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.
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.
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 ScarletSpeedi think it was rakim that said if eminem was black, he'd be considered the Ali of rap.
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 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
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.
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?
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.
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).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 CentauriHis 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.
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.