artist worldwide, looking back to a musical career of 25 years. In addition to his commercial success, he has been characterized by his ability to variously position himself as an enfant terrible of rap, as a hatemonger, and – lately – as one of the “older statesmen” of rap that has moved from nihilistic to socially conscious rap. The present study tackles whether the aforementioned characterizations can also be mapped linguistically through a diachronic corpus-stylistic analysis. It is based on a self-compiled corpus that comprises all the lyrics of Eminem’s albums (1996–2020), which have been subdivided into three distinct artistic phases by music critics. A combined quantitative-qualitative approach is taken that relies on information on key words (vs. North American rap in general) and semantic domains. Thus, by providing an insight into whether and how Eminem’s language style varies over time, and in which respect it is different from rap discourse at large, the present study complements previous analyses of rap more broadly and Eminem specifically through the longitudinal stylistic lens.engpop culturelyricsmediamusicraphip-hopperformed languageEminem810780bookpart10.4324/9781003147718-9