"Old Em" vs "New Em" (My Theory)

[Corpse_Welder]

did you read that on wikipedia? MMLP is what got his name in the mouths of Tipper Gore and parental activist groups. Read what I said again, I said MMLP was where house-wives even knew Eminem. SSLP wasn't nearly as controversial

[TheBoss123]

The change is us. We look for every little thing he does wrong. If none of us had those nostalgia goggles on, we could nitpick his older stuff too. He hasnt gotten worse, not everything he puts out is up to caliber with his old stuff, but eminem is still a phenomenal artist. He was hungry back then and he is now, the difference is whats motivating him. Hes doing it now purely because he loves it, the financial incentive isnt as prominent anymore because he could quit now put his daughters through school and still have a trust fund for them, and live live lavishly until the day he dies. Rap God is one of the most impressive things iv heard from him, period. IMO. that song, i havent had a song make my jaw phsyically drop and just sit there and listen, in a long long time. completely blew me away. Hes evolved, and we may not appreciate all his stylistic choices, but hes still just as good as he was when he first started.

[ladelsofgravy]

em knew controversy before mmlp, but mmlp solidified it

[SliK]

did you read that on wikipedia? MMLP is what got his name in the mouths of Tipper Gore and parental activist groups. Read what I said again, I said MMLP was where house-wives even knew Eminem. SSLP wasn't nearly as controversial

Why do you think The MMLP was so controversial?

Songs like "Who Knew" and "The Way I Am" are direct responses to the criticisms of his music.

Songs like "Kill You" and "Criminal" are ironic, exaggerated songs as a direct response to the criticisms of his music.

With lyrics like the following, you're going to claim he wasn't already controversial?
"Sick sick dreams of picnic scenes, two kids, sixteen
with M-16's and ten clips each
And them shits reach through six kids each
And Slim gets blamed in Bill Clint's speech to fix these streets?"
-Remember Me

"Gimme the mic, let me recite, 'til Timothy White
pickets outside the Interscope offices every night
What if he's right? I'm just a criminal, makin a living
off of the world's misery - what in the world gives me the right
to say what I like, and walk around flippin the bird"
-Bitch Please II

"I take each individual degenerate's head and reach into it
just to see if he's influenced by me if he listens to music
And if he feeds into this shit he's an innocent victim
and becomes a puppet on the string of my tennis shoe"
-I'm Back

"Yeah, I probably got a couple of screws up in my head loose
But no worse, than what's going on in your parents' bedrooms
Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't
But it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose"
-The Real Slim Shady

If you don't get that, then you really don't get the point of the album lol

[RayMcTechGuy]

Shit Shat

[VINTAGƎ]

I think he just sort of knocked the fourth wall down with this new version of himself.

Old Em went down smooth. It literally felt like he was talking and it was pure coincidence he was making words rhyme.

"That's why we -- seize the moment, try to freeze it and own it, squeeze it and hold it, cause we consider these minutes golden."

Lyrically sick, smooth, and just sounded like a fleshed out sentence that just happened to rhyme.

New Em knocked down that wall and is just showing he can be more lyrical than any other emcee. Words are jammed into each other, awkward pauses on words to make them rhyme, etc etc.

Not only that, but a lot of the time the subject is gibberish. Although Rap God has a lot of content that he just happens to rap fast, there is very little filler on Rap God and he actually addresses some hot topics.

But typically, new Em is more concerned with technical skill than emotional provocation.

Rap God is miles ahead of SFTM in terms of lyrical skill -- but what song will stand the test of time?

[SliK]

Rap God is miles ahead of SFTM in terms of lyrical skill -- but what song will stand the test of time?

No, it isn't.

[VINTAGƎ]

Rap God is miles ahead of SFTM in terms of lyrical skill -- but what song will stand the test of time?

No, it isn't.

From a technical stand point it most certainly is. You can argue content, beat, and stuff like that but if we're talking about from a purely putting words together stand point, Rap God is extremely technical.

[mwm5952]

^ Couldn't agree more

[Corpse_Welder]

did you read that on wikipedia? MMLP is what got his name in the mouths of Tipper Gore and parental activist groups. Read what I said again, I said MMLP was where house-wives even knew Eminem. SSLP wasn't nearly as controversial

Why do you think The MMLP was so controversial?

Songs like "Who Knew" and "The Way I Am" are direct responses to the criticisms of his music.

Songs like "Kill You" and "Criminal" are ironic, exaggerated songs as a direct response to the criticisms of his music.

With lyrics like the following, you're going to claim he wasn't already controversial?
"Sick sick dreams of picnic scenes, two kids, sixteen
with M-16's and ten clips each
And them shits reach through six kids each
And Slim gets blamed in Bill Clint's speech to fix these streets?"
-Remember Me

"Gimme the mic, let me recite, 'til Timothy White
pickets outside the Interscope offices every night
What if he's right? I'm just a criminal, makin a living
off of the world's misery - what in the world gives me the right
to say what I like, and walk around flippin the bird"
-Bitch Please II

"I take each individual degenerate's head and reach into it
just to see if he's influenced by me if he listens to music
And if he feeds into this shit he's an innocent victim
and becomes a puppet on the string of my tennis shoe"
-I'm Back

"Yeah, I probably got a couple of screws up in my head loose
But no worse, than what's going on in your parents' bedrooms
Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't
But it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose"
-The Real Slim Shady

If you don't get that, then you really don't get the point of the album lol

I remember the day SSLP dropped. Nobody cared but politicians, as I said in my previous post. It was the PC police that went after it like they do with everything. MMLP was when mothers took notice and Eminem was all anyone could talk about. I was there, I understand the album. But the thing with Em is he loves being the center of controversy so he also helped play it up. But TES was the end of the storm, until the whole gun incident.

[DAngeloBailey]

I don't get why people are saying Rap God is so amazing lyrically. It's really not. The flow is what's insane. I think a lot of people are confusing the two.

[SliK]

did you read that on wikipedia? MMLP is what got his name in the mouths of Tipper Gore and parental activist groups. Read what I said again, I said MMLP was where house-wives even knew Eminem. SSLP wasn't nearly as controversial

Why do you think The MMLP was so controversial?

Songs like "Who Knew" and "The Way I Am" are direct responses to the criticisms of his music.

Songs like "Kill You" and "Criminal" are ironic, exaggerated songs as a direct response to the criticisms of his music.

With lyrics like the following, you're going to claim he wasn't already controversial?
"Sick sick dreams of picnic scenes, two kids, sixteen
with M-16's and ten clips each
And them shits reach through six kids each
And Slim gets blamed in Bill Clint's speech to fix these streets?"
-Remember Me

"Gimme the mic, let me recite, 'til Timothy White
pickets outside the Interscope offices every night
What if he's right? I'm just a criminal, makin a living
off of the world's misery - what in the world gives me the right
to say what I like, and walk around flippin the bird"
-Bitch Please II

"I take each individual degenerate's head and reach into it
just to see if he's influenced by me if he listens to music
And if he feeds into this shit he's an innocent victim
and becomes a puppet on the string of my tennis shoe"
-I'm Back

"Yeah, I probably got a couple of screws up in my head loose
But no worse, than what's going on in your parents' bedrooms
Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't
But it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose"
-The Real Slim Shady

If you don't get that, then you really don't get the point of the album lol

I remember the day SSLP dropped. Nobody cared but politicians, as I said in my previous post. It was the PC police that went after it like they do with everything. MMLP was when mothers took notice and Eminem was all anyone could talk about. I was there, I understand the album. But the thing with Em is he loves being the center of controversy so he also helped play it up. But TES was the end of the storm, until the whole gun incident.

The gun incident happened before TES

[SliK]

Rap God is miles ahead of SFTM in terms of lyrical skill -- but what song will stand the test of time?

No, it isn't.

From a technical stand point it most certainly is. You can argue content, beat, and stuff like that but if we're talking about from a purely putting words together stand point, Rap God is extremely technical.

You mean it has more rhymes.. Gotcha.

[trentimus]

Old Em - Genuinely did not give a fuck
new Em - Made Relapse because it's what he wanted to make then bashed it because all the Stans did.

He cares now and that makes all the "I am the bad controversial rapper" shit go out the window so he loses some of the effect he once had. That and as someone already said.. He's not hitting everything musically, he is over concerned with the technicality of things.

He is really leaning on punch lines these days too.. MMLP2 must show story telling with content other than massacring people lol

[trentimus]

I don't get why people are saying Rap God is so amazing lyrically. It's really not. The flow is what's insane. I think a lot of people are confusing the two.

^ THIS..

SFTM is one of Eminem's lyrical high points for me.. Just incredible everything on that song though.