Rap God (often confused and inconsistent but a good track)

[ladelsofgravy]

My opinion piece.

First I'll state the obvious. From a perspective of lyricism, delivery and flow, Eminem has proved himself as capable as ever. In that regard, he has been as clever as he ever had been. It easily rivals and arguably surpasses Eminem Show in that regard. And for that, I'm happy.

But it also feels like it would've made better mixtape material than something on an album. Rap God will be long remembered for it's lyricism, but in terms of it's concept and impact, it's lacking.

It feels like a combination of so many things. It meanders like an entertaining and often hilarious rap song should. But it's overwhelming, for better or worse.

He wants to be modern and old school at the same time. He throws lots of praise to old school rappers and his old works, but it feels like he's leaning on it rather than advancing something truly new.

With Eminem's older material, he never had to sacrifice anything. He delivered on all ends. But over the past few years, he has displayed lots of brilliance, strong songwriting and lyrical prowess, but only in bits and flashes. He rarely combined all of his assets into a wholesome package. And this package for example has a weak hook.

Rap God is one of those songs which feels like a giant flash of his talent, yet doesn't feel congruent, sure or consistent. Rather it's Eminem scrambling in fury to throw whatever he can at the listener until something sticks. But enough of it did thankfully.

Still, very good song and it was surprisingly impressive. But it's just a song (albeit an awesome one), if that makes any sense.

[King Lance]