# Best Answer Song Battle #1: Eminem vs. Rihanna

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-answer-song-battle-1-eminem-vs-rihanna/763726>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 23, 2016, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-answer-song-battle-1-eminem-vs-rihanna/763726 "2016-08-23T09:58:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-answer-song-battle-1-eminem-vs-rihanna/763726/1 "2016-08-23T09:58:07Z")

</div>

This is the first in which might, if people are into it, be a series of poll threads about “answer songs” - songs released around the same time, by artists with a personal or professional connection to each other, where one is responding to a song by the other, or both are writing songs about the same event or experience, or where both are directly addressing the other.

For the inaugural contest, I chose a pair of songs which actually feature the same artists on both tracks - Emimen and Rihanna - and were composed simultaneously. Both numbers are about a dysfunctional, abusive relationship, which is something both performers have firsthand experience with, from very different perspectives.

I ask you to pick which of the two songs you like better overall - in terms of musicianship, lyrics, quality of performance, the degree to which you feel the singer’s pathos, whatever qualities you may believe decides what makes a superior song.

For your convenience;

[Eminem w/ Rihanna - Love the Way You Lie, Part 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfnchi3W52I)

[Rihanna w/ Eminem - Love the Way You Lie, Part 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfH8POK-9Mk)

I look forward to finding out which one the Teeming Millions prefer.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-answer-song-battle-1-eminem-vs-rihanna/763726/2 "2016-08-24T15:56:45Z")

</div>

Part 1 (the one with more Eminem and less Rihanna) all the way.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-answer-song-battle-1-eminem-vs-rihanna/763726/3 "2016-08-24T19:32:02Z")

</div>

Do you need a few more such songs to put in your survey?