When thinking about what makes a good rapper, you have to take a lot of things into consideration. A great rapper is more than just hot lyrics and good flow. For a rapper to truly be considered a complete package, he must have the following: flow, delivery, punch lines, wordplay, originality, content, metaphors, writing skills, creativity, and less importantly, record sales (record sales should really be followed by an asterisk since Hip Hop is only just starting to sell to the mainstream market).
So, to put things in perspective, let’s look at some other great rappers.
2Pac
2pac, one of the greatest rappers to walk the face of this earth, was a master at writing songs. He had the ability to capture you with his lyrics, never letting you think of them as one-dimensional; yet his freestyle skills, as well as his punch lines, were suspect. His songs could be compared to some of the greatest lyrical poetry, but put him in a battle situation and he just might fall short.
Biggie Smalls
Biggie Smalls (“Biggie Smalls is the Wickedest Niggaz think I’m pussy I dare you to stick your dick in this”) was a pure monster when it came to punch lines, flow, delivery, creativity (with his punch lines), wordplay and writing. He was close to being the perfect rapper, but he always fell short when it came to content (songs like Give me da loot are a prime example). He could blow your mind with some of his punch lines and ran circles around 99% of today’s rap community, but he only had a one track lyrical prowess. If you look at the body of his work, he only raps about selling drugs, killing people, and having promiscuous sex. Outside of those topics, he never really broadens (or had the chance to) his lyrical outlook.
Now back to Eminem.
Eminem, unlike many rappers, has his own flow. He sounds like no one else in the game right now. Although, at times, you can hear glimpses of Nas and AZ, his ability to change his vocal pace and style multiple times throughout a song without losing the beat separates him from the hip hop mass. He can change the tone of a song within a fraction of a second and not seem at all altered by the beat. What makes him even more of an individual when it comes to his flow is that the delivery, tone, speed and mannerism of every song can differ, and while with some artist this might come as an unpleasant change, for him it works.
A great example of the differences between songs is from tracks “Say What You Say” and “When the Music Stops” on his album “The Eminem Show”. In “Say What You Say” he favors a more aggressive tone emphasizing every word, sending a clear and calculated message to the enemy, while in “When The Music Stops” he’s more introspective, calm, and reflective, then bursts out into a fast pace lyrical rendition of what could happen if lyrics are taken too seriously.
Eminem Feat. Dr. Dre: Say What You Say
When it comes to punch lines and wordplay, he is one of the top ten quotable rappers with lines that make you hit that rewind button or even venture to lyric websites so that you can make sure you heard right. Take his verse on the late great Notorious B.I.G’s song “Dead Wrong”. He lyrically went toe to toe with one of the best and didn’t break a sweat. If that doesn’t convince you, then listen to Renegade or any freestyle that he has ever done and you will be thoroughly convinced. This is the man that placed second in the freestyle rap olympics; he is built off of lyrics, never shying away from multi syllables and complex rhyme schemes.
Biggie Smalls feat. Eminem -Dead Wrong Remix:
His songs vary not only with tone and lyrical approach but also with content. The topics cover politics, racism, drugs, family problems, Hip Hop in general, spoofs, beefs, his failed relationships, and his daughter; he raps about life. He relates to more people than 50 cent or all of NWA could ever hope to. His songs may not directly speak of an ordinary joe’s problems, but the way in which he conveys them as well as the truth behind them remind you that he is only human.
As for his writing skills, it is an obvious no brainer. He has come out with four mainstream solo albums, two of those considered classics. Even his earlier work puts to shame some of today’s hottest artists. Everyone has at least one Eminem song that they can connect to. It may be “Cleaning Out My Closet”, “Stan”, “The Way I Am”, or even “Criminal”, but there is at least one track that any red-blooded Hip Hop fan will say really captured them and made them think. Not many artists have that skill that will take you into their world while never leaving your own.
Pound for pound he’s one of the best to ever step foot into a booth; his record sales prove it. Selling over 75 million records world wide, he has clearly left his mark in the Hip Hop hall of fame. These are facts, plain and simple, that can be backed up; yet even after all this, he will still never get the respect he deserves. People will argue that he’s not as good as others. They will say that he has had the help of Dr. Dre, but all Dre has ever done was supplying him with a beat and a contract. It seems as if it is the color of his skin that makes him lose credibility. The question will always be asked – if he was black, would he get as much attention? Because of this, he is always tossed to the side of the top 5 or 10 dead or alive conversations. White, black, green, yellow, or invisible, Eminem is the best Rapper alive… maybe even the best ever.
Eminem- Got It Twisted Freestyle
I’ve laid the facts down, so let’s hear your rebuttal.
COMMENTS
i wouldnt mind puttin dis kat in the top 10...he iz unique in hiz way nd plus i respect the fact dat he wasnt afraid nd neva backed down cuz he wuz white
Eminem is one of the best...fuck color, quit ignoriin' homie's talent.
now dat i read the rest of the article...y not? he might very well b the best of all tyme..he can freestyle, hiz flow is great, hiz content can b bout anythin, hiz punchlines r also great...he might jus b the best who noes?
This motherfucka is the Larry Bird of rap. LOL! You don't have to like him but you cant deny his place in this game. Shiiiiiit I never bought any of his albums but I respect the impact he has had on Hip Hop.
Em has been number one since the first time i heard Hellbound... Bad Meets Evil for President... Royce is also a MONSTER
i think lyrically he is the best...and im not a em fan....i just got respect 4 his craft!!!!
You gotta respect Em for his skills, but sayin hes the best rapper alive I think is pushing it a little bit.....
Saying hes the best rapper ever, I would seriously have to disregard that statement as anything but logical....there have been too many rappers and mc's with lyrical skills, Em could easily be in the top 10 ever, but to put him above the likes of Jigga, Nas, Biggie, Big L, Rakim, I dont think so......
JAY-Z period...you'll see in the end. There was a time period when people would compare Clyde Drexler to Michael Jordan. JAY-Z that dude
everything you said...100% dead on...Eminem is a lyrical tyrant that SHITS on 99.9% of rappers today...the .1% he does not SHIT on are the few others that have LAGITAMATE arguments for the GOAT...although he does not SHIT on these other rappers...he could very easily still be better than them...he has done things on the mic that NO-ONE has EVER done...
a personal favorite of mine is the track Rain Man off of Encore...the rhymescheme throughout the song is the most incredible i may have ever heard...on top of that he is HILARIOUS!...that is one of the top 5 funnyest rap songs ever...but then at the end he comes full circle giving it meaning when he says "and i aint even gotta make no god damn sense/ i just did a whole song and i didnt say SHIT!"...at least that man addmits when he isnt on anything...
Eminem is the truely complete MC/Rapper/dude who spits fire...there isnt a single thing you can call out as a weakness...GOAT...just maybe...i've said i wont reveal my personal list...but alls i WILL say...is Eminem...he'z on it...
but honestly...this was an incredibly well written article...there is no rebutle to that...Eminem is incredible no ifs ands or buts about it...
the track that sealed the deal for me on a personal intrest level...Sing for the Moment...first verse to last hit me...
"That's why we sing for these kids, who don't have a thing
Except for a dream, and a fuckin' rap magazine
Who post pin-up pictures on their walls all day long
Idolize they favorite rappers and know all they songs
Or for anyone who's ever been through shit in their lives
Till they sit and they cry at night wishin' they'd die
Till they throw on a rap record and they sit, and they vibe
We're nothin' to you but we're the fuckin' shit in they eyes"
ANY rap fan that cant relate to that...isnt a true fan...but to those of us who live and breath this shit...that is almost like him putting your name in his song...thats a shout out to everyone on a personal level that has ever loved Rap Music...it's helped me through hard times...brought tears to my eyes...and any MC who can do that...has to be...if not thee, one of...the Greatest Of All Time
Eminem is not the best rapper alive! Yall niggas are ignorant if you think he is. Nas is the best rapper alive. For all yall that haven't heard his illmatic album yall need to get it.
Yeah Em got skillz
good article adding anything to it would be fuckin wit it u said wat u said nigga and u said it right
ur good at persuading others but u might have messed up on ur big paragraph which disproves ur whole argument. big had a short life, so its unfair to say he only talked about the 3 topics u said. and u said that too so u still shouldn't have even said it. i can probably find alot of tracks where he doesnt focus on those too. i gotta get up early so i won't do my research now. considering u only named one flaw in big which i can probably disprove i think ur eminem loses to the notorious.
I agree with Sir Francis..well said
wow sir francis u brought tears to my eyes when i read that u hit it peferctly, i would put eminem and papoose on the same level because they are two true lyricists that have equal skills in my opinion, i cant wait till i hear the song with papoose ft eminem on the nacirema dream because that will truly determine who is the best rapper.
jay-z used to be da best.he had the crown and put it on top of the mantle piece ware no other rappers cud reach,but then he took it down and made "kindom come" and now he cant hold onto the crown because these other rappers have gotten taller.thats wot i feel.
oh and the best rappers are the dead ones!
I just put "renegade" and "go to sleep" on the Ipod not to long ago.
But their is many more songs that Em has done that stand out.
differently in my top 10
To be the best rapper alive you gotta be consistant, like the current strong man Mario what's his name. No one in the rap game is undisputable, Eminem hardly has the consistancy in my book to be the best and thats my opinion fair 'nuff...
Emin has his moments I'll leave it at that, damn good moments but c'mon best rapper alive? Those are three big words =p
Top ten yes, best ever no.He is lyrical, but he really has made some crap songs and his last four albums were complete trash.Even the white critics who have been riding his dick since he came in the game,shitted on those last albums.
Em is a good rapper in wit lyrics i think is betta than Gay-Z, but i dnt think he ready for wayne but he mite b, he is the only one i think could stick up n possibly beat him in a battle
Hey FLA BOI are you absolutly fucking retarted
how can you compare eminem and lil wayne
im not sayin i hate lil wayne, hes alright when he fuckin makes sence
Lil wayne is a fucking complete idiot, and makes completly stupid rhymes because dick riders like you eat that shit up. How can you compare constistancy in lyrics, to a fuckin idiot like wayne. Anyone who says lil wayne can beat eminem, he is in top 5 ever. Fuck that shit, i dont listen to eminem but you gotta give the man props.
"i said yes stay out of my bussines
when we bote for jessus
just stay out of kidness "
are you fuckin stupid
how can you compare someone who makes sogns weekly, that make no fuckin sence like the one above
why the fuck would someone be in your kidneys man
LIL WAYNE IS A FUCKIN JOKE OF A RAPPER
eminem is 1 of da best 4real, gotta b in da top 10
Fla Boi u a fuckin jackass because JAY-Z is better than wayne and you think that eminem can't beat him in a freestyle
Jay bein better than anyone is SO FUNNY ok he was good once upon a time but like bob said he put it away and now that there ant no one on hes label thats worth a shit he wanna come out but thats off topic. em the shit and wayne the shit period. and then when u think about it wayne out the runnin anyways he said it him self that he dont wright. he only freestyle. so em the best
gdup88, shouldn't your dumb ass be in school?Lil waynes the shit,these little kids on defsounds really annoyed me with there stupidity.Glad to see coon ass FLA BOI is back, let see if he has anymore slick shit to say.
Evil_Dre, you a fucking idiot if you think Lil Wayne is anywhere near the best. I'm tired of yall ridin eminem's dick just because he white, Nas is the best mc ever
i disagree, but if u want to argue it, then u got a good argument. i would still put pac and nas before him. i mean did em even have a classic album
oh yea its not metaphors and punchlines. u got niggas dat got those but dont say shit in their rhymes. see pac would say sum deep ass shit that will make u think like yo dat shit is serious. listen to blasphemy off of 7 day theory. see em can hit u with dat but he say sum deep shit in his rhymes too. dats why i wouldnt argue. nas can do it too, he just not that type of rapper like dat anymore. he mastered after pac. he left the hard ass punchlines out and switched to knowledge
Em is extremely better than wayne he would kill wayne than kill himself jus to kill wayne again wayne is better than nobody and has a long way to go if he wants to make any list but I my opinion he will never make a list cus he aint even him he jus gillie repeated up if wayne makes any type of list than so should gillie cus that's who writes wayne raps wayne isn't even the best south rapper luda is luda will also kill wayne fuck wayne he kisses niggas better than he raps em is definately on whatever list it doesn't matter if its a list he's on it and shout out to who said papoose name cus pap is the future of hip hop that kid could easily be the next 2pac he imbodys the styles of all the dead rappers and the livin ledgens he always out shines whoever he is featuring with no matter if its a lyrical rapper like common, tabli kweli, kool g rap, nas and busta or a street/gangsta rapper like hell rell, styles p and d block, cassidy etc papoose will kill wayne to pap will kill a lot of niggas but yeah em goes on the list, multipule mc's would kill wayne, and papoose is the future of hip hop
i hope yall aint talkin bout lil wayne when yall say wayne.
Lil (i dont write rhymes i buy them from gillie the kid) Wayne. wow!! i will excuse the claim and just hope you are young and ignorent. anywayz . .eminem is great, but not very consistant. the only rappers alive that can hold a flame to eminem is Nas, and Jay-z period. eminem is a versitile mc. hes in my top 5. Papoose could never fuck wit papoose. papoose is clever but is boring as hell. he uses the same rhyme scheme every time pretty much with recycled metafours. he is the definition on a mixtape artist and nothing more. but still falls short of 2pac & biggie status.
p.s Lil wayne would be sick if he wrote his shit instead of buy it.
real mcs can tell when wayne is freestyling and when hes spitting Gillie the kid rhymes.
Eminem is a very skilled mc. he is the best when he gets deep and personal.
he is easy to relate 2. i love me some eminem
Damn I have been waiting for someone to write an article like this and keep Eminem on the up and up. He is starting to lose his credibility lately for not dropping albums, but that doesnt mean he cant rap anymore. He is just doing what he needs to do and lets face it thats run his business!! Stay up Em!!
BrnxBomber24, when was the last time Eminem came out wit an album? He haven't even been in the game for that long and yall given his ass props like he the best ever. Every nigga that say eminem is the best is gay
First I wanna thank defsounds for putting this article out.
Secondly I will tell you why Em is hardly mentioned of one of the greats: BECAUSE HE DOES NOT RAP ABOUT THE HOOD. Think about it, people expect the greatest to represent the hood and that's that: Biggie, Nas, Jay, Tupac, these are usually the MCs put abouve Em, and that is only because they rap about the lives of an important chunck of the hip hop community. Em raps about the average man and real life problems, but he never really touched on hood related contents. I believe this is why he will never be considered the best alive (which is a shame, look at the facts in the editorial).
Thirdly, if anyone copped the Re-Up, the opening verse is dished out by Em in which he actually brings up this topic: "why I am not thought of as one of the top rappers after all I've done?" This is a warning sign: it might not be that soon but he sounds pissed and we all no that this guy will stop at nothing to get his credit, he's going to seriously destroy with his next album. If you listen to every Eminem verse on the Re-Up (more than once and actually LISTEN to the details) that is saying enough. The man destroy's every verse, kills every word for that matter, the shit is scarry really. Every rapper should listen to the re-up and prepare for the return of Shady, cuz when it does come, it's not gonna pretty.
"Nothing can change it, nothing can stop it
You better just make new living arrangements
If you think you the top or king of the castle
You are about the THROWN off the THRONE
and ripped a NEW ASSOLE!"
Track 2 off the re-up (dear god enough said!)
Eminem is lyrically the best yes...that doesn't mean he is the best rapper though... as of late eminem been coming watered down to me though... it seems like the fire that used to burbn inside got put out or maybe he got money now so that creative motivation ain't flowing liek it used to when he needed money...
you gotta respect that mans opinion...And you cannot deny em as being a nice mc....He can destroy you battling....far as best rapper alive i personally dont think so. I mean to me alot of his music is just random it doesnt really grab you...Thats just me tho....BIg ups to the article tho...
Amj i do agree with you ...he is nice... he can destroy almost anyone battling but not everyone..yeah as of lately his musik is kinda average and his angry voice is sometimes irritating..he needs to get back to making peeps laugh rather then being hard..
Alright, now DefSound has finally hit the nail on the head. Honestly, Eminem is the best lyricist known to this generation. He is one of the fewest lyricist left in Hip Hop (now the game is being replaced by one-hit, lean wit it, walk it out, watered-down pussies). He does not confine to what is popular, which is Money, Cash, Hoes. He goes deep within himself, pulls out his vulnerabilities and his demons and shares it with the world. He connects to those that are lost and confused and gives them hope. There are many reasons people don't wanna give him the benefit of a doubt that he is now in the Top 5 of the Greatest Lyricist - you all have some of your own. However, regardless of whether you heard him on the radio or see him on the television with videos or award shows, people do not actually listen to his body of work. He explain it in the track "We're Back" on the Re-Up album. He explain it throuoghly that everyone thought he was dope on tracks like "Renegade", but never actually bought one of his albums and listen to his creativity and his intelligence and prowess on a mic. The whole article on DefSound hits it hard and firm. He is, honestly, better than some of those that came before him. Pac, Biggie, Pun, Big L, etc. are good in their own strenghts. However, Em is just now better than each of these names. Sure, if each of the names were still around, they may actually give credit to Em for his abilities and allow him pass. But, honestly, these guys would not be legends if they were still alive (try to think about that). As far as The G.O.A.T.? Well...everyone has their GOAT rapper. So, I wouldn't go that far. Honestly, there is no GOAT rapper, ever! That causes too much pressure on someone to live up to the hype. But, give the guy some goddamn credit! He has proven himself and kept Hip Hop afloat after the past few years. No one can content with him either on the mic or in the booth, lyrics by lyrics. There are now some dudes that are coming up - Saigon, Papoose, the resurgence of Royce da 5'9", and others. However, none of these men, including Em, will never get the respect cuz they are not like the other Top 40 rappers. Eminem should be there, whether you like him or not. But, make no mistake, he will make you eat your words and will have the last laugh.
Nice article, DefSound. You need more stories like this.
TO ALL THE NIGGAZ SAYIN' JAY IS BETTER THAN EM...ALL I GOTTA SAY IS LISTEN TO "RENEGADE"... JAY IS ONE OF THE BEST BUT I THINK EM IS BETTER, JUST REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SPIT ON THAT TRACK,EM DESERVES HIS CREDIT...MAYBE NOT THE BEST EVER TO DO IT, BUT ONE OF THE BEST...
Honestly.. I like people I can relate to... Jay is hard to relate to now.. he is one of the best but I can't relate to having 200 million or owning a business..Em be spiting some shit we haev all been through and being pissed off...i stay grimey wit it ... Em is better then jay lyrically but they are 2 totally different types of rappers its hard to put them in the same category and compare them...
your comparison of eminem to other great rappers is vague, he's most certainly a top 10 all-timer but you don't provide enough evidence to label him the best rapper alive
I don't think you can label 1 rapper the best alive because there is so many different types of rap.. categorically defined rankings is the best way ..
PERSONALLY, I THINK THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE HASN'T BEEN HEARD...
livin proof,you is the gayest nigga i know, how you gon say that the best rapper alive hasn't been heard? That question is based on what you know and I know that Nas, Jay-z, Rakim, and krs-1 are the best rappers alive. So, fuck you
not sure what u mean but ok... if you mean that best rapper hasn't been discovered yet ...probably but until they get discovered then we have to base shh on who we have at hand..
what i meant by that is there are sooo many emcee's and rappers out there, so the best rapper can be someone who doesn't have a deal and is sittin' at home sittin' on stacks of notebooks...of course we're gonna go by who we know, rappers wit deals that have established themselves as artists...but this is an ongoing debate, it won't end...before Em was discovered nobody knew he existed, so the best dude out there may never get a deal or be heard...there's niggaz around my way that been doin' this shit for years but have yet to be heard...this one cat I know is 41 years old and spits some of the sickest shit I've ever heard, but his time came and went...that's all I meant.
Yo you forgot one thing, some haters are gonna say Jigga, however in order to be the best rapper alive, you must beat any rappers whom are or were in your way. Jay-Z did not do this, although i would say he is one of my favorite rappers, not the best. The next best i would say is Lil Wayne, and i wont even write a report about why i say this, listen to these cd's in order and u will want to write it for me. 1)Lights out, 2)the Carter, 3) The carter 2, 4)any dedication cd, 5)mick boogie Blow feat. Juelz santana, and 6)Like Father Like Son. Find a song on one of them that isnt hot.
I feel you proof... I know some cats that spit dumb heat.. the best rapper doesn't mean the rapper wit the most money either... Im from da bay so .. Mac dre is the best rapper to me... but its an aquired taste for some people..\
to me Mac DRE kept it the realest.. he caught a case for his patnaz when he didn't do the robberies and didn't snitch on his boys took 5 years in the Pin 4 them( a real cat).. then came out like he never left rappin and was independent with his own shit form the ground up(thizz iz what it iz)... he never sold out to any record company it was all him..
MAC DRE started the hyfee movement..NOT E-40 thats false... Mac DRE BABY LEARN about it... the boy was crazy...wit lyrics and style.. bay area swagger like no other swagger in the world..and cannot be duplicated...\
If you want to understand the bay.... buy some mac dre albums period.. a real turf cat .. then you will see why we go so dumby ....
EM MURDERED JAY ON RENEGADE. (LIKE NAS SAID)
HE HAS TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST. ANYONE WHO COMPARES WAYNE TO EM IS A MUTHA FUCKIN RETARD.
Wo Wo slow down Mr. Thought, Eminem is great but I think his best stuff might have been earlier in his career in terms of punchlines. Check the underground stuff with Scam,
"we can take it further back
back to lover's lane,
to the night you was thought of
and cock block your father's game."
On the real, Em hasn't changed his flow in like two three years. He has failed to reinvent himself so many times recently that I wouldn't even consider him near my top five. Even in terms of punchlines Redman has been way more clever than many in the top five without a doubt. MAYBE even more than Common.
N-E way bak to the point. You have to take in consideration the impact of a Jay-Z, Pac, and Nas/Rakim on the game as a whole and I think you omitted this fact. Em is far from trendsetting, no one duplicates his style of dress, beatmaking and now that you mention it does he even have his own slang common now.
I bet each rapper in your top five got a slang or saying of their own that will last in the game forever. Please take these things into consideration the next time you say something like this. Em used to be in my top five alive but not anymore though he is making a strong comeback.
B.T.W. Check Eminem on "If I get locked up tonight"
and on "Just don't give a fuck" his timing and delivery is flawless I will give him that 4 sho.
Here yall go again. I wish yall knew what yall was talking about. Em as a rapper top 10 all day. But Greatest of all time no. I mean he put a few classic albums out then what happened. He didn't have nuttin else to say couldn't reinvent himself. He went back to his old chemistry on no apologies and just like that he sounded like the old em which was when he was hot. But just because he dropped a few jewels and flawless verses don't make him the best ever. I do respect him as an artist and still has some of my favorite songs but i mean. And umm if you go to detroit you will see a bunch of artist with that style of delivery and flow. Thats where he got it. His lunatic swag on it made him a lyrical beast. But I cannot put him as the best ever unless hes still doin it right now. As much as yall hate on Jay and Nas they are most conisistent.
In response to "LYRICALTHOUGHT"
First of all Eminem was the first emcee to mix Comedey with Hypness on that level.
Thats sumthing you gotta give props for simply because it is out of the blue.
Thirdly he dosnt wright his own lyrics what he does is he co wrights.
Look up his albums and see for yourself
In my opinion even on his first album he didnt sound like Nas or AZ..
I was thrown of when i actually heard his first album originaly done in 90s.
But like he is one of the best caucasian emcees to do it.
He isnt a psyco like Necro or a faggot like Everlast he spits the real talk.
The debate on The Greatast Of All Time can be discussed
But in my opinion Its B.I.G thats my opinion
Eminem tracks that i really like consist of_
"No Apolegize (Re-Up)
"Stan (M.M.)
"Sing For The Moment "E.S"
"Lose Yourself "8 Mile Soundtrack"
To really decide whether Em is tha best rapper alive he needs to battle NAS and JAY-Z. Make that shit a pay per view type event.
WHO CARES WO WILL WIN A A BATTLE WHO CARES WHO IS BETTER... WHATEVER HAPPEND TO JUST BEINGA FAN OF RAO .. EVERYONE IS TRYING TO PROVE WHO CAB BEAT WHO... MAN NO ONE IN RAO HAS THE SAME STYLE UNLESS IT COMES TO BATTLE RAPPING AND MOST CATS AINT BATTLE RAPPERZ...
SO NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHO IS BETTER....WHO GIVES A F*&^ WHOS BETTER OR WHO IS THE TIGHTEST.. THERE ISA LOT OT RELIVANT RAOPPERZ TODAY I LIEK ALL OF THEM...
great mc but not a goat!!!
When it comes to the best alive...Hov is a biter eminem is one of the most original rappers alive he probably is the greatest rapper EVER.
Hands down the best thing to happen to rap. He came at the best time when rap was going to shit. Look at rap now it's all about Money Hoes Jewels and who has a better shitty dance move... Come on the man is amazing. I admit when I was younger I thought he was some shitty white guy trying to be funny making songs about other celebs, then Sing For the Moment hit the airwaves and I was hooked. I got all his albums that Christmas and the 8 Mile soundtrack. He says what other rappers won't, He knows how to be real and tell stories. I forget but wasn't rap invented by telling stories in a poetic form? Now it seems everyone is Shoulderleanin', Ballin', Walkin' it out, Lean wit it Rockin wit it, come on people when will you realise that this man EMINEM is the best thing to happen to rap since BIG and Pac were murdered... and then again I think Biggie is highly overrated... thats another argument for another day though... People just listen to THE EMINEM SHOW and you will undertand why LYRICAL THOUGHT said he is the greatest rapper of all time....
Cause I don't want to look At nothin', this world's too much I've swallowed all I could If I could swallow a bottle of tylenol I would, and end it for good just say goodbye to Hollywood -Say Goodbye to Hollyood
I’m make you hate me cause you ain’t me, You aint, it ain’t to late to finally see, What you close minded fucks were too blind to see, Whoever find me, is gonna get a finders fee,Out this world and ain’t no one out there mind as me -Run Rabbit Run
Can't you see I'm only here to entertain? I gotta be the one to go against the grain Cause man, I see it, feel it, live it, but it's inhumane For me to see you be influenced but pretend you ain't - Stimulate
Seriously besides Jay-Z, NAS, KRS-One, 2Pac and sometimes Biggie can write rhymes this real... Rethink yourselves people... Don't diss him...
To KARDIAK:
how could u say Em hasn't changed his flow in years? Be honest, have u actually listened to each album back to back start to finish. If you have u should recognize that Em switches his flow with the change of each song, and many times within 1 song, with each verse totally being totallly different from the next. Especially comparing the Eminem Show to Encore, c'mon his flow is so different, which is prob why Encore got shit reviews, because it was not the eminem people wanted to hear, can u hate on creativity, god no!
And to say his style hasn't been mimicked is wrong, how many artists, sounded like shady since he's dropped? U can hear the influence all over the place
hot dayum. as soon as I started reading this I was thinking about that freestyle he did with D12 where he went crazy and BAM, you got it on here. good sh*t!!! now I'll read the article.
aight, good article.
bay area cat made a point I agree with too.
Hyfee-Bay-Ridah —
"I don't think you can label 1 rapper the best alive because there is so many different types of rap.. categorically defined rankings is the best way .."
Younger cats always mention Weezy. Wayne is nice, real nice, but "how many times is you gon rap about busting your gun?"
1. Pac
2. Nas
3. BIG
4. Beans (even jay-z said it)
5. jay-z
6.Em
7.rakim
8.DMX (hella underratted)
9.snoop
10.Kool G Rap
Notable mentions: Jada, i would say Weezy but gillie wrote sum of his shit,Scarface, Ice Cube, Big L, and Big Pun
To Machuman:
What's up dude, I didn't think I ca
To Machuman:
I didn't think I came off as someone who didn't listen to Em, the lyric I quoted was off an