Although I consider Em the best ever, I don’t think he can make a good record anymore. His persona depends on a certain context that has evaporated since the early 2000s.
After his third album and the 8 mile movie, the criticism turned into respect, and he didn’t have anything to rap about anymore. Now he’s trying to use his recovery from drug addiction as context and that just doesn’t work at all.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
Although I consider Em the best ever, I don’t think he can make a good record anymore. His persona depends on a certain context that has evaporated since the early 2000s.
After his third album and the 8 mile movie, the criticism turned into respect, and he didn’t have anything to rap about anymore. Now he’s trying to use his recovery from drug addiction as context and that just doesn’t work at all.[/quote]
I disagree, Em just needs to stay away from the stupid (D12) bullshit and he’ll go 5x platinum. I’m sure he has tons of material to use on this album (Proof dying, becoming a drug addict, and Mariah Carey.)
[quote]angus_beef wrote:
[quote]thogue wrote:
A mediocre white rapper will get nowhere… while mediocre black rappers is what makes up a majority of rap music.
To get to the point where being white actually helps your popularity, you have to be good enough to break through the boundary that white people aren’t supposed to be rapping. Its certainly not true that being white, in general, is an advantage in rap. If a white guy had made Soulja Boy’s music he would get fucking laughed at, not record deals and tons of fame.[/quote]
Thats because vanilla ice ruined it for all white rappers.
I stopped really listening to Em after the marshall mathers LP (def my fav). He became soft when he decide to focus on being a father.
And to whoever said Em is the greatest lyricist ever …HA…Try listening to some canibus, lupe fiasco or cassidy freestyles, you might learn something.[/quote]
Canibus? Lupe? Cassidy?
Man, if Canibus actually made sense, he’d be dope! The guy raps about space aliens and shit. If his stuff wasn’t just rhyming big ass words for the hell of it, he’d be a respectable MC, but he’s far from what I would consider a great lyricist. He uses big words… I’ll give em that.
Lupe is good, but he only had 1 good album and that was his debut. After that, he fell off. I actually like Lupe, but in his own words, “I can’t fuck with Eminem”.
As for Cass, I’m not a big fan. He’s okay, but his freestyles are far from legit off the top freestyles. And didn’t he become a pastor or some shit?
[quote]Enray wrote:
I dunno, I miss the old Eminem.
The new Eminem focuses more on flow and less on awesome storytelling. Admit it, you looooved hearing Eminem describe in vivid detail the horrible things he wanted to do to you and his wife. “I’m Shady” anyone?
Slim Shady LP & Marshall Mathers LP = the last of his greats[/quote]
The storytelling is good but a lot of people think he is original when he does it, which he’s not.
There’s a whole gene or that stuff called “wicked shit” or horrorcore" if you want really messed up stuff.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
[quote]LarryDavid wrote:
Yeah, Eminem is definitely a G.O.A.T. candidate.
-on a technical level he’s one of the best ever. Flow, rhymes, etc. He’s got it all.
-conceptually his second album was almost perfect and his first and third weren’t bad either
-impact and popularity- need I go into detail?
Seeing as how guys like Jay-Z get thrown into G.O.A.T. discussions, it makes no sense why Em wouldn’t be in the running as well. In fact you could argue one of the big reasons he isn’t is because of race.
Too many people use that line about him being white being is how he got big, then name a bunch of black guys who have maybe one thing in common with him and say “they’d be famous too if only…”. But there’s pretty much no one with that complete package as far as rapping goes. Em’s probably the best rapper since Biggie.
Maybe being white helped him get as popular as only he has gotten in the past decade…but being white has made him seriously underrated as an artist in a genre that’s aficionados are as protective of it’s roots as can be. [/quote]
Rugged Man is considered to be GOAT by some and he’s white. He’s one of my top boys. Tech kills Em since everyone here likes to harp on delivery or whatever…Tech owns Em. You gonna say Tech is not comparable?
[/quote]
Nope… he better have a lot more in common with Em. To be completely honest I’ve only listened to one Tech album and he sounds like someone you’d like a lot more than me. Technical skills are only a part of Em’s appeal.
But given that you’ve characterized Eminem as a fake “horrocore” artist before, it’s not surprising you like him more. That said, Em was never a “horrorcore” artist even if he had some similarities, unless you count Relapse, which no one thinks is his best work. If he were just a shock rapper I’d probably hate him. It’s the balance between the shock humour, and the introspection and expression of his more serious songs that makes The Marshall Mathers LP a classic.
A big part of the way he expresses himself is the way he self-deprecates, too. Too many rappers posture and avoid pointing out their flaws on songs, even the ones where they want people to sympathize with them. Biggie was an exception to that, and he may very well be the GOAT of rap. Another guy who does this is Kanye West. He’s more than just a shock rapper, or a technical wizard.
As for Ke$ha…I think she’s more in the electro-pop genre, even if she did something resembling rapping on that big song.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
Although I consider Em the best ever, I don’t think he can make a good record anymore. His persona depends on a certain context that has evaporated since the early 2000s.
After his third album and the 8 mile movie, the criticism turned into respect, and he didn’t have anything to rap about anymore. Now he’s trying to use his recovery from drug addiction as context and that just doesn’t work at all.[/quote]
Agreed. Em’s better when he has enemies to go after. I guess part of the thrill of his second record was the new found fame and hate, and how he managed to be both indignant and confrontational in response, yet easy to sympathize with. It’s a tight rope to walk, but he did it. Might not have explained that right, haha.
That said, I wouldn’t put it past him to make a great record about getting off drugs. He can be a great songwriter when he’s on his A game. It’s just unlikely.
[quote]B.L.U. Ninja wrote:
I like Dre, but I think he’s over rated as a producer and guys like Kanye, Boi1da and Premo makes better beats.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s about right.
[quote]Enray wrote:
I dunno, I miss the old Eminem.
The new Eminem focuses more on flow and less on awesome storytelling.
Slim Shady LP & Marshall Mathers LP = the last of his greats[/quote]
Exactly. And great choice for the avatar… man, she’s hot even after Wayne’s kid.
Thing is when people look bad on Eminem’s career they’re not going to see anything new and influential apart from his unique technical skills. Its not like he really did he anything with the hip hop world. He came in and essentially exploded when he went commercial. Ignore his debut albums and a good portion of his material is in that 50 cent time slot. He needs to come back blazing with these new tracks. Hopefully the new album will be good, showcasing his ridiculous rap attributes that you guys have really gone into detail with. But it also has to carry that emotion and visualization that’s going to clinch the listener.
Its a shame but I worry that 2000-present is going to be remembered as the age when hip hop reached a new era of commercial exposure that ultimately killed its swagger.
[quote]LarryDavid wrote:
That said, I wouldn’t put it past [Eminem] to make a great record about getting off drugs[/quote]
…right…