Is Eminem Limiting Himself?

[Hopsinshadie]

Just read what I said

[Hamza1972]

Yes it is up to you to make it happen. If you don't execute and apply yourself, nobody else will. At this point, Eminem should just drop the label and go Underground. Be like Hop.

The fuck are you even talking about ...

[Hopsinshadie]

Yes it is up to you to make it happen. If you don't execute and apply yourself, nobody else will. At this point, Eminem should just drop the label and go Underground. Be like Hop. the hell with labels. just rap.

Why don't you execute yourself? Demonstrate to us how it's done.

I don't have Eminem's ability but I did I would

[Hopsinshadie]

Yes it is up to you to make it happen. If you don't execute and apply yourself, nobody else will. At this point, Eminem should just drop the label and go Underground. Be like Hop. the hell with labels. just rap.

Why don't you execute yourself? Demonstrate to us how it's done.

Lol...I like this.

I make suggestions though. Criticism, but the constructive kind.

[Hopsinshadie]

I make suggestions though. Criticism, but the constructive kind.

You're really not smart. It's almost to the point where I feel like your parents should be arrested for child abuse.

You Stan's are the worst. Get all butt hurt because I admit that MMLP2 wasn't a classic and needs enhancement.

[Hopsinshadie]

No, I'm just talking about your actual intelligence level. I don't give a fuck about other peoples' opinions about Eminem's music, it doesn't stop me from liking it any more and it's all power to you if you don't like it. But you actually have the mental capacity of a brain damaged chimp.

But if I had a brain...

I'd be dangerous!!

[kkaniff]

I don't think Em is limiting himself, I also don't think he consciously decides to focus more on his technical skills over his songwriting skills.
If you actually wrote (songs, books etc.) you'd know that it is almost impossible to say "okay, now I'm going to write Lose Yourself, a song which will be played decades from now in stadiums and commercials".
Em writes the songs, people are the ones who decide if it resonates enough with them to be considered "classic" or "deeper than rap".
Some people are as motivated by Lose Yourself as some others are when they listen to Not Afraid
...
Also, if you think Em has the ability to churn out Lose Yourself's by the dozen but chooses not to because he wants to be overly technical, then you're an idiot.

[kkaniff]

"Are Evil Twin, Rap God, Wicked Ways
dope songs? Absolutely. Am I gonna
be listening to them 10 years from
now? I'm not so sure."
Sorry, I'm grumpy in the mornings.
What I got from this, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you want an album full of Lose Yourself's?

[Kangol]

What I got from this, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you want an album full of Lose Yourself's?

This. The reason why em is still so relevant today is because he is always experimenting and changing his style. You would be complaining if he repeatedly created songs with the same flow and style as his older music. He has made, what, 8 albums now? You run out of things to say. He can't be making a track like LY or SFTM nowadays because he's already put out what he wanted to say. Imagine him trying to make a serious and emotional track about keeping up with technology or whatever. Therefore, he has to focus more on his technical ability. Remember, he calls himself the "rap" god, not the "music" god. He only cares about being the best in rap.

[VINTAGƎ]

I don't think Em is limiting himself, I also don't think he consciously decides to focus more on his technical skills over his songwriting skills.
If you actually wrote (songs, books etc.) you'd know that it is almost impossible to say "okay, now I'm going to write Lose Yourself, a song which will be played decades from now in stadiums and commercials".
Em writes the songs, people are the ones who decide if it resonates enough with them to be considered "classic" or "deeper than rap".
Some people are as motivated by Lose Yourself as some others are when they listen to Not Afraid
...
Also, if you think Em has the ability to churn out Lose Yourself's by the dozen but chooses not to because he wants to be overly technical, then you're an idiot.

I'm a journalism major. And I write screenplays and novels. I know you don't consciously plan to write a classic or else he would be doing that.

But his style change is a conscious decision. He's said in recent interviews that he likes the challenge of fitting words into songs like puzzle pieces. He likes fitting in as many words as possible.

Now I don't know if he's always felt like that, but it does seem like this is something recent. And if he is focused on word play and cramming words, then his songs are going to reflect that. I made an example in another thread

"Music is like magic, there's a certain feeling you get when you're real and you spit..."

For 2013 Eminem, that wouldn't be enough, he'd have to write it like this:

"Manic, erractically pulling a rabbit out of a cd jacket -- other words, MUSIC IS MAGIC!"

His old songs didn't feel like songs at all. It sounded like he was talking and his words just happened to rhyme. He made it seem effortless.

Now he broke the fourth wall and wants us to see just how much work he's putting into each line.

When you do that, you're going to sound different.

He can't make a Lose Yourself right now, because his mind doesn't seem to be in the "let me make a relatable song" kind of frame, it's more of a "I wonder if I can rhyme 15 syllables in a row" kind of mind frame.

[VINTAGƎ]

What I got from this, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you want an album full of Lose Yourself's?

This. The reason why em is still so relevant today is because he is always experimenting and changing his style. You would be complaining if he repeatedly created songs with the same flow and style as his older music. He has made, what, 8 albums now? You run out of things to say. He can't be making a track like LY or SFTM nowadays because he's already put out what he wanted to say. Imagine him trying to make a serious and emotional track about keeping up with technology or whatever.

He put himself in a corner because he said he's done with the personal shit. That chapter of his career is over. So now what? What are his topics gonna be?

And also, you're right, I think versatility is one of his biggest weapons and a big reason why he is still relevent in today's music but just because it's "different" doesn't mean it's good.

Kanye West is "different" every album and the last album from him I enjoyed completely from start to finish was Late Registration.

Em can be different, he can switch up his flow, switch up production, but that doesn't mean he should get a pass for all of it just because it's different. Different can be bad. Different can be a step back.

Therefore, he has to focus more on his technical ability. Remember, he calls himself the "rap" god, not the "music" god. He only cares about being the best in rap.

Which is why I say he's limiting himself. He either doesn't see the bigger picture or doesn't care. And if he doesn't care, I find that sad. He's already proven he's the best emcee. His first three albums and all his guest features during that time proved it. If that wasn't enough, the technical skill he showed on Relapse drove the point home -- he can be a technical monster when he wants to be. But that kind of shit doesn't work for every single song. Legacy was a solid song, and it just so happened that he rhymed every last word the same, for every verse. That's the challenge he set for himself. But I wonder how much better the song would have been if he wrote freely as opposed to putting that restriction on it. I wonder what lines we would have gotten as opposed to him saying "fuck, I can't put that in...it doesn't rhyme with Miami Dolphins."

[VINTAGƎ]

And I'm not saying we need an entire album of SFTM/LY songs, I'm just calling for more balance both in content and in style. Just like that accent worked really well for some songs and not for others, this super technical shit works for some songs and not others.

I don't want this to be the Eminem from here on out. Super technical, forcing lines, trying to prove himself on every verse. He doesn't need to. Like I said, I think the reception to Encore and Relapse fucked with his head big time.

There are songs that he's made since his comeback that just scream "respect me!," "like me!," "i'm still good!," and he doesn't have to do that. I don't know who he's trying to convince. You can't please everybody but that seems to be his goal. To be so technically advanced that anyone who hates on him is just a clear hater. He wants unanimous respect and that's not happening.

[Kangol]

And I'm not saying we need an entire album of SFTM/LY songs, I'm just calling for more balance both in content and in style. Just like that accent worked really well for some songs and not for others, this super technical shit works for some songs and not others.

I don't want this to be the Eminem from here on out. Super technical, forcing lines, trying to prove himself on every verse. He doesn't need to. Like I said, I think the reception to Encore and Relapse fucked with his head big time.

There are songs that he's made since his comeback that just scream "respect me!," "like me!," "i'm still good!," and he doesn't have to do that. I don't know who he's trying to convince. You can't please everybody but that seems to be his goal. To be so technically advanced that anyone who hates on him is just a clear hater. He wants unanimous respect and that's not happening.

I understand what you're saying but maybe he just can't do it? We've all heard recovery. That was a serious album like TES and no one on here likes it. However, he had concept songs (25 to life - even tho its pretty much a rip of Common's track). But maybe he has realised that he can't produce songs like LY anymore so wants to focus much more on his technical ability. I agree with you, I hope he creates more tracks like TIC and SFTM in the future but he's probably scared of trying to and the album sucking.

[kkaniff]

What are the songs on MMLP2 that you feel he's too focused on technical rhyming in?

[Hopsinshadie]

And I'm not saying we need an entire album of SFTM/LY songs, I'm just calling for more balance both in content and in style. Just like that accent worked really well for some songs and not for others, this super technical shit works for some songs and not others.

I don't want this to be the Eminem from here on out. Super technical, forcing lines, trying to prove himself on every verse. He doesn't need to. Like I said, I think the reception to Encore and Relapse fucked with his head big time.

There are songs that he's made since his comeback that just scream "respect me!," "like me!," "i'm still good!," and he doesn't have to do that. I don't know who he's trying to convince. You can't please everybody but that seems to be his goal. To be so technically advanced that anyone who hates on him is just a clear hater. He wants unanimous respect and that's not happening.

From here on out, maybe his songs should scream, ''You shouldn't like me.''

That's the best slim shady attitude.