Crazee wrote:4Corners wrote:Eminem is set to the highest standards in hip hop.
If anyone else had songs like Never Enough, Yellow Brick Road, Like To Soldiers, Spend Some Time, Mosh, Love You More, We As Americans, Mockingbird, 3AM, Deja Vu, Music Box, Drop the Bomb On Em, Cold Wind Blows, On Fire, Seduction, Ridaz, Session One, Untitled, Almost Famous on their mediocre releases, they'd be praised and called real good albums.
But because it's Eminem, it's mediocre.
I've felt this way for a long time, too. It's not okay for Eminem to be good, he has to be fantastic or his music is totally shit. If a song doesn't have a great concept, good rhyme schemes, good flow and etc on the same track than it's garbage and not worthy of listening to.
And yet, these same folks will listen to artists who NEVER put all these things together as much as Eminem used to. Eminem is held to his own standard. Nas had this problem for awhile after Illmatic. It Was Written and I Am... were both really good albums. But they were compared to (in most people's eyes) the best album ever. So they were "garbage".
I agree with everything aside from one thing, I Am... isn't too great.
It was Written was seen a much higher light the past ten years or so. It's actually gotten classic status probably. I Am... and Nastradamus are his two worst albums by far IMO.
Here's how I rate Nas.
Illmatic - Classic. One of the great works in hip hop history.
It Was Written- Amazing album. Classic status for being so dope. if not classic, closest thing to it.
I Am... - Decent album at best. I mean it's pretty good, has some good stuff, some weak. Kind of like Relapse or Recovery for Em.
Nastradamus - His worst album IMO. His Encore. There's some stuff, some real whack shit too.
Stillmatic - A very very good album. Return to the Nas form IMO.
God's Son - Another solid, real good album. Prefer Stillmatic though.
Streets Disciple - Not as good as Stillmatic/Gods Son but better than I Am.../Nastradamus. Pretty good album.
Hip Hop Is Dead - His best album since It Was Written at the time. Hip Hop Is Dead is a classic track IMO. I love that shit.
Untitled/N*gger - A great conceptual album. Nas went there. Not classic but damn great album.
Life Is Good - Another real solid album. Some real great records, only a few weak ones. Solid.
For Em:
Slim Shady LP - Classic. Certified classic. Changed the game.
Marshall Mathers LP - Amazing album. Classic. One of the best records in hip hop history.
Eminem Show - Another classic. If not a classic, the closest thing to it. Incredible album.
Encore - His worst album IMO. Some near classic records, but his worst records are on here too, I mean there's awful shit. Decent album at best IMO.
Relapse - A solid album, a good conceptual release though. Some real good stuff, some weaker stuff is there too obviosuly. It's a pretty good album.
Recovery - A solid album. Unlike anything else he'd ever released as well. Some real good stuff, some weaker stuff, but the lows weren't nearly as low as Encore. A solid album.
Marshall Mathers LP 2 - I'm hoping we get something like Nas' Stillmatic, Hip Hop Is Dead. Something that may not be a classic (I don't feel Nas or Em can do a classic anymore, it's been too long since there classics) but is still a great album and just a notch below.