Eminem's ability to memorize his lyrics

[EminemInsider]

It's something I kind of took for granted before, but now I'm really wondering, after having watched Mac Lethal try to perform "Lookin Bro" live and realizing he didn't remember the lyrics...how the fuck does Eminem do it?

The only time I've ever seen him forget/screw up on stage is during one of his performances on the Warped Tour.

It's not even so much him remembering the songs on his albums that impresses me. It's that every time he goes to the radio station to do a "freestyle" (pre-written verse), he absolutely nails it. He even mentioned after he did the "Swag Juice" stuff that he and Mr. Porter had just come up with the ending on their way there.

My best guess is he just listens to everything he records so obsessively that he knows all his verses like the back of his hand.

[Blu]

Yeah, I've always wondered this too. But the thing is, during the "Microphone" freestyle performance, take notice that he's looking at the ground. Could there be a lyric sheet there in case he forgets? Possibly.

During one of his performances, he did mix up the last verse of "Lose Yourself", he said: "I've been booed off stage and chewed up", or something along those lines. But, hell, those lines are really interchangeable so no big deal.

[Table]

What amazes me even more is the fact that he has lyrics of other artists by heart. You can see him hyping for the likes of Obie, Jay (Renegade rooftop performance), 50 (notably at SXSW), D12 etc to perfection. Fuck! He still remembers the lyrics to Treach's and Ice-T's songs.
Canibus should take notes tbh!

[Spyder]

well any rapper should be able to memorize their own shit, you listen to it and preform it so much that youll never forget the lyrics. and thats before your preform it live. so many takes in the studio it drives into you. part of being a famous or semi-famous emcee is know your own shit. mac leathal is shit thats why lol.

@Blu, naw man its his method not to lose focus. if hes looking at people bobbing their head or reacting to a dope line might throw him off. i do that, and shit like when i say the alphabet backwards i look at the ceiling lol

and yeah thats why its so embarrassing for bis, not only should you have a battle memorized. but the fact that hes memorized all his tracks to preform on stage, when he writes a shit ton of bars, and then forgot... is pathetic

[Cube23]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4XuaeGBH_Y

It'd be pretty clear if this was edited (this is just a small portion, though) and even more clear if he was reading his lyrics...

[Guess_Who]

I've always wondered this, specially because he always says his memory sucks.
But he loves what he does and he is very perfectionist. We know he pretty much lives in the studio.
I don't think he reads during the freestyles, as Amadeo said how can someone read something that is not only in the floor, also far enough for the camera not to capture it.

[JustEnjoytheMusic]

What amazes me even more is the fact that he has lyrics of other artists by heart. You can see him hyping for the likes of Obie, Jay (Renegade rooftop performance), 50 (notably at SXSW), D12 etc to perfection. Fuck! He still remembers the lyrics to Treach's and Ice-T's songs.
Canibus should take notes tbh!

This . He doesn't just recite lyrics, he imitates the artists, adapting his voice in a way that makes it sound like the artist who originally said it. In the Youtube video "Eminem impersonates others" he imitates Canibus "I'm Canibus the rhyme analyst..." And it's absolutely perfect.

I can't remember who it was, but didn't one of the Slaughterhouse member say in an interivew a few months ago that he can be like, "The way you said that in "...", that's fantastic" and that he hears stuff in songs others don't?

[Eedee]

When you record a verse/track, you do it a lot of times. Plus you listen to it to make sure it sounds good enough to release, etc. Recording/writing/listening is enough to remember your OWN shit. Plus he's a rap-head. He listens to other rappers.

And for his Microphone freestyle, I think that's just how he wanted to perform. It's such an intense and fast-paced freestyle, I think he's in a fucking zone when he was performing; had to get his breaths and whatnot just right. When I'm recording, looking at a fixed point helps because you can picture the words being written on there as you spit. He chose the ground probably.

[Devil'sAdvocate]

I remember him saying that he listens to all his albums almost every few days.

Eminem is a stan.

But yeah it is crazy,considering all the lyrics we have not heard as well.

[Mathers]

I remember him saying that he listens to all his albums almost every few days.

When did he say that?

[Blu]

Yeah, I've always wondered this too. But the thing is, during the "Microphone" freestyle performance, take notice that he's looking at the ground. Could there be a lyric sheet there in case he forgets? Possibly.

He must have EXCELLENT vision to look at his handwritten lyrics on the ground 178 centimetres below him (have you seen how small his handwriting is?), or the hand-written lyrics must have been fucking huge, which calls for about 20 pages sprawled across the floor since the verse is so long.

In other words: no. There's no way he was reading.

True, looks like my theory is debunked.

One possibility we are not considering is that Eminem does his Westwood freestyles in more than one take. He might fuck up a few times and do it again, since the videos are edited.

This could also be possible, but isn't he performing those freestyles on live radio? Or am I wrong?

[Amaranthine]

Maybe he's autistic.

[JustEnjoytheMusic]

Maybe he's autistic.

If at one point, he'd say, "By the way, I'm an Aspie" I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
He does have a certain fascination with the rainman...

[Sam.]

I remember him saying that he listens to all his albums almost every few days.

And try not to repeat those things that he said in the future.

[TheGentlePlayer]

What amazes me even more is the fact that he has lyrics of other artists by heart. You can see him hyping for the likes of Obie, Jay (Renegade rooftop performance), 50 (notably at SXSW), D12 etc to perfection. Fuck! He still remembers the lyrics to Treach's and Ice-T's songs.
Canibus should take notes tbh!