A decade-old tape surfaced last week through the Source, a top hip-hop magazine that has attacked Eminem’s credibility. The Detroit rapper explained the 1993 tape, saying it “was something I made out of anger, stupidity and frustration when I was a teenager.”

On one of the raps, Eminem uses the n-word followed by an expletive. On another track, he says, “Black girls only want your money cause they’re dumb chicks.”

It’s just the latest salvo in a battle between the rapper and the Source, which has discounted Eminem as a “culture stealer.” The magazine says it obtained the tape from “three white kids from Detroit.” “Right now we’re in a dangerous time because there’s a double standard being applied,” says the magazine’s co-owner Ray Scott, a.k.a. Benzino.

What is historic is that as a white rapper Eminem has earned the credibility to transcend racial bounds.

“He’s one of the few powerful white men to actually come out and say” the n-word, says Sony advertising agent Thembisa Mshaka. “His white fans need to know that racism is not OK. Who better to drive the point home than Em, who has benefited immensely from the fairness and generosity of African-Americansfi”

In the past, Eminem has been attacked for misogyny and homophobia. But this is the first time the artist — who likens himself to Elvis for being a white man singing black music — has been accused of being a racist.

“Here’s a white guy coming into the game a few years ago, with everything working against him,” says Todd Boyd, who wrote “The New H.N.I.C.: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop.” “Vanilla Ice, the most popular white rapper before him, was a failure and embarrassment. Eminem had this hanging over his head, but he came into hip-hop with Dr. Dre, a significant connection.”

Representing the disenfranchised and angst-ridden, Eminem is one of the main reasons that rap is the music of teenagers in the white suburbs as well as the inner city, earning him five Grammys, three No. 1 charting albums, plus a chart-topping protege, 50 Cent.

“I think it’s important to remember that although most of today’s top rap acts are black, the industry is powered by surburbanite white kids,” says Demone Carter, a.k.a. Dem-1 of the San Jose crew the Basics. “So ultimately this incident will not take away from Eminem’s credibility, i.e. selling power.”

Eminem’s use of the explosive expletive doesn’t seem to have phased many of his fans.

Fifty percent of hip-hop fans say they have and will continue to support Eminem, while less than 16 percent of current supporters say they will end their support, according to an informal Internet survey by www.SOHH.com, named the best overall hip-hop site by Rolling Stone.

The main consensus seems to be that “this situation will be smaller than a speed bump in the journey of American pop culture and hip-hop subculture,” says Adisa Banjoko, radio host of “One Mic,” which airs at 10 p.m. Sundays on KNEW-AM (910) in the Bay Area.

The most powerful man in hip-hop, Russell Simmons, has also backed the rapper, saying in a statement to www.allhiphop.com, “He continues not only to be an icon of hip-hop, but also has evolved into a good soldier who gives back money, time and energy to the community, encouraging this generation of youth to reach their highest aspirations.”

Eminem’s language also brings up hypocrisy within the hip-hop community, Banjoko says. Misogyny is a norm for many artists, from Ludacris to Lil Jon.

“Much of the hip-hop industry thrives on the denigration of black women,” Banjoko says. “Look at BET and MTV; you know the integrity of black women is not a priority. So one foul from 1993 by Eminem is not going to stop the show.”

Although the use of the n-word is prevalent in rap, it’s almost always being sung by black artists.

There was a controversy when Latina singer Jennifer Lopez used it in her 2001 single “I’m Real” with Ja Rule, but she did not apologize.

“Black and Puerto Rican have lived very close together and tend to have a connection,” Boyd says. “It goes back to the beginning of hip-hop. To me, somebody like J. Lo saying it, is not that different than Ja Rule saying it.”

Rapper Akil from Jurassic 5 agrees. On “One of Them,” the group uses the word liberally to mean someone who is ignorant.

“I just think the word is used loosely, and other types of races, like Hispanics, use it all the time. It’s not shocking at all. Hip-hop is an art form that uses vocabulary from urban areas.”

But, author Boyd, who is a professor at the University of Southern California, warns that Eminem’s use of the racial slur in the past may be forgivable, but it would not be if he used it today.

“Hip-hop is a culture very much about authenticity, and people are judged by their actions. It’s really about how he carries himself now. … I don’t think he would get a pass to say that word whenever he wants, and I don’t think anyone would extend that to him. His colleagues would drop him like he’s hot.”

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B6.