For the most part, I can’t stand rap / hip-hop. But I do consider myself musically very open-minded, so I don’t close myself off from any genre.
So I’ve been listening to a bit of Eminem lately, and I gotta say, the dude has Talent. His delivery is strong, his rhythms are like none other I’ve ever heard, and his lyrics are clever, innovative and, often, hilarious. He creates rhymes (or near-rhymes) that make me shake my head in awe.
That said, I’m not too fond of the subject matter of many of the tunes. I’ve only been listening to the first two albums, so I don’t know if he’s matured in his more recent stuff…but driving with your wife in the trunk and explaining to your young kid why Mommy’s gonna go for a swim is a bit over-the-top for me.
And I don’t know of a better work-out song than ‘Lose Yourself’.
Marshall Mathers is a real musician.
I have many of his albums on my Zen and I listened to his latest on Monday night while I was writing code.
His work opened my mind up to many other musical forms of whatever we want to call what these folks do … rap, hip-hop, blah blah blah… it is all just labels.
Count me as a fan of his talent even though I don’t enjoy his misogynistic and homophobic tone. Discounting talent because you don’t agree with the musician’s opinion is not what I, as a musician, would hope for from an audience. And honestly y’all, that is what it is all about these days. Ears equal dollars.
I don’t like most rap but I can recognize the talent it takes (i.e. I couldn’t do it and neither could most professional singers in other genres) and Eminem, aesthetic appeal aside, is brimming over with talent. Assuming he writes all of his own lyrics (which IIRC he does) he’s also got some incredibly sophisticated wordplay going on.
I think his first album was really good. The wordplay was fun and clever. Not on par with some geniuses out there, but definitely an absolute standout in commercial rap. In my opinion, his style got a tad played out since then, but I still see the talent.
I’d say Eminem is probably the best lyricist of the last decade, his first two albums are flawless and every album since then has been at least “great”, including Encore and Relapse which are widely considered to be his weak spots.
One of my all-time favourite artists. His singles run is basically perfect.
I’m a fan. He does Mature from his first two albums quite a bit. “The Eminem Show” was probably his greatest work from an all-things considered perspective, but he’s also had the insight to realize that he’ll never be able to make something like that again. The Slim Shady LP was Eminem at his rawest and hungriest, The MM LP was him having tasted the fame and the infamy that comes along with it. But the Eminem Show was him basically solidifying himself at the Top of his game.
Then Encore was… good but not great at all. I’d rate it lower than MM, and Eminem show- you could see he had the verbal skills, and there are some great songs on there, but he’s pointed out later on, this is sort of during his spiral phase with the drugs and such kicking in. It was pretty much him getting ready to collapse under all the strain.
Relapse was him after he got sober and still trying to deal with the death of his best friend, Proof. It’s again technically sound in terms of lyrical wordplay, but extremely raw and graphic, with probably some of his most gruesome lyrics since his Eminem LP. He’s pretty much spilling his demons all out there, and he’s later pointed out that this album was not one of his strongest works, that he overuses his accents, and drove that into the ground with that. Basically, this was his “sobering up” album of sorts.
Relapse though, is probably his most accessible album for what you may be looking for. We see a mature Marshall, one who’s sobered up and has a LOT of perspective, and again he’s got skills and it easily shows with some of the most clever word play in years from him. This one is similar in scope to The Eminem Show, and maybe ties with The Marshall Mather’s LP (MM LP may win simply because it’s more emotional and rawer/edgier at times, but Recovery does have him being more technically sound, and a bit tighter with his skills especially incorporating them with the beats better).
So my suggestion to you is to pick up Recovery- as that might be what you want- an Eminem w/ perspective and a bit more wisdom, but if you want him at his best- pick up the Eminem Show, and skip Encore and you will HATE relapse if you’re not a fan of Horror-core or The Slim Shady LP.
old crusty though I am I like the guy and I’d suggest that if he floats your boat you may want to check out The Streets as well. Clever wordplay and some “harsh, tasty beats” as I believe the “kids” all say.
I liked Eminem’s first two albums because he was rapping about something different than everyone else. Almost every rap song back then was about some gangster showing off how rich and hardcore he was. That subject pretty much got old after Bigge and Tupac died. Then Eminem comes in raping about his mother issues his anger towards pop culture. It was new and I liked it.
Now he’s still raping about the same issues, so I found his last two albums pretty boring.
Not Afraid, Crack a Bottle, Superman, 'Till I Collapse, Drips, Underground- I love nearly all of his songs. The horrible subject matter just makes it better for me.
The Blueprint (Jay-Z), Be (Common), The College Dropout (Kanye), Stillmatic (Nas) and many others are all better lyrically than anything either Chuck D, Ice Cube or Eminem has put out in the last decade.
If we’re not talking albums and we’re just saying on pure talent, Andre 3000 is the best of the last decade.
That’s a bold statement as well, although I’m not prone to disagree with it. The same could be said of Run DMC, Rakim, Guru, Melle Mel, Gil Scott Heron, etc etc.
But, in my opinion, it’s not a question of precedence or seniority; it’s a question of lyrics (although some understanding of the evolution of hip hop and the demands of the audience for more or less lyricism comes into play). I’m viewing the question though as who has put out the best lyrical material in the past decade, not who is the best lyricist ever who has still been alive in the past decade. Michael Jordan is the best ever at basketball, but it doesn’t mean I think he’d win a pick up game today.
My personal top lyricists ever are Rakim, KRS One, Biggie, Jay-Z, and you could pick or choose about 20 names and all are equally worth the 5th spot, but out of my list, only Jay-Z is still putting out relevant material today.
I like The Streets but I’ve got to say Eminem is light-years ahead of him. Mr. Mathers’ delivery is second to none–there’s better lyricists out there (bramma23 mentioned my favorite, KRS-One), but the way he delivers them adds something unique.