Just finished listening to the album and it's hot track after hot track start to finish. It may be premature to put it up there with the classics right now but this is one album that is not going anywhere for a long, long time.
I love Eminem, I think he is awesome... but he isn't the best alive.. try as hard as he may he will never be on Tupac or Biggies level, and he will never be ABOVE, Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg etc.. even guys like Ghostface, Gza and Common are on the same level as Eminem..
He is good, but best alive? .. That is a stretch..
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
Last edited by GreenLantern; 06-09-2010 at 08:20 AM.
I was a fan pre-2000 of Eminem, his sound bombing tracks with Rawkus records were amazing. Marshall Mathers LP was really good, but since then, man has he sucked, really bad too. I can't even take the guy serious anymore, he's near 37, dresses like he's 18, seems to go strictly for shock value now "I want to kill my wife, I want to kill my Moms". Wow how prolific. I doubt I will ever be into him again.
BTW, those bombing on Jay-Z, Eminem is one of the most commercialized rappers out there no question: "Shady Records, Shade 45 Sirius, Shady Ltd. Clothing, Shady Games, Eight Mile Style LLC".
You think his latest album will be his "realest" in decades? All because he cusses out his last album? I know of someone else who publicly said their previous work "sucked" and their new stuff was back to the "realness". It was Domino's pizza. That whole shtick is a marketing gimmick, at least realize that.
As for being the best rapper ever, up there with Biggie and Tupac, that is all perspective I guess. However, Biggie and Tupac were the best rappers of my generation (90's), not ever. Guys from the 80's will light you up over saying Pac and Biggie were the best ever. Kool Keith, Big Daddy Kane, KRS One, DJ Kool Herc, Eric B and Rakim, Pete Rock, Run DMC were their Heros.
So for those who know, and/or have lived Hip Hop 20+ years, I ask you, where does Eminiem place over those 3 decades? Has he progressed/influenced the culture of Hip Hop in a lasting way? More so than the names listed above? or was he a decent rapper who was popular at the time, but did little else than make money, and shout some shocking stuff?
I dunno, I guess that one is yet to be decided. I very much doubt however that my kids will be firing up an old Eminiem LP to hear "A$$ like that" or "Purple Pills".
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As for being the best rapper ever, up there with Biggie and Tupac, that is all perspective I guess. However, Biggie and Tupac were the best rappers of my generation (90's), not ever. Guys from the 80's will light you up over saying Pac and Biggie were the best ever. Kool Keith, Big Daddy Kane, KRS One, DJ Kool Herc, Eric B and Rakim, Pete Rock, Run DMC were their Heros.
So for those who know, and/or have lived Hip Hop 20+ years, I ask you, where does Eminiem place over those 3 decades? Has he progressed/influenced the culture of Hip Hop in a lasting way? More so than the names listed above? or was he a decent rapper who was popular at the time, but did little else than make money, and shout some shocking stuff?
I dunno, I guess that one is yet to be decided. I very much doubt however that my kids will be firing up an old Eminiem LP to hear "A$$ like that" or "Purple Pills".
I'm not the biggest fan of Eminem (although I'll admit to liking Recovery).. but that's a really tough question to be asking right now.
Like you said, it's far too early to judge his Eminem's legacy as his career is ongoing. You laid out the 90's rappers and I think the defining moment from that era will be the whole West Coast/East Coast issue that was fronted by Bad Boy and Death Row.
That said, since 2000... who else has had a bigger impact on hip-hop? Jay-Z? Maybe, but what he's doing is not all that different from Biggie IMO. 50 Cent? Pac played the gangsta rapper role far better than 50 ever did. Outkast was well on their way but they 3000 and Big Boi seemingly dissapeared (on that note.. every hip-hop fan should go lookout for Big Boi's new album which features the first Outkast duet in 5 years.. so sick).
There have definitley been better rappers than Eminem in this decade but I don't think they've left the type of imprint that he will. Nas might be the one guy I can think of.... but even then I'm not quite sure.
I was a fan pre-2000 of Eminem, his sound bombing tracks with Rawkus records were amazing. Marshall Mathers LP was really good, but since then, man has he sucked, really bad too. I can't even take the guy serious anymore, he's near 37, dresses like he's 18, seems to go strictly for shock value now "I want to kill my wife, I want to kill my Moms". Wow how prolific. I doubt I will ever be into him again.
BTW, those bombing on Jay-Z, Eminem is one of the most commercialized rappers out there no question: "Shady Records, Shade 45 Sirius, Shady Ltd. Clothing, Shady Games, Eight Mile Style LLC".
You think his latest album will be his "realest" in decades? All because he cusses out his last album? I know of someone else who publicly said their previous work "sucked" and their new stuff was back to the "realness". It was Domino's pizza. That whole shtick is a marketing gimmick, at least realize that.
As for being the best rapper ever, up there with Biggie and Tupac, that is all perspective I guess. However, Biggie and Tupac were the best rappers of my generation (90's), not ever. Guys from the 80's will light you up over saying Pac and Biggie were the best ever. Kool Keith, Big Daddy Kane, KRS One, DJ Kool Herc, Eric B and Rakim, Pete Rock, Run DMC were their Heros.
So for those who know, and/or have lived Hip Hop 20+ years, I ask you, where does Eminiem place over those 3 decades? Has he progressed/influenced the culture of Hip Hop in a lasting way? More so than the names listed above? or was he a decent rapper who was popular at the time, but did little else than make money, and shout some shocking stuff?
I dunno, I guess that one is yet to be decided. I very much doubt however that my kids will be firing up an old Eminiem LP to hear "A$$ like that" or "Purple Pills".
Very good post, made a lot of great points there.
For me, while I do enjoy Eminem (and always have), he certainly does not make my "top 5" list. For that matter, "biggie" and "pac" wouldn't either. You take hype, record sales and gangsterism away from these three and they are/were nothing more then above average emcee's with the right face and image (for the times) to sell records.
On top of some of the true classics (as mentioned above by Old Dutch) that were in this game long before Em, he is also trumped, rather handily I might add, by some of the present day emcee's. Black Thought (from the Roots), probably one of the best emcee's hip hop has seen in 20 years, does (IMO) have much better flow, delivery and song writing ability. Not to mention the fact the dude (along with his band) puts on one of the, if not the best live show in music (not just hip hop) today. He is one example. I believe someone has already mentioned Common and Talib Kweli in this thread, I would put these two ahead of Eminem as well using once again the criteria I posted above. The one man nobody has mentioned but is a true legend of the game, a true emcee…and also much better then Em…Masta Ace. Masta Ace does everything Eminem does and does it all better (including battling). Those guys are just a start…Mos Def, K-os, The Grouch, Pigeon John, Zion I, Aesop Rock are all better as well.
Again, do not get me wrong, I like Eminem and will likely buy the new CD. But best emcee of all time?? Sorry guys, that is so far off it is not even funny. And yes before someone says so, music is a personal thing, but that doesn’t mean there are not tangible measurements that can be used to indicate which performer is more talented. If you guys are telling us Eminem is the best of all time then please highlight what that statement is based off of and who you're comparing Eminem to before making this declaration.
__________________
"Man, so long as he remains free, has no more constant and agonizing anxiety than to find, as quickly as possible, someone to worship."
