The moment you became a Stan.

[therapist]

Hey guys. I did some searching and I didn't see a thread quite like this so here it goes, I'll 'splain.

We have all had that one moment of clarity for the first time, when listening to eminem, where we had to stop and say, "oh wow, eminem is something else". You know... that moment you realize how good he really is and what he really stands for...

And I mean more than just the album that really got you hooked. Try to narrow it down to a specific moment of shock. You know there're plenty

For me it was in highschool. The Eminem Show. Square Dance to be precise. I was high as shit so I was in a space where music, especially lyric-heavy content, had a particularly strong impact on my psyche. I just remember the power and intent behind his lines "Let your hair down to the track yeah kick on back, the boogie monster of rap, yeah the mans back with a plan to ambush this bush administration, MUSH the senate's face in, push this generation of kids to stand and fight, for the right to say something you MIGHT NOT LIKE"

It was just so powerful and raw at the time and I knew from that moment on that Eminem was the GOAT, and that his music had a very powerful message to carry to the world.

Now it's time for you all to share YOUR version of that experience. When did Eminem REALLY HIT you? That jaw dropping moment for the first time where you just had to stop and say "Oh wow"

[VINTAGƎ]

Fan from the beginning. I was 11 when I got SSLP and the rest is history.

That watershed moment when I realized he transcended his peers by so much it wasn't funny was probably on Eminem Show.

That's when I was like 14 or 15 and I just remembered thinking then that this guy was on some next level shit.

Sometimes when I'm feeling extra stanny I listen to or watch the video for My Name Is. I get nostalgic chills watching it, knowing full well what became of him afterwards.

Who knew after watching that video that he would go on to be considered one of the greatest emcees of all time and make some of the songs he made.

[therapist]

That watershed moment when I realized he transcended his peers by so much it wasn't funny was probably on Eminem Show.

Yes. The eminem show was just unfair. Nobody has touched that. Not Nas, not Jigga, not k-dot. Not rakim..

[ganjakush56]

in the peak of my stanism, i new every word to the eminem show, 8 mile tracks, features from 2003, encore, mmlp, biterphobia, and most tracks off of relapse recovery. When i say every word, i'm not joking. I listened 'Rabbit Run' literally over 500 times and that was three years ago and on this very day, i still know lyrics. I have every eminem song from that list himshadow made. I've heard every verse.

What drew me into eminem was the sheer emotion of some his tracks and when i say emotion, i mean anger. I need emotion in my music - i love immortal techniques discography but tracks that stand out are Dance with Devil, You Never Know, Crimes of the Heart, Civil War...I love those tracks because they serve a purpose and are rooted in extreme emotion. 'Kim', to me, is Eminem's greatest level of work and is a landmark record in hip hop (along with tracks like 'Suicidal Thoughts', 'Dear Mama', 'Dance with the Devil', Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, One Mic, etc.). That raw, fucked up shit is what i like.

Eminem is not my favorite artist though, i do not have a favorite. I am a student of the game and i listen to hella different types of hip hop from Kendrick Lamar to the Roots to Trinidad James to Wu Tang to Public Enemy, even Rage against the Machine, to Rakim, mobb deep, biggie, nas, big l, big pun, eminem, 50 cent, obie trice, 2pac, dr. dre, NWA, yelawolf, slaughterhouse, snow tha product, tech n9ne, fat joe, ASAP Mob, flatbush zombies, gucci mane, immortal technique, ab soul, schoolboy q, jay rock, the game, kanye, j cole, jay z, joey badass, lil wayne, t.i., nicki minaj (only her first mixtape from 2007), R.A. the rugged man, sadistik, pusha t, royce da 5'9, El-P, Killer Mike, cunninlynguists, D12, crooked I, chance the rapper, big sean, big krit, busta rhymes etc.

I FUCKING LOVE HIP-HOP...

[ganjakush56]

...fuck drake btw

[therapist]

Well put, Stan!

[VINTAGƎ]

That watershed moment when I realized he transcended his peers by so much it wasn't funny was probably on Eminem Show.

Yes. The eminem show was just unfair. Nobody has touched that. Not Nas, not Jigga, not k-dot. Not rakim..

The bulk of my friends think MMLP>>TES but I disagree.

TES was the absolute peak of his artistry in my opinion.

Some of the beats on MMLP could have easily been on other rappers albums. Not that they were generic, just not signature. His flow on the album was similar to some SSLP stuff as well.

But Eminem Show -- he crafted a production sound that was totally his own. He just didn't sound like other rappers at all. You can tell within the first few seconds when you're listening to an Eminem Show era song. It's so signature.

Instead of songs like Kim where it's about his personal issues with his ex wife, he started making songs like Sing For The Moment, Till I Collapse -- songs that had larger scaled themes.

Not to mention the 8 mile soundtrack.

He was just on another level. Jay-Z can be in the game for another 20 years, he'll never make a Lose Yourself. I don't even think he wants to. But regardless -- some of those songs in that era are just untouchable.

[ganjakush56]

That watershed moment when I realized he transcended his peers by so much it wasn't funny was probably on Eminem Show.

Yes. The eminem show was just unfair. Nobody has touched that. Not Nas, not Jigga, not k-dot. Not rakim..

The bulk of my friends think MMLP>>TES but I disagree.

TES was the absolute peak of his artistry in my opinion.

Some of the beats on MMLP could have easily been on other rappers albums. Not that they were generic, just not signature. His flow on the album was similar to some SSLP stuff as well.

But Eminem Show -- he crafted a production sound that was totally his own. He just didn't sound like other rappers at all. You can tell within the first few seconds when you're listening to an Eminem Show era song. It's so signature.

Instead of songs like Kim where it's about his personal issues with his ex wife, he started making songs like Sing For The Moment, Till I Collapse -- songs that had larger scaled themes.

Not to mention the 8 mile soundtrack.

He was just on another level. Jay-Z can be in the game for another 20 years, he'll never make a Lose Yourself. I don't even think he wants to. But regardless -- some of those songs in that era are just untouchable.

..imo there are songs which are much more relevant than 'lose yourself' but whatever

[therapist]

The nostalgic stans all say MMLP, but if you pay attention to the charts, TES frequently remakes the top 25 and even the top 10 sometimes when new em albums are coming out. The MMLP1 does not. When eminem comes back into relevancy TES is always the first album that is thought of and repurchased.

[VINTAGƎ]

The nostalgic stans all say MMLP, but if you pay attention to the charts, TES frequently remakes the top 25 and even the top 10 sometimes when new em albums are coming out. The MMLP1 does not. When eminem comes back into relevancy TES is always the first album that is thought of and repurchased.

I remember initially not liking the album as much as MMLP. It was different. He was talking about politics, and the state of music. Fuck is this? Where are the chainsaws and the raping?

I didn't know how to take it in. This was a new Eminem.

It didn't take long for me to see it as his overall best.

It's really confusing too, because if you asked me to, I could probably take off a few tracks from it. Drips, which isn't bad, but felt like a filler where Stimulate could have and should have been -- When The Music Stops too.

If you ask me to take off tracks from MMLP I can't. Just purely for nostalgic reasons, I can't see myself taking one track off MMLP.

Still though, I think that era of Eminem was the greatest. And TES is far and away my favorite album from him.

[therapist]

Agreed. Though I'd rather listen to When the music stops than Kim or Who Knew or the MMLP kaniff skit (haha)

Till I Collapse brought the whole album to perfection. It was already incredible, but what a cherry on top. That and Square dance.

[VINTAGƎ]

..imo there are songs which are much more relevant than 'lose yourself' but whatever

Objectively I don't think so. This isn't the stan in me, I'm going by overall consensus.

I mean, I said this the other day, but that song came out over a decade ago and for the past two holiday seasons, has been used in car commercials.

It's just anthemic. It's his opus.

Truthfully I prefer TIC over it but overall, that has been his most impactful song.

That shit was a game changer. That whole era was.

SSLP critics wrote him off as a one hit wonder, MMLP they wrote him off as a skilled emcee who used shock to sell records. Once he started dropping shit like SFTM, TIC, LY, people shut the fuck up and started respecting him as a legit artist. He wasn't a one hit wonder, he wasn't going away, and he didn't need controversy to sell records. He was a legitimate artist who commanded respect.

[VINTAGƎ]

Agreed. Though I'd rather listen to When the music stops than Kim or Who Knew or the MMLP kaniff skit (haha)

Till I Collapse brought the whole album to perfection. It was already incredible, but what a cherry on top. That and Square dance.

Till I Collapse is just masterful. Absolutely love Square Dance. I also love Business and My Dad's Gone Crazy. Some of those lines are just great.

"You ain't even impressed no more, you used to it
Flow's too wet, nobody close to it
Nobody says it but still everybody knows the shit"

"My songs can make you cry
Take you by surprise at the same time
Can make you dry your eyes with the same rhyme
See what you're seeing is a genius at work"

[ganjakush56]

i can't argue, Eminem is one of the goats, he is fucking incredible and i do put him above jay-z, lyrically, nas is better, but artistically (entertainment wise, accessibility) eminem is better. Nas is in a whole other stratosphere of lyrical content but Eminem's shit is way better to listen to. I hope this make sense.

I will say this - Eminem may be, at the very least stylistically, the MOST VERSATILE rapper of ALL TIME. Every one of his album sounds different regarding flow, production, content, relevancy, impact, quality, etc. How an artist can reinvent himself at each time he presents his work is unreal. All he has left to do now is start a massive movement to deconstruct the monopolization of hip hop and music in general.

[therapist]

I have listened to all of Nas and all of Em as well . I give them both a 10/10 in their own fields (and they are the only 2 emcees that I give a 10/10). Eminem is the flow master, and master of multi-syllable rhymes and complex patterns. He is the word smith. Nas is the greatest story teller since Slick Rick, even better in my opinion. He combines that with a continuous and beautiful flow. He makes it seem so easy and he never runs out of fuel.

I couldn't ever see Nas leading a revolution... but technically Eminem is probably responsible for a lot of our generation's hate towards the government and being told what to do. Look at all of the rebellions going on and it happens to be going on right during the time when the eminem kids are taking over as the young adults.