[2Wycked]

Let's take it back to late '90's and early 2000's when a particular white male was getting all the Baby Boomer's panties in an uproar. . .

Eminem gave voice to a particular sliver of America: adolescent and young adult males. Previous generations had Metallica and some other gay shit, but Eminem spoke to an entire generation of disaffected miscreants and ambivalent underachievers otherwise known as young males.

Em's colorful, over-the-tops lyrics were exactly what the doctor ordered: a guy who understood exactly what we were going through. We watched our parent's marriage fail, we saw their petty political fights that had nothing to do with us -- we felt their ambivalence. Eminem was angry for the same reasons we were angry: Why the fuck should we invest in a society that doesn't give a shit about us?

He also existed before the rise of social justice correct-think, crafting rhymes that would make a Tumblrette have a nuclear meltdown in 140 characters or less:

Quote:

My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge
That'll stab you in the head
whether you're a fag or lez
Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest
Pants or dress - hate fags? The answer's "yes"
Homophobic? Nah, you're just heterophobic
Staring at my jeans, watching my genitals bulging (Ooh!)
That's my motherfucking balls, you'd better let go of em
They belong in my scrotum, you'll never get hold of em
Hey, it's me, Versace
Whoops, somebody shot me!
And I was just checking the mail
Get it? Checking the 'male'?
How many records you expecting to sell
after your second LP sends you directly to jail?
C'mon!-- Relax guy, I like gay men
Right, Ken? Give me an amen (AAA-men!)
Please Lord, this boy needs Jesus
Heal this child, help us destroy these demons
Oh, and please send me a brand new car
And a prostitute while my wife's sick in the hospital
Preacher preacher, fifth grade teacher
You can't reach me, my mom can't neither
You can't teach me a goddamn thing cause
I watch TV, and Comcast cable
and you ain't able to stop these thoughts
You can't stop me from topping these charts
And you can't stop me from dropping each March
with a brand new CD for these fucking retards
Duhhh, and to think, it's just little ol' me
Mr. "Don't Give A Fuck," still won't leave

Some gems:

He even flashed a softer side on his album The Eminem Show:

I respect his second act as an entertainer, but his first act is the one I will always remember him for.

[Sonoma]

For someone who has successfully wasted half his adult life, he's done some mind blowing shit.

Also notable is the D12 song "How come" for directly addressing Eminem's bitchassness about Kim

[Honorable Man]

I love Eminem, but he really needs to retire. The two most recent songs he has released are some of the worst music he's ever made. And that's from someone who actually thought Relapse was one of his best albums.

[Pride male]

I appreciate his daughter. Would bang.

[porscheguy]

I think I was just a little too old for Eminem. He's got a bad problem with letting bitches get into his head.

[LINUX]

I've noticed his voice has changed over the years, he went from sounding nasally to sounding angry.

I prefer the angry voice. I actually thought his last album was the best. I really liked the "headlights" song where he finally apologized to his mom. Sounds like she's in pretty bad shape.

[Cr33pin]

(07-14-2015 11:43 PM)Pride male Wrote:  

I appreciate his daughter. Would bang.

[Lucky]

I remember listening to the MMLP back in middle school. It blew my mind that someone could be that skilled at making horrible and funny shit rhyme. Later it introduced me to some other rap. I think for a lot of suburban kids Eminem was a gateway drug to hip hop.

[Goldin Boy]

Great thread, OP

He definitely in my top 10 rappers of all time. A good battle rapper who can actually make coherent and catchy songs. Great story-telling ability, great(although sometimes forced) multis, good breath control. If I knew someone who want to learn how to rap I'd tell them to listen to Em and/or Jay-Z.

I remember him best for the beef he has with other musicians.

His dissing pop singers was hilarious. He was the only celebrity who had the balls to call them out for their formulaic and vapid songs:

and

And his "feud" Ray Benzino beef can be summed up in this one video:

He came from the gutter, overcame tons of adversity, and got successful by never being afraid to speak his mind. Aside from the drugs, he's a great role model for young men.

[Conscious Pirate]

As a hip hop purist (fuck all that gangsta shit - that goes completely against the culture - why it started & what it was about) it was always about the elements for me.

I wanted to hate this cracker as soon as I found out about him.

Problem was, I just couldn't.

The dude is on Beastie Boys level of black culture subversion & rhymes like a motherfucker - witty, intelligent & thought provoking - no guns, money & bitches for Marshall Mathers. Not only that, but his videos are extremely well done & he commits in his performance like noone else.

As a trained actor myself, I know this guy has so much potential outside rap if he so chose to cut out & do something else.

Haven't seen 8 Mile & it's not on the list but I have mad respect for him, the way he has asserted & carried himself throughout his career & I only want to see more of him sticking up his finger the way Em knows how.





Peace.

[vinman]

I thought he was Vanilla Ice 2.0 until I actually listened to him. This dude can flow. He's at his best lyrically when he's fighting his inner demons. So I'm begging for one of you west coast playas to make his daughter a single mom/ Alpha widow. This way I can expect a banging ass LP to drop shortly after that.

[Cr33pin]

you say that you want your punchlines a little more compact
well shawty I'm that man
these other cats ain't metaphorically where I'm at man
I gave Bruce Wayne a Valium and said
settle ya fucking ass down I'm ready for combat, man
get it calm Batman?

[It_is_my_time]

Going to college in the late 1990's, when MTV still played music videos, I distinctly remember when two music videos came out. Because they just grabbed your attention, but more so because everyone on campus was talking about them.

Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
Eminem - My Name Is

Britney Spears, for obvious reasons, she just showed up on our TV out of no where.

Eminem because it was something we never heard before. It was so different. A rapper, joking around, saying crazy things, and it all flowed so well.

Also reminds me of the days before the internet was huge. Today you hear about things long before they appear on TV due to the internet. Back in those days, the TV lead the way. Things have really changed.

[Aer]

Also one of the funniest songs I've ever heard.

[2Wycked]

Alas, one can only embed five videos per post, so I had to cut my original post off.

Like vinman said, Em was best when he was fighting his inner demons. He was always very genuine -- often to a fault:

I distinctly remember listening to this song when I was in high school and it scaring the dogshit out of me:

I don't even know where I found this track, probably ripped it off Napster or Limewire or something -- sounds like a song off Soul Caliber or something:

Like somebody said above, Em was an introduction to rap and/or hip/hop for alot of white kids. However, video games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater also introduced rap to milk-behind-the-ears kids like me (both off these tracks are of THPS 4):