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http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/hiphopmediatraining/31863/best-rapper-alive-competition-feels-slim-shady/

*taps chest*

Represent!

Yeah Boyeeeeeeee!!!! Word to yo Motha!

WD, this is the wrong forum for that kind of news.

But this forum has more traffic.

Eminem is pathetic.

F*cking bullshit.

Well, this is definitive proof about how bad the mainstream rap business is. Sorry to hear that, my day has just gown downhill

I disagree with these results and demand a recount.

Its just a poll in some magazine, its not even done fairly, no one should be losing sleep over it.

I don't enjoy his music but he is a lot better than most in the mainstream hip hop area.

Dizzee Rascal is better!

Originally posted by deathbycorn
Dizzee Rascal is better!

Hahahahaha, he's not even a rapper by trade.

He's a UK garage MC who decided to try rapping and continued to rap even though he sucks.

I went to school with him, he was never into hip hop until the record company told him to be.

-AC

Good God...

Eminem is nowhere close to being the best rapper alive...

Let's not ignore that Eminem has one album that could probably go pound-for-pound with a lot of hip hop albums ever.

Currently? No, he's not a candidate. Was he? He was a candidate for one of the best ever, much less alive.

-AC

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
Let's not ignore that Eminem has one album that could probably go pound-for-pound with a lot of hip hop albums ever.

-AC
What Album of his are you talking about I like most of his stuff but what one do you think is the best

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
Hahahahaha, he's not even a rapper by trade.

He's a UK garage MC who decided to try rapping and continued to rap even though he sucks.

I went to school with him, he was never into hip hop until the record company told him to be.

-AC
Wtf does MC stand for? isnt like a free style rapper? i pretty sure i know what it is, but i can never figure out what it stands for, i even asked like pretty much everyone i know.

eminem is a good rapper(lyrics wise, never really liked the sound) but is not even close to the female goddess of rap otep. if you know of her, then you probably agree with me. she is one of the most unique female mc's out there and beats a lot of the guys in skill. But one thing i know she kills in is lyrics.

if you know her, you probably agree with me. if you have hear of her, check out her song " tric" or "battle ready".

Master of Ceremony

anyway, Eminem as AC said had 1 great album, and that's where i'll stop.

as for best rapper alive? no.

i'd probably say Pharoahe Monch. Maybe Kool G Rap.

unsure at the moment.

jay-z should have won, but em isn't really that bad of a choice. you have to remember it was voted in by fans

Eminem IS the best rapper alive.
Give me one more rapper that can come up with such lyrics, give them such a good flow, have a perfect voice to match it, and his songs are actually REAL. He's not like the *** Lil Wayne who raps about how rich he is and shit.

His new album Relapse coming out, we'll see how that is. I liked his new free-verse song too. Lil Wayne is going to fade away like DMX. This year - Eminem's new album dropping, 50 Cent's new album dropping, Dr.Dre's new album dropping.

Pretty much any decent underground MC.

-AC

dre's new album has been dropping for 10 years now

I still like Run DMC over Eminem....

..and Public Enemy over Eminem....

...and LL Cool J over Eminem...

...and others...

...and others...

...yep.

Originally posted by Bat Dude
Good God...

Eminem is nowhere close to being the best rapper alive...

Actually, he is. I hate how people get caught up in garbage rappers like Soulja Boy and forget how lyrical Em really is. Wayne isn't nearly the best because many are better than him (Pac, Biggie, Mos Def, Jay-Z, and many others). Trust and believe Em is damn deserving of the title.'

I also recommend you guys check out Royce Da 5'9 and Saigon. That's real music, not the bullshit spewed by people like Soulja Boy.

Last note: 2Pac is the G.O.A.T.

2pac is overrated beyond all belief.

Nobody besides The Beatles has been more overrated.

-AC

Does it actually matter what this particular person or magazine says?

Originally posted by Spidervlad
Eminem IS the best rapper alive.
Give me one more rapper that can come up with such lyrics, give them such a good flow, have a perfect voice to match it, and his songs are actually REAL.
Cisse Star. Akin. Termanology. Black Thought. Reks. Mr. Green. Killah Priest. Jean Grae. John Robinson. GZA. Phonte. Elzhi.

Rakim, NaS, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Ice Cube or Chuck D shoulda won that shit

Dr. Dre ****ing sucks as a rapper. And 2Pac is the best rapper ever, the only people who say he's overrated are the people who haven't listened to him and know nothing about him.

I like Tupac, but it's true that he is overrated in terms of everyone saying he is the best.

I would say Eminem is close to being the best rapper without a doubt.

If he was black then people would probably say he IS the best, but people can't seem to come to terms with a white man being better at something that is more commonly associated with black men.

Originally posted by Markus Corvinus
Dr. Dre ****ing sucks as a rapper. And 2Pac is the best rapper ever, the only people who say he's overrated are the people who haven't listened to him and know nothing about him.

What, like me? Someone who owns all his albums and has done from a very young age?

He's The Beatles of hip hop; made good music, but that's it.

-AC

Originally posted by ScarletSpeed
I like Tupac, but it's true that he is overrated in terms of everyone saying he is the best.

I would say Eminem is close to being the best rapper without a doubt.

If he was black then people would probably say he IS the best, but people can't seem to come to terms with a white man being better at something that is more commonly associated with black men. i think it was rakim that said if eminem was black, he'd be considered the Ali of rap.

i don't think he's the best to do it, but he's the best white rapper to me, and he's up there with the best black rappers too. just, i think jay-z, andre3000 and black thought are the top three. any order is acceptable. then after that i wouldnt know where to start.

and yea pac is overrated, mostly cause he couldn't put an album together. he has classic songs but when you release a new album every other day the albums are gonna have tons of skippable tracks... something the true classics never have.

only 'me against the world' and 'all eyez on me' are really worth listening to... the rest have a couple good songs with lots of filler in between

eminem is the greatest! and this statement is coming from a person who knows a hell of a lot more about rap than most people! f**k lil wayne!

you have to read this whole thing to fully understand why em was VOTED by the PEOPLE and RAPPERS best rapper alive.

"Before typing a single word or even giving birth to a single thought, I can already imagine the barrage of responses this editorial will get. I can already see the opposition, which feels as if Eminem is nothing but a pop culture gimmick created in order to further water down the integrity of Hip Hop. I can smell the casual fans from a mile away. Of course, I mean those fans who have most likely never taken a deep whiff of his lyrical content or portfolio of work. Yeah, I’m talking about those fans who only know Eminem by a couple of his hot tracks. This will cause stiff controversy and heated debate among the beloved Def Sounds faithful. Each opinion will vary, some being relevant and others not hitting any particular point. With that said, I will start by making this statement: Eminem is the best rapper alive.

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

Eminem: When the Music Stops

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. " - LYRICALTHOUGHT at defsounds.com

if you dont agree with this, you dont ****ing know shit about rap. eminem got voted best rapper alive because he is. the real people who really know rap, like me, and respect rap, me again, voted for eminem. his lyrics are premium, he can freestyle, he is a legend at that, he can change his flow or the whole tone on the song in a fraction of a second, as mentioned in the article, for most rappers it would be unneeded change, for him it works. he is real, he is good live, if you dont think hes the best, you at least think he is one of the best. if you think wayne should have gotten voted the best, your a ****ing idiot.

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
if you dont agree with this, you dont ****ing know shit about rap. eminem got voted best rapper alive because he is. the real people who really know rap, like me, and respect rap, me again, voted for eminem. his lyrics are premium, he can freestyle, he is a legend at that, he can change his flow or the whole tone on the song in a fraction of a second, as mentioned in the article, for most rappers it would be unneeded change, for him it works. he is real, he is good live, if you dont think hes the best, you at least think he is one of the best. if you think wayne should have gotten voted the best, your a ****ing idiot.
It's not rap. It's hip hop first of all. his lyrics haven't shown is real ability for years. All those songs that were listed? Those were from years ago. When he was still respectable. Now? His songs don't measure up to his raw ability. He stopped caring. And once he stopped caring, he lost the chance to be considered great.

I agree em has slacked off, but I know what he can do, so do you, I bet his next album, Relapse, I think its called, will be raw as hell! Also, does anyone agree with me that lil wayne is not as great as he thinks he is?

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
I agree em has slacked off, but I know what he can do, so do you, I bet his next album, Relapse, I think its called, will be raw as hell! Also, does anyone agree with me that lil wayne is not as great as he thinks he is?
He hasn't just slacked off. He's given up. Relapse will be just like his recent albums. Every once in a while a glimmer of something worthwhile in piles and piles of shit.

whats up with that article comparing em to pac and then big to state he's the best alive, when both those niggas are dead.

last time i checked the top 2 vote was down to em vs jay. let's make that comparison instead.

which of these qualities to you feel jay-z falls short on?

and who the hell is he to decide that biggie lacked content? content is in the eye of the beholder. who's to say gimme the loot doesn't have content? if anything eminem's early shock value based raps followed the biggie smalls school of rap more than anything else. before eminem ever threatened to kill his wife and said his mom was on drugs, biggie was talking about killing himself and robbing pregnant bitches.

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
I agree em has slacked off, but I know what he can do, so do you, I bet his next album, Relapse, I think its called, will be raw as hell! Also, does anyone agree with me that lil wayne is not as great as he thinks he is?

If you hired Muhammad Ali as a security guard and he kept falling asleep on the job, leading to your wife being raped and kid being murdered, you wouldn't keep him hired just because he CAN potentially deal with burglars. You'd hire someone who could (Deal with burglars).

My point is; why the f*ck does it matter Eminem CAN do if he ISN'T doing it?

More to the point, why must we sit around assuming he still has the ability to make another album on par with The Slim Shady LP if he isn't doing it?

His next album, or any album he will make, won't be "raw". Fact, just fact. It won't be like his best because the things that made it his best are gone; the hunger, the lack of expectation of fame, the apathy toward what people thought, the general attitude of putting his music before his money.

Him being a broken, unexpectant, self-deprecating, ironically white outcast in a genre dominated by black musicians and the memory of Vanilla Ice is what made him come forth with lyrical ability and an album that couldn't really be denied.

-AC

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri


His next album, or any album he will make, won't be "raw". Fact, just fact.


-AC

alright, i can say with 100% fact that i know way more about hip hop and eminem than you do, you cant sit there and tell me that you know the outcome of his next album. fact, just fact. obviously he is putting work into this one since he hasnt made one for several years, fact, just fact. someone who gets voted best rapper alive, and several people say best rapper ever, has to have something special. i have never heard something from him i thought was "shit," like the other guy said. your arent a f*cking psychic, so you do not have the right to say that his next album will suck for a fact.

hahaha...this is going to be quite funny to watch

Originally posted by red g jacks
whats up with that article comparing em to pac and then big to state he's the best alive, when both those niggas are dead.

last time i checked the top 2 vote was down to em vs jay. let's make that comparison instead.

which of these qualities to you feel jay-z falls short on?

and who the hell is he to decide that biggie lacked content? content is in the eye of the beholder. who's to say gimme the loot doesn't have content? if anything eminem's early shock value based raps followed the biggie smalls school of rap more than anything else. before eminem ever threatened to kill his wife and said his mom was on drugs, biggie was talking about killing himself and robbing pregnant bitches.

have you heard Jay-z's song renegade? it had eminem on it, even Nas said "eminem killed you on your own shit!"

we all have our little opinions, but apparently eminem was favored the most. and their comparing em to 2 great rappers, biggie and pac, they might be dead, but they sure had what it took to be best rapper alive, assuming they were never killed, they definitely would have been in the running for best rapper alive, with them in it though, im not sure about the outcome. personally i think pac was good, (havent heard biggies songs), but ive always thought em was way better. its my opinion, so you cant say im wrong.

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
alright, i can say with 100% fact that i know way more about hip hop and eminem than you do, you cant sit there and tell me that you know the outcome of his next album. fact, just fact. obviously he is putting work into this one since he hasnt made one for several years, fact, just fact. someone who gets voted best rapper alive, and several people say best rapper ever, has to have something special. i have never heard something from him i thought was "shit," like the other guy said. your arent a f*cking psychic, so you do not have the right to say that his next album will suck for a fact.

I didn't say it would suck for a fact, I said it wouldn't be "raw" for a fact.

The things that made him raw and edgy are gone. That's not opinion, that's fact. If you still coincidentally like him, then fine, taste is opinion. Fact isn't.

It's not a fact that his new album will suck, but it factually will not be raw.

Now go reply to my post properly or be quiet.

What do you think of George Bush?

-AC

still, you dont know that it wont be raw. do you know what raw means? in case you dont its another way of say "awesome" or "tight"

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
have you heard Jay-z's song renegade? it had eminem on it, even Nas said "eminem killed you on your own shit!"

we all have our little opinions, but apparently eminem was favored the most. and their comparing em to 2 great rappers, biggie and pac, they might be dead, but they sure had what it took to be best rapper alive, assuming they were never killed, they definitely would have been in the running for best rapper alive, with them in it though, im not sure about the outcome. personally i think pac was good, (havent heard biggies songs), but ive always thought em was way better. its my opinion, so you cant say im wrong. nas said that in a jay-z diss, directly after jay-z dissed him. they were beefing. in the song takeover jay said nas's body gaurd flowed better than nas, that doesn't mean you're supposed to just accept that as fact.

and yes i've heard the song hundreds of times, and personally i always did think that em's verses on that song were better than jays. at the same time jay's flow was much more complex, his delivery was much more interesting and i could see people thinking that either one of them could've had the better performance.

not to mention that just because em out shined jay-z on one track, which was originally an eminem track featuring royce da 5'9', doesn't mean em is a better rapper. you have to look at their whole catalogs to really judge. that eminem verse on renegade is consistently cited as one of his best. you can't say the same for jay's.. he has much better work than what he spit on that track.

and yea biggie or pac MIGHT'VE been eligable for best rapper alive... HAD THEY STILL BEEN ALIVE. that's sorta an important factor when the word 'alive' is right in the title.




on a side note... no offense but seeing that you havent even listened to biggie... maybe you should go back to and listen to some rap music... cause you're here sayin you know more than people.... maybe you should do some more studying first... biggie is entry level rap music.... it's time to hit the books

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
still, you dont know that it wont be raw. do you know what raw means? in case you dont its another way of say "awesome" or "tight"

That's not what "Raw" means, it's just a way people use it.

If you think it's gonna be awesome, great.

I don't think he's done anything since The Slim Shady LP that's even come close.

Do you like George Bush?

-AC

This kid is driving me crazy. How can you say you know more about rap and hip hop than people you don't know? I love Em, he's personally one of my favorite emcees, and I'd say maybe one of the best lyricists, but there's other rappers out there who are just as good, and some better. Black Thought, Slug from Atmosphere, Nas, Qwel, Mos Def... Em is, to me, the best commercial rapper and I look forward to his next album cause I'm sick of this wayne bullshit era, but people don't need to get worked up about a magazine article.

Originally posted by Darth Subjekt
I'm sick of this wayne bullshit era,

Dude.

Quoted for ****ing truth. The man is utterly terrible. Him and Soulja Boy are, imo, what's wrong with main stream hip-hop today.

Gucci Man is the best wrapper IMO

Em is good but he aint the best, far from it.

And Wayne is a beast, but he aint the best either.

The thing is, Lil Wayne was never considered great before he inexplicably became popular.

-AC

I think that Eminem is the greatest thing that out's there as far as Mainstream goes. Him and Ludacris are my favorite MS rappers.

I guess this works for me. Since he's one of the only two rappers I can stand.

Originally posted by Man of Violence
Em is good but he aint the best, far from it.

And Wayne is a beast, but he aint the best either.

sorry, lil wayne sucks.

Originally posted by Darth Subjekt
How can you say you know more about rap and hip hop than people you don't know?
im saying, i know a shitload about rap.

and do you have a problem with me? because it seems that everything i say in music you have something negative to say about it. "this kid is driving me crazy."

i annoy you? did you think posting that in your message would hurt me or something? seriously, that was unnecessary.

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
im saying, i know a shitload about rap. You don't really act like it.

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
and do you have a problem with me? because it seems that everything i say in music you have something negative to say about it. "this kid is driving me crazy." What's your point? I've said two things where you've posted and you equate that to "everytime?" Hmmm...

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris
i annoy you? did you think posting that in your message would hurt me or something? seriously, that was unnecessary. It did something or else you wouldn't have brought it up.

Originally posted by Darth Subjekt
You don't really act like it.

What's your point? I've said two things where you've posted and you equate that to "everytime?" Hmmm...

It did something or else you wouldn't have brought it up.
A, i know what good rap is.
B, i bet you any money you will continue to post negative comments.
C, im saying its pretty damn pathetic of you to post something like that, it doesnt bother me in the least, im just saying it was very unnecessary.

Originally posted by Tyranno-Chris

B, i bet you any money you will continue to post negative comments.

When you continue to make bad posts you leave wery few alternatives.

You're making negative comments yourself. Get used to it. I'd hate to see you in a battle, "awe man, he's saying negative comments to me. Now i gotta pull out my glock, like i pull out my cock, stick it in ya mouth til you beg me to stop."

See that? That was just me being stupid and it was better than all the verses you typed out.

Nah, I'm just having fun with you. Calm down.