₦airaland Forum

opensesame:
Permit me to add the 'wave ur hands in the air' stunt.

And some poor but gullible folks would wave those hands until they become sore and stiff.

A-40:
@Sauron
I have heard Common talk about The Game and Lil Wayne like they are Pac and BIG trust me he was being courteous no one respects Canibu7 to use any of his material on any of their songs that should tell your coconut head something
Are you high on Reggie Miller Lite? must Jigga and Nas be on every hip hop related DVD?

Co-signed.

Mutual respect is one of the unwritten laws of Hip Hop (Game Respect Game/Coast Respect Coast/Crew Respect Crew) . . . I remember Redman/Methodman being asked on BET what they felt about Soulja Boy and Red said it's all good, he respects him cos he's doing fine and feeding his family . . .

Plus letz get thangs straight - Methodman in that same interview chose to keep quiet . . . but you could see it in his eyes that he was in total disagreement with Red's opinion . . . KRS One and Common are not known to be opinionated beyond what they spit on records . . . you can imagine if an opinionated dude like 2pac was asked to comment on Bis 'lyrical prowess' . . .

Respect is expected even amongst humans in general . . . in public, anyone can praise his colleague to the high heavens . . . in private, Canibus ain't shiite to KRS-One and Common - how do you even know KRS-One wasn't being ironical referring to Bis' lyrics as being uncommon? . . . the dude just spits jargons - where have those uncommon lyrics led him to?? Canibus is a monumental failure.

Same Canibus that an average rapper like LL Cool J finished in one clean swipe??

@Sauron

Nas smokes Eminem. By a country mile. I could borrow a thousand tongues to say that . . . he's the definition of a true MC and Eminem isn’t close to his level of talent, lyrics, and ingenious flow . . . plus he has put out more eminent material than eminem . . . nothing Eminem has put out is close to Illmatic . . . it’s instructive that your list of greatest rap albums contains Illmatic and nutin from Eminem . . .

Nas has been very instrumental in creating part of the big image that pops up in your mind when the word "Hip Hop" is mentioned . . . he's got more depth, and most of the time, he raps about stuff that you can’t put a "For Sale" tag on . . .

Nas' biggest sin is that he ain't consistent . . . but mess that . . . for every mediocre track he's made, there are like three heavy and undeniably great tracks to smudge 'em . . .

Agreed that Nas took shots at the mainstream bandwagon for some time . . . and he failed . . . but during this period, we never forgot him - we knew that there was a real artiste in the burners . . . plus fortunately, he came back with great albums . . . and mess that, how many artistes can boast of this kind of pedigree?? . . . I mean - hittin' on success, experimenting with failure, and still being able to stage a comeback . . . we all knew how Canibus hit the final nail on his coffin with his lame attempts at going mainstream . . .

Pit both dudes against each other . . . analyze 'em without bias . . . pound for pound . . . what has Eminem got apart from spittin' bout controversies?? . . . I laugh when I hear sturvs like Eminem rhymes words that ordinarily wouldn't rhyme . . . funny, cos Rakim was the cat that invented that concept a la his Paid In Full album in 1987 (where was Eminem then?) . . . and after that, the concept became played by other MCs . . . Eminem might have taken it to a new level but does that make him the King of Rap

And hey, Eminem ain’t the best freestyler . . . stop spreading false info . . . he pens his lyrics . . . Eminem can’t even lace Biggie’s shoes as far as freestyling's concerned . . . and mess the radio thingy . . . just because you can cook up a word to rhyme with another word that someone calls out doesn't make you a good freestyler . . . there are cats who can come up with more than 5 straight minutes of knotty rhymes  . . . and spit 'em with velvety-smooth rhythm . . . and plzzz, when we’re talkin' freestyle, don’t even mention 8 mile . . . you and I know why . . .

Eminem now has a quarter of the buzz he once did . . . and that's mostly cos he's a shock value artist . . . and he just ain't shocking no more . . . nowadays, he's just strugglin' to keep the pace with which he started - prolly his reason for sucking Borat's you-know-what . . .

Quit being sentimental . . . sit down and analyze thangs properly . . . when talkin' bout Rap's Greats, Nas is in with cats like Ice Cube, KRS-One, Rakim, 2pac, Biggie . . . and I'm not even talking "Influence" . . . I'm talkin' bout an evergreen style . . . a style that refuses to die with time . . .

Nas is the quintessential MC . . . how many of his evergreen joints must I list to prove this?? Is it "If I Rule The World", "NY State of Mind", "Made You Look" . . . Is it "One Mic"?? - the vivid imagery, the powerful lyrics, the energy, the tempo . . . listen to this joint again and tell me you can't perceive the smell of the streets in "One Mic" . . .

Now this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLyYJ_X5vFg - Desperados 2

I’ve observed your penchant for being overtly sentimental about certain things . . . on the Desperados 2 track, I don't know how any neutral head'll say Canibus murked Nas, Foxy and AZ . . . what was special about Bis' lyrics/delivery on that track?

When I think "Nas", I think "Core Poet/Lyrics & Skill" . . . when I think "Eminem",  I think "Ingenious Artistry . . . aided by Controversy" . . .

Nas compared to Eminem?? . . . Holy Smoke, the major thang that makes such thoughts even conceivable is the fact that Nas does not make noise . . . Eminem is a noisemaker.

Pray, tell me - what makes Eminem different from Marilyn Manson??

eldee:
You think this is bad . . . you need to see him go on and on for Canibus
I think Bis' has got his phone bills covered

I think Em's prolly the smartest businessman since Alan Sugar


The dude had a 'relapse' for five years (making his face scarce)
He then came back with a single dissing all the popular E! celebs (Getting attention)
Released a crap album to say he's reviving hiphop (Cheap ads)
Then went on to suck Bruno's butt on MTV (Satisfying his sexual preferences)

Is this not the perfect recipe to sell 820, 000 in one week??

Plus the fact that Alan is an atheist . . . if I were God, I'll rap Eminem on the head for doubting my abilities to give him divine ideas for a good album . . .

eldee:
LOL!!! I've listened to Nas' Godson over 100 times and I've never pushed any button on the remote (apart from 'rewind let me get that part clearly')
Just 'Get Down' will spit on any song on Em's Relapse

I'm still wondering why Sauron's 'Best Lyricist' has lines like

'Faggidy, faggidy, fagidy, ragidy ann and andy, NO! ragidy, andy and andy NO!' in the best song on his album.

I swear, I was thinking it was [b]Eminem Ft Eedris Abdulkareem[/b]

Sauron would dig into the darkest pits of all the planets to convince us that Em's out of this world . . .

God's Son is a classic masterpiece . . . each joint on that album was like cold water to a thirsty soul wandering in the desert - I'm yet to see any rap album since 2002 that can compare with it . . . it's been a shitty journey all the way . . . and then Em comes after 5 years to belch in our ears . . . "Get Down" would make a minimum of 18 tracks on Eminem's Relapse get down on they weak knees . . .

The critical state of Hip Hop right now needs something a country mile more than Relapse.

@A-40

No way Xzibit could have dropped a better verse on "What's The Difference" . . . Xzibit's delivery/flow was good but Em's concept & lyrics were way better - he whupped the beat whilst engaging Dre in a beautiful conversation . . . Xzibit's like Ludacris - he just has a way of ridin' beats well . . . he ain't in Em's league in terms of lyrics.

~Sauron~:
Are you sure you listened to "Stay Wide Awake" with an open mind?
The theme of this song is violent and too disturbing.
Eminem is a story teller, whether he makes em over-disturbing is another issue cos i am sure rape victims would be suing after reading this.
He also mentioned how gun powder takes the fun outta murder that he would just start his chain saw and go vin vin.
. . . So i find songs like "Stay Wide Awake" amusing with names like Ted Bundy, Jason, Son Of Sam, Damien and Jawa from Star Wars mentioned.
Listen to this song again and follow the rape scene, how he disliked using his gun and preferred his axe like a Lumberjack.

That the song is disturbing or violent does not move a hair on me body . . . I can cope with such . . . I love horror movies to pieces . . . especially the ones with plenty of gore and an impressive plot . . . hehe, you make me remember when I used to sneak outta bed with ma younger bro to watch horror movies late in the night . . . we used ta evolve tricks to evade my mom's watchful eye/instruction on bed-time . . .

But this song was a sheer waste of a good beat . . . Eminem rides beats better than that . . . that aside, Em's focus is becoming questionable - just like he did in 3am, Same Song and Dance, Insane, etc, he just kept babbling horror themes that contained no iota of sense . . . that's the only thing that makes Underground distinct - he used symbolism to narrate his absence from the music scene for a while . . . plus the delivery/flow was amazingly dope . . . Underground reminds me of when Em started out - hungry and determined to battle his way to the top, against all odds . . . that track, coupled with Careful What You Wish For, are the only joints that remind me of the original Slim Shady (wits, wordplay, mad delivery).

What the heck's wrong with him now??

~Sauron~:
Hit Jason Voorhees/ with a 40/
Stuck a supposi[b]tory[/b]/
Up his ass and made him tell me a story/

Gave Hannibal Lector/ a fucking nectar/-ine
And sat him in the fucking fruit and vegetable section/
And gave him a lecture/

These are lyrics above Nasty Nas!!!
Matter of fact, in the game today. . . .only 2 rappers qualify as lyricists.
They are: Eminem and Canibus.
Others are 5 notches below em and that includes your Jay-Z and Kanye West.

And what's the biggity in those lines

Christ , when will you stop this heresy?? . . . Eminem ain't nutin but a crumpled piece of paper when compared to Nas . . . you're really stuck on the clowning ish and horror stories that Em churns out all the time . . . Jeez, are you a kid??

Apart from wordplay, tell me one thing that Eminem has that'll make anyone consider him a serious MC?? . . . you need to sit down and analyse thangs properly . . . you're too carried away by Em's meaningless babbles . . .

In the class of MCs who command mad respect, Eminem ain't sh*t.

da-whizkid:
Talking about decent songs Relapse can bost of 10 or more. 'careful wat you wish for','3am','My Darling','Beautiful','Deja Vu','Hello'(altho it was anoda party-type Eminem),'Insane','Old time sake','stay wide awake','my mom' and 'UNDERGROUND' . . . IMO Relapse's better than SSLP,ENCORE,and of course TES although slightly?

By the whiskers of General Moudallah . . . do you listen to music through your nostrils

How can the following crap be referred to as decent songs?? - 3am, Deja Vu, Hello, Stay Wide Awake . . . all these are shitty songs . . . and if I need to screen that list further, Beautiful and My Mom are just average tracks - I can never put 'em on rewind!!!

I pray they're pretty cool songs.

Azadus ain't crap . . . he's made of good material.

kay29000:
What irv was just trying to say is that when it comes to rap, real rap, no gimick or comic shit, then u can't say em is d best.

True that.

You ommited the word "NOT":

I'm not disputing d fact that he is a very good rapper. Infact, he is great, but definately NOT d best rapper alive.

Though not directed at me, I had to respond to this:

Dead Wrong(he killed Biggie)

You're dead wrong . . .

You're a fan of comedy no doubt . . . you disrespect Biggie with that ish dawg . . . go listen to that track again and tell me what Em sounds like beside Biggie . . . dude was just clowning as usual . . . BIG ain't got no time for clowning . . . back in his days he only did collabos with serious fellas like Meth, Nas, Jigga . . . when he appeared on Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear", even serious MCs like LL Cool J, Busta and Mack himself were taken to da cleaners - they were shown what time it is . . .

Biggie?? maybe you missed the many witty lines in that track such as this:

Jacked her then I asked her who's the man, she said "B-I-G"
Then I bust in her E-Y-E . . . 

Em was just talkin' devil worship, cannibalism and ish . . . he tried though - he spun that verse during his hungry days - the underground era of his life before he met Dre, when he was still globe-trotting to battle MCs . . . and then the SSLP plus MMLP era . . .

Nowadays, he keeps obeying the Law of Diminishing Returns.

~Sauron~:
I actually think this joint is better than "Guilty Conscience".
He started a chain-saw here and there's no Slim Shady persona without a chain-saw buzzing.

No way.

Maybe it's the chemistry between Em and Dre . . . they both flow like the Nile intertwined with the Niger . . . the synergy between both in "Guilty Conscience" is unbeatable . . . what's more?? . . . the beat is awesome . . . the lyrics/rhymes are amazing . . . the concept is friggin' fascinating . . . the tempo/tension in the song is to-die-for (the way the chorus and rap verses move with the narration is remarkable) . . . the theme is impressive (the constant battle between peops and their conscience) . . . the climax is astounding . . . My Darling doesn't come within 500,000 miles of Guilty Conscience . . .

Like I said before - it's prolly the bond Em has with Dre . . . don't forget that Dre discovered and mentored him . . . Em without Dre is like a traveller without a map . . . 

The funny rhyme pattern is the reason why the song is great.
4 Multi-syllabic rhymes in one sentence, the same word count in each sentence, the flow switch-ups, funny accent.
The hook was a killer. . . . Soon as my flow starts, I compose art like the ghost of Mozart]
It was the 2nd verse that he blew me apart.
It seems you rushed through this paying attention to the funny accent. . . . .I want you to watch out for the inner rhymes, end rhymes and multis.
This song is lyrically ill. . . . . .Biggie would be proud.

The funny rhyme pattern does nutin to the song . . .

The multi-syllabic rhymes were ok . . . but the same count in each sentence was very boring - he ended up wasting a nice beat, drawing his words to make the same count for each line . . . that ain't good enough when talkin' bout a good rap song . . . one of the essential elements of flow is how you ride the beat . . . you oughtta ride it in multiferous, unpredictable swings . . . Heavens, by the time you're through, the beat shoulda feel like a woman who just got gang-raped . . . 

How many multis can Jigga or Nas put in a sentence??

You keep clowning with this Jigga/Nas ish . . . y'know'what?? I got only one comment on this - I'll wait till Eminem tells a story from the end before I consider comparing him to Nas . . . 

U don't like horror themes?
Hannibal Lector, American Psycho, SAW, etc.
It ain't bad. The song was inspired by "Silence Of The Lambs"

I can bet I love horror movies/themes more than you do.

The slasher series, the zombie ones, the haunted-house sturvs, name it . . . it's a habit that has stuck since I was about 8 years . . . 

What I meant by 3am being crap is that it's just too watery - flow, lyrics, etc . . . plus, unlike Underground where he employed symbolism,  Em was just rambling in 3am and making no iota of sense.

Tell me any rap song in the last decade that is as complete as "Underground"
Being complete, i mean. . . . .flow, delivery, sick beats, multis, dope rhymes, intensity, anger.

Don't push this too far . . .

One Mic encapsulates everything you listed there and even more . . . its theme/concept is awesome . . . the rhyme cadence unbeatable . . . the tempo/flow change is amazing . . . and I could go on . . .

Maybe I should ask - what's a decade?? Need I remind you that it's ten years?? When was One Mic released??

2002 . . . that's a rap song the Hip Hop Community's yet to get over . . . a song that elevated the Hip Hop Game before our very eyes . . . an incredible joint . . . lyrically detailed . . . soul-stirring . . . one rap song too many . . . it sh*ts on the best of the best joints from Eminem's stables . . . add "Made You Look" to that and Eminem's credo goes further downhill . . . 

Don't even compare Nas' mediocre efforts with Eminem's best . . . you can compare "Underground" with Outkast's "Ms Jackson" . . . 

The bonus tracks shoulda replaced "We Made You" and "Crack A Bottle"

Agreed.

Not too many people knew about "Encore" had bonus tracks. "We As Americans" and "Love U More"
2 outstanding tracks that coulda made "Encore" an undeniable classic.

Encore was a show of shame . . . period . . . no ifs, buts and maybes.

"My Mom" is dope, good beats and nice rhyme patterns.

The beat is the most significant ingredient . . . flow/rhyme patterns are just ok.

I will put this album just below MMLP.
It is lyrically better than "Encore", "SSLP" and "TES".
His stylez was different here. It's so UNIQUE.

MMLP??  . . . must be an album called Mother Mary's Lil' Pony . . . 

If it's Eminem's MMLP . . . the distance between it and Relapse is as vast as that between Heaven and Earth . . .

Of course it sh*ts on Encore (I always wish I could remove that album from Eminem's catalogue) . . . SSLP?? you've gotta be dreaming . . . it doesn't even come close to TES.

obinna5000:
Eminem's Relapse is still at the No. 1 position in the United States of America.

I'm tired of hearing statements like this . . .

That an album is number one in Heaven and on Earth means shyte . . . a lot of factors can account for an album's performance.

Hehe . . . lotta sparks been flyin' round here with reckless abandon . . . 

@Sauron

Since you've been championing the cause of the Relapse album with so much fervour . . . I decided to listen to the tracks that you listed as the best on the album . . .

And here are my quick thoughts:

My Darling - Nice joint . . . it's Eminem versus the sinister/diabolic spirit working within him . . . however, it's average when compared with another Eminem song with a similar concept - "Guilty Conscience".

Old Time's Sake (feat Dr Dre) - Another nice joint . . . Eminem has a natural chemistry with Dr Dre (Say What You Say, Encore, etc are evidence of this).

Stay Wide Awake - Nice beat, crappy delivery . . . with some strange 'n' funny rhyme pattern/intonation in verse 2 . . . I expected more - with all the hype from Sauron . . . disappointing.

3am - Crap . . . just another tale of horror . . .

Beautiful - Eminem decides to sound pretty 'normal' here . . . no thrills or frills . . . good lyrics . . . I don't dig the track but I guess it'll be liked by some as it's a deviation from the recurrent themes on the album.

Bagpipes from Baghdad - One word - Crap (lyrics, delivery and all).

Underground - Now this is the point at which I'll have to agree with Sauron . . . this joint is the best I've heard thus far . . . dope delivery . . . great wordplay . . . Eminem's figurative use of language and symbolic themes here is awesome . . . here's a man talkin' bout how he's been underground (musically speaking) for a while and he paints vivid movie-like pictures to say this . . . great hook too - reminds me of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana/O Fortuna (that wonderful intro song for Ice Cube in the Up In Smoke Tour) . . . though I won't call it the best rap joint in a decade, it's a sure contender for an Eminem Greatest Hits compilation.

Hello - Average . . . however, the flow reaches its best in the 3rd verse . . .

Careful What You Wish For - This is another dope joint . . . reminds me of the dope Eminem that I knew in Love Me (feat Obie Trice & 50 Cent) . . . hook reminds me of "How Come" (with D-12) . . . this joint is the second best IMO - after Underground . . . just that it's too short.

I also listened to: De Ja Vu - crap . . . Same Song and D.a.n.c.e - average . . . My Mom - that pseudo-"What's The Difference" beat makes this song good, plus the song is ok . . . another Eminem Vs. His Mom song - a must on each and every Eminem album . . .

Haven't had the privilege of listening to the rest.

He frequently employs themes from horror flicks on the album (Friday the 13th, Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, etc) . . .

Overall, I have the feeling that Relapse was inspired by SSLP - Eminem tried to bring his Slim Shady persona back on this album . . . it's an average album . . . no where near SSLP (the original/classical fiendish side of Eminem), MMLP (his most serious work till date), and TES (good album, notches below SSLP).

This is no review . . . just my immediate thoughts.

chiogo:
I thought this topic was about what each person thinks. I don't see the room for argument. Just state your opinion and keep it moving, I see people tryna turn this into another Jay-z vs Nas issue.

Co-signed.

Yes o . . . but the difference is that you already have notice of what you're about to see . . . it's different from paying for a live show, only to be given a pre-recorded performance.

It was staged.

dtw_sola:
I think the rap/hip-hop genre usually just does not grant itself well to live performance. I've been to a few quality hip-hop concerts (Roots, Black Star, Common, even Jay-Z), but most were complete rubbish. Hip Hop artists for the most part are talentless, imho. Rap is fun to listen to on your car stereo, but it is hardly well replicated on the stage. I've been lucky to see live performances like Prince, Femi Kuti, Lagbaja, and even a few rock concerts, and I would see any of these before going to a live rap show again.

My friend stop making all these general and unfounded assertions . . .

It's all in the engineering/sound-mixing . . . you don't expect that the kind of mixing that'll go well with rock, pop, afrobeat, even fuji and akpala would be suitable for a rap performance . . . Rap is different from all other genres of music - it is a spoken word form of music . . . there are not so many engineers that are good at setting up a proper sound mix for Rap Concerts . . . most of 'em excel at other genres cos they're sung and not spoken anyway . . .

It also depends on the artiste too . . . some artistes are so skilled they can improvise with whatever crap sound mixing you give 'em . . . Roots, Black Star, Common, and Jay-Z that you mentioned - were their performances as dismal as what some Naija artistes do on stage?? . . . I've seen Roots, Common and Jay-Z and they were cool on stage . . . have you ever watched Nas on stage before?? what of Q-Tip, Redman/Methodman? . . . I can go on.

You should have been at the Dre/Ice Cube/Snoop/Eminem- led Up In Smoke Tour . . .

Bottom line is - letz hear your raw voice . . . don't lip-sync . . . it's disgusting . . . I might as well go see a karaoke performance.

~Sauron~:
"Gimme The Loot" is one classic example. It's like a movie of 2 hustlers running the blocks and snatching money from pregnant women.

Gimme The Loot?? That is even the least of his story-telling abilities . . .

Are you forgetting "Somebody's Got To Die" . . . "Niggaz Bleed" . . . "I Got A Story To Tell" . . . "You're Nobody" . . . "Juicy" . . . "Respect" (with Diana King)??

That was one thang Biggie had that made him tower above his peers - the ability to tell a story with the art of Leonardo da Vinci . . . flow seamlessly like the Mississippi . . . and rhyme endlessly like he's a rhyme factory . . .

Biggie not only rapped . . . he was the definition of a total MC.

@A-40

Yes, "Say What You Say", "Bizness", "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", "Sing for the Moment", "Soldier", "Till I Collapse" are some of my top songs on TES . . . just that some tracks spoiled my mood silly to the extent that I tend to forget such tracks are on that album . . . like Cleaning Out My Closet and White America.

I'll take time to compare SSLP and TES - track for track . . . and I'll get back to you.

~Sauron~:
"Made You Look"??
Eminem's "Stay Wide Awake" would send it to the hell it belongs to.
Cheese n Rice. . . . .When would you cop "Relapse"?? You are wasting time, amigo.
It would soon be out of circulation. It has sold platinum already in Australia and India.

Is Stay Wide Awake better than "Lose Yourself" or "Kill You" . . . or "Till I Collapse"?? . . . Even "Lose Yourself", with all the multies and in-rhymes, would lose itself to "Made You Look".

Anyways, I'm yet to cop the album so I won't say much on that . . . the few songs I heard were discouraging to say the least . . . hence my hesitation . . . but on your word, I'll cop it.

Including Jay-Z and Nas.

Nah . . . I actually meant Proof and Bizarre . . .   . . . oops, I forgot - Devin da Dude too . . .  

Simply put. . . . . .Eminem is 3 people in one.
Slim Shady, Eminem and Marshall Mathers.
He was basically Marshall Mathers on "Encore" talking about "Mockingbird" and "Toy Soldiers".
White boy is back now as "Slim Shady". Listen to "Stay Wide Awake" where he said he would make a woman's cunt wider by fucking her with an umbrella and make the shit open up inside her. Shit is nasty but it's horrorcore.

Semantics.

Was he not Marshall Mathers on MMLP?? Or why did he name it as such?? . . . and what's new about him saying nasty things?? He's been like that from day one so sh*t ain't new to me.

Till I Collapse, Sing For The Moment, Business, Square Dance, Drips,
Without Me was the weakest on that album. The one he did with Haile(his daughter) was better than Without Me.

Ya opinion.

The multies in "Without Me" would swallow those five tracks remixed to make one . . . maybe you missed it cos of his childish-just-phucking-around style . . . listen to the glorious exit of the joint . . . in verse 3:

But sometimes the shit just seems
everybody only wants to discuss me
So this must mean I'm dis-gus-ting
But it's just me, I'm just obscene
No I'm not the first king of controversy
I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley

If truly we accept Eminem to be the best thing to happen to wordplay after Biggie . . . you wouldn't dare compare it with Haile . . .

Haile? You've gotta be joking!!

~Sauron~:
Eminem's Encore or Relapse??
You will still get 18 good tracks on Encore, same as Relapse.
The ones that are dope there are THRICE as good as what Nas/Jigga put out these days.

Nas' "Made You Look" would swallow like one-third of the tracks on both albums put together . . . MMLP and SSLP . . . with TES squeezed in for convenience sake . . . are the only defining albums from the stables of Eminem.

It's a matter of opinion.
Loads of Eminem fans actually believe TES is better than SSLP and MMLP.

Half-part of the Eminem show??
TES is better than SSLP.

Joke . . .

SSLP was the album that defined the very essence of Eminem and brought out his Slim Shady persona . . . his fiendish-albeit-not-to-be-considered-serious character was excellently delivered through that album . . . on MMLP, sh*t gets even more serious . . . "Just Don't Give a F**k", "Bad Meets Evil", "If I Had", "97' Bonnie & Clyde", "Criminal", "Kill You", etc - that's what the real Eminem's made of . . . the flow was seamless, the delivery was dope, the wordplay was awesome . . . dude did not even sound like a white rapper . . . he schooled a lot of core black rappers IMO . . .

After that, dude kinda lost his steam . . . on TES, he was just screaming himself hoarse . . . just sounded angry at nothing . . . though it contains one of my top Em tracks (Without Me) . . . it was a significantly new but irritating Eminem . . . he started sounding like a dope Vanilla Ice . . . what was all that noise about?? 'White America' my butt . . .

~Sauron~:
These days, Jigga and Nas struggle to have 6 decent songs on an album of 20 songs.

You bug . . .  

Slow down . . . and wipe that lie off your lips . . . how many decent songs are on Eminem's Encore or Relapse?? I still swing to all the tracks on Nas' God's Son till date . . . how long ago was that?? A decade??

Have u ever skipped a track on "7 Day Theory", "All Eyez On Me", "Life After Death" or "The Eminem Show"?

On the Eminem Show, "Cleaning Out My Closet", as popular as it was, was trash IMO . . . most of the other tracks were ok but way below Em's standards as set by SSLP and MMLP . . .

Letz be real . . . after MMLP and a half part of The Eminem Show . . . Eminef ain't friggin' no more.

~Sauron~:
I have all the albums Jigga has made and he is not ALL THAT!!!

He's def'ly switched his style . . . anytime I look at him, I can't help but remember the days of Reasonable Doubt and other street-conscious albums like Life & Times of S. Carter Vol. 3 . . .

He doesn't impress me atimes but on some occassions, he seems to soar on the wings of Rap . . . well . . . overall, I'll still consider him a good MC.

Aiight . . . I know A-40's more exposed to Jay-Z's music than I am so I can't even comment on this one . . . debate's open-ended . . . and I'm learning a thing or two.

~Sauron~:
Is he not? Forget the legendary status of Nas and Jigga these days.
I am sure you still think Mohammed Ali and Joe Fraizer will beat Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring.
They should retire and spare us their moronic prattle.

You've got to have an undiscovered talent in comedy . . .

I want to believe you said that in haste . . . or you didn't even say it at all . . . tell me that was just you being overtly sarcastic!!!

Kindly streamline that list . . .

Who amongst those rappers listed is the best??

And to the person that just posted . . . longevity is the only thing Biggie lacked . . . and it wasn't his doing . . . or undoing . . . and if in an exam, a fella scores 8 or 9 of 10 marks, you don't disqualify him . . . and hey, he may or may not have fallen off as at now - that's for you lot to speculate.

His 2 albums were masterpieces . . . compare his works with that of some other rappers and they'll be like the biblical Moses' rod swallowing that of the Egyptian magicians . . .

FYI, I tend to rate most MCs' works by just two albums . . . two albums are sufficient enough to weigh a rapper's worth . . . and mind you, you didn't ask for the greatest (in terms of legacy, influence, even lyrical content), else my reply'll have been 2pac . . .

Thankfully, you respect my opinion . . . feeling's mutual bruv.

@rockyfela

Haven't seen the videos but I know 2face ain't that bad on stage . . . I mean - I've seen some of his live performances that weren't good enough but overall, he's good.

I know there are many indices of a good stage performance but what I'm even particularly on is the raw voice . . . I saw 2face sing his African Queen a cappella and though I do not like the song, his voice was enthralling . . . I'm -vely on some artistes like Olu Maintain who cannot only sing properly, he sings totally off-key and off-beat most times.

Two million raging hurricanes in a zillion thundering tornadoes . . . for the umpteenth time we ain't talking about live bands only . . . all we're saying is this - when it's stage performance, an artiste should and ought to sing with his raw voice . . . could be a band or instrumental . . . RAW VOICE!!!

kay29000:
Me and you know there r more than 50 rappers that'l murder nelly on the mic.

50 rappers that'll murder Nelly?? I can list 50,000 upcoming rappers that'll murk that dork . . .

With strong emphasis on the word "best" as it connotes general rap skills and artistry . . . the best rapper ever to bless the mic has got to be Biggie.

Yep . . . but right now, we're talkin' bout those who either fart (through their mouths of course) on those instrumentals . . . or lip-sync . . . it's daylight murder.

@opensesame

Hehe . . . you're crazy . . .  

Don't pay Nigerian tomfools no mind . . . that's why virtually every institution in Nigeria has collapsed . . . they're satisfied with every mediocre thing that comes their way . . . they're ok with the epileptic power supply, the so-called leaders who're actually rulers, the crap music being churned out by peops who're better off selling puff-puff . . .

And when some fella tries to decry some of these acts, some mules would come up and say "There's no need to complain, we can manage"!

You can sell poop to some Nigerians if it's well packaged.