Is Eminem Overrated?
Vibe and Irv Gotti has sparked much debate the past couple of weeks about who is hip hop’s greatest of all time. If you travel to the suburbs the answer would be really simple: Slim Shady. If you were to stroll through the hood you’d get a jambalayla of different MC’s from Nas to Jay-Z and from Big to Pac.
Is Eminem Better Than BIG?
Currently no one seems to get the press that Eminem gets. His latest cd “Relapse” was excellent and will be a classic for years to come. The cd went platinum in no time… but is it getting any love in the hood? Probably not as much as tracks from Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne or even 50 Cent.
So the real question is, is Eminem considered the top of the game because he’s truly a great MC or because he’s the greatest white MC to touch the mic?
Like Irv Gotti stated, would you really bump Hard Knock Life if Eminem was the MC slinging the lyrics? Would it even sound right?
Most hood minds say Eminem is a good lyricist but his songs are too gimmicky and sometimes outright silly. But the truth is those gimmicky and silly rhymes are selling like hotcakes. So what should being the greatest rapper qualifications consist of. Sales? Content? Swag?
Is Eminem Better than Jay-Z?
Vibe’s semi-finals bracket consists of Jay-Z, Tupac, Biggie and Eminem. Should Eminem even be there? Is Eminem really a better rapper than Nas, Mos Def or Lil’ Wayne? Does Vibe even have the credibility to make a bracket questioning the greatest rapper of all time? What method did they follow to make the brackets?
Is Eminem Better Than Tupac?
Anyone that has ever made a comment disagreeing with Slim Shady being the greatest of all time on a blog or website already knows the verbal lashing that follows.
So with an online following that Eminem has online, and votes based off of a web head count, Eminem is certainly guaranteed to win Vibe’s opinion-based tourney on being the greatest of all time.
But will the hood ever see Eminem as being the greatest of all time? Besides hip hop was born in the hood.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Eminem does belong in the top. Yes, his rhymes are sometimes corny, sometimes down right crazy. But he spits them rhymes in a way we don’t hear from other rappers. The reason he ain’t as bumped in the hood as the others is the same reason you say that the burbs love him….he’s white. It’s hard for a white man to grab some street credibility in the hood. I’ve been listenin to hiphop since mid 80s and have witnessed the greats. Pac, Biggy, Nas, Jay-Z, NWA, Woo-Tang, and YES, Eminem. But in the end, the hood doesn’t decide who is the best no more than the internet does. Each rapper has his own style and place in the genre. Rap would not be the same without any of them. Eminem is my personal favorite. Nas and Jay-Z run close seconds. Pac, the greatest poet, Eminem the greatest lyricist, and Jay-Z a great combination of both, but none spit it like Slim.
Your opinion and argument is legit. But it’s hard for a white man to grab street credibility in the hood? Honestly don’t think that will ever happen since the hood was pretty much created by the white man.
true enough. I can see the argument there. But still, Lenny Kravitz, Rage Against the Machine, Ben Harper, Prince and others have their rightful place as some of the greatest rock artists, without contention from white folk saying that they ain’t some of the greatest. Where’s the reciprocated love for Eminem? He didn’t put nobody in the ghetto. When he goes “home”, he crosses that same line into the hood.
The truth is that he is white, and no one wants to admit that he is the best in the hood because then they are disrespecting their own turf by admitting a white boy can live in a black mans world. Jay Z and them suck, they talk through their beats, and act as if it was rap. The only reason why Diddy and Jay Z made it in the rap game is because they were black, and came out in a diffrent time. Then Dre got a hold of Mr. Mathers and took his fast rapping ass to the top and now everyone is pissed off. Real people are sick and tired of hearing about Rolling On Dubs, and wearing diamonds like they were going out of style. Mr. Mathers speaks a language we can all understand and that is why he sells more albums. When rap was about hard living in the ghetto it was real, now it is all about money, bitches, and stupid shit no one wants to hear or relate to. Want a top selling album, then talk what is real, not what is hype. Actually rap to your beat and not talk as if it was a slow day on the block and your to high to keep up with your own beat. It sounds like shit, and makes you look like a moron trying to sell a rap album but really should be a bed time story! On top of all of that Mr. Mathers speaks his mind, does not hold anything back, and brings it all out on the table to be picked apart and still gets back up and talks shit. Because he is does not give a fuck what you, or anyone elses says. He is just in the game to play, not to win and that is why most of you are not as good, you think money is your solution but in the end it is what takes you all down.
Eminem. This is going to be a long debate and now it is time for the debate to end. The greatest mc, rapper…however you want to call it has to reach far beyond only Jay Z or even Diddy…who can’t rap. Thing is, Dana Dane, Slick Rick, LL Cool J, Rakim, MC Lyte…yes a female, Salt n Pepa, Queen Latifah…yeah, and oh, the late Tupac, Big Daddy you know KANE, and more all the way up ripping through Eminem as if he is near non existent. Listen, to call a new man the greatest because of ALBUM SALES is incorrect. There are many movies that sell out just for HYPE’S sake. When the movie lets out, people wonder if they can get a refund.
Eminem sells off of hype and being white as the cross over is much easier because it is already over there. If it was just as easy for a black rapper to cross over back in the day, Em would have been out sold. Period. However, the race of the first rappers was black, and we all know that white didn’t associate too much with rap no matter how good it sounded. The brand was new, but rappers like Slick or Rakim would sweep dust in Em’s mouth man! Real rappin’.
Em can rap, but the sole reason for his ALBUM SALES is that he is white. No racism intended at all. That’s just the way it is. More white people, MAJORITY, will buy his rap. Period.
Yeah, one more rapper…a FAST rapper…Heavy D. He would mop the floor with Em too. That’s true.
I could have sworn dat Eminem murdered Jay-Z on his own shit, Listen to Eminem on Renegades from Jigga’s Blueprint album
Eminems a legend he well deserves some credit for wat he done to hiphop he changed it 4eva. to be honest Jay-Z has nothin on em i cudnt name ya 2 of his songs if it wer to save ma life maybe cuz der shit or not worth listenen to lmao
I agree with you, Em is a good rapper, I’ll give him that; however, he has fell off lately. I could name a whole bunch of rappers better than him, underground and mainstream. Eminem is definitely mainstream and he gets radio play, unlike a like of other real cats out there. I’m sick of hearing gucci, new boyz, souljda boy, etc. 60-70% of rap cd sells are from white people, and America’s total population is around 64% white, you do the math (Em is overrated due to his fans/stans). Rappers like Talib Kweli, GZA, Canibus, Mos Def, AZ, One Be Lo, Elzhi, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Nas, J-Live, Sean Price, Rakim, KRS-One and Ghostface Killah are all just as good as him or even better.
I think this debate is skewed just BECAUSE Eminem is white. If you listened to his lyrics and you did not know he was a white MC, people would be in awe. But because the hype of him being white is attached to him, people use that as a reason to discredit the man. That makes no sense. What tells you the REAL truth about Em is his peers. Almost every artist in Hip Hop names Eminem as one of the greats, from Rakim to Talib Kweli to Nas to Jay-Z. So if those same artists are calling this man great….what are the “fans” seeing different? They are biased, period, point blank. Because he is a white MC in a Black man’s game who sells more albums due to his color, but none of that changes how sick of an MC he is. Until people start seeing it without bias, we will always hear this same meritless argument. So….
ok first of all the percentage of young people who actually know anything about hip hop, and the skills an emcee should possess is so low this argument is pointless. I dont see anyone mentioning krs one, kool g rap ,rakim.. the list goes on. it makes me wanna puke to see that pun is not even mentioned…
EMINEM
Eminem is decent when he wants to be, but he mostly just hurts my eardrums. Definitly not GOAT material. We’re talking about a pop star here…. that is not what hip hop is about…And if he was black he wouldnt be where he is. if he was black he would be tech 9 … a bum from the midwest…
JAY-Z & NAS
jayz was good on reasonable doubt…. thats it…
same goes for nas… illmatic and a few gems here and there underneath the wreckage of his past and present efforts.
2PAC
AND OF COURSE the invincible 2pac… merely a genius marketing scheme. i dont doubt his talents… he was an extremely talented poet, and actor…but he was ignorant in a way… the way he hyped up the east coast west coast thing was very childish and unnecessary, and contradicts what he said his message was.
The essence of hip hop is lost because the elements arent there…. if ur an EMCEE you wanna get beats from the hottest producers…. and ur album comes out unbalanced…If ur a DJ you do ur own thing you dont even hear djs cuttin on tracks anymore. And the B-boys do thier own thing also… nobody puts these 3 elements together… The Days of Emcees and DJs are over… no rapper has an album produced by one person, not to say that its necessary, but .. they dont try to create chemistry.. there will never be another Gang starr or run DMC, or Wu tang, or eric b and rakim… all because the essence isnt there anymore…
in the words of cormega …
” IT IS WHAT IT IS, AND AINT WHAT IT WAS”
Well written & well understood!
Eminem is not the greatest of all time for the same reason people consider him the greatest of all time: he’s white.
If you’re white, even a lyrical genius, you’re still limited. You cannot be a gangster, you cannot be a revolutionary, you cannot be a 5er rapper or a Muslim, you cannot talk about your people’s struggle, you cannot talk about racism, and you can’t talk about a lot of the core issues that rap usually deals with, and this is why Eminem (and other white rappers) have this crazy gimmick.
He got the bad luck of the draw, but Eminem is not the best. He is famous simply because he is of an era where everyone sucks right now.
Eminem belongs in the top for sure, not so smart to play 50 cent of lil wayne here in Amsterdam.
10. Wu-Tang Clan
9. Nas
8. DMX
7. Eazy-E
6. Dr Dre
5. Method Man
4. Eminem
3. Bone Thugs
2. Biggie Smalls
1. Pac
Everybody needs 2 take the bias out of this debate, forget about white/black, eminem said on White America, “If I was Black I would have sold half”, anybody who knows hip hop knows that eminem is SICK (no debate). Its harder 4 a white rapper 2 get respect in the hood, he cant say nigga in a battle without getting knocked out, but him being white puts a target on his chest 4 insults. Lets face it, for white rap fans he’s the underdog, the minority. Babe Ruth will always b considered better than any black ball player in White America, just like the Hip Hop world will never consider Em the greatest. Theres 2 much bias on whos the best, a lot of white people say Larry Bird, is the greatest ever, u will never hear a black person say that, theres 2 much of a cultural divide! Eminem is a genius on the MIC, hands down. Its all about opinion, ask any rapper who you think is great and they’ll tell you Eminem is one of the greatest, speakin of opinion, heres my TOP TEN:
1.2pac
2.eminem
3.Nas
4.Biggie Smalls
5.Dr.Dre(the Michael Jordan of Production, True Pioneer of Hip Hop)
6.KRS-One
7.Big L
8.Andre from outkast
9.Run DMC
10.Public Enemy
also…Big Pun, Wu Tang, Bone Thugs, Kurupt, Jada, Easy E, Ice Cube,LL Cool J
Haha this debate, I dont think anyone in the hood is doubting Eminem’s ability as a rapper. WE’VE LITERARY HAD AND HAVE BETTER RAPPERS THAN HIM!! His gimmicky style is the same reason everyone says hes better on Renegade, its really dope to listen to when you feel like it. He is good enough thats for sure but majority of people in the hood dont asssociate with his content, which often isnt much when you delve into it. Anyway his whole success is based on his colour, perfect example is Asher Roth, Asher is mediocre at best but when he came out he go more love in the media than waaaaay better rappers like Talib Kweli, Twista etc. So really its about purchasing power and Eminem was ‘lucky’ enough to be white. Look, if Twista was white or Krayzie Bone of Bone thugs was white, they would’ve even outsold Eminem himself. Besides, theres no such thing as a greatest rapper period! Theres a top ten naybe but in no particular order heres mine
Talib Kweli
Common
Jay Z
Kanye West
Jadakiss
2 Pac
Nas
Andre 3000
Rakim
Coolio
I’m from South Africa by the way and its the same story as the US, kids are bumpin Lil Wayne and 50 Cent….. Damn!
Jay did ask ‘Do you fools listen to music or do you just skeem through it’……
point blank .. if i dress up in baggy clothes, dredz and singing reggea coming from south carolina.. white kidz could buy every product i put out.. but i would not be authentic.. it is the halfnots , the people from the community who govern and dictate what the culture is not the spectatures from the suberbs.. its the same with eminem and black culture.. White folks can put him on a pedestal but the people will never except that.. and thats real
yu dudes is gettin touchy… No one said Em sucks, but would he be as big if he were black? Honestly now.. There are dudes like talib, Mos, Nas and KRS One who are better than Em.. Do they sell as much? No. Why? They are black and black rappers are seen everyday… Slim stands out becuz of his skin color… Period! He is a good mc. But thats it..
Eminem is a lyical god enough said don’t look at the damn skin color retards Em belongs at the top whether you wan2 believe it or not idc because your opinion don’t matter even matter give him any beat and he’ll tare it apart he’s already sittin where he belongs he speaks from the heart and not about what he has or just throwing shit together bc it sounds good..all you Em non-believes can eat shit.
White rappers better them Eminem
1) EDAN
2) PROMOE
3) LAZARUS JACKSON
MTV got rid of good rappers like Canibus, Mountain Brothers, KRS One, by 2001 all good rappers were wiped out from MTV and replaced by Southern rappers who have horrible English this allowed Eminem to seem to be better because he has better lyrics than a Lil Jon or Little Wayne.This allowed a generation of kids to grow up hearing bad black rappers and EM, of course they are going to think that he is better than anyone.
Hollaatme, #1 chief rocka, Raul, Lwando, Natturner, mba, and ‘Im glad’, you pretty much said all that needs to be said and covered all the angles of the debate.
I was laughing at everything that Irv Gotti said, because he said what I had always thought and what most black people I know think. I think that maybe some MCs are scared of becoming a Britney Spears, Ja Rule or Nick Cannon in one of Em’s tracks, so they won’t stand up and say what they REALLY feel about his gimmicks and overall corny vibe. I’m glad Irv Gotti had the balls to do it.
EM is wack! If he was black he would be irrelevant in hip hop but because he’s white he gets all the hype. Dre was smart when he signed him because he knew white america is 200 million strong and will support his music no matter how weak his content is. Big money big business for Dre but as far as the music he’s trash.