Rhymes Em stole?

[AbramIsaac]

I personally don't think he was paying homage, but I don't think he was biting the rhyme either. It's the type of line he would write, and since it isn't structured the same way, I don't think there's any reason to assume he's biting.

I also wouldn't go so far as to say that Nas was biting Em in that example either, myself.

[CrashBand]

Blu, what's the problem?

Abram already told you it's all about intent.

Too different to call it a bite.

It doesn't matter if it's in a different context.

[Blu]

Abram already told you it's all about intent.

Saying it's all about the intent is stupid considering we don't know what Eminem's intentions were.

@Aone1, that line I quoted from Nas' song was being accused of biting Eminem's rhyme. I'm not reaching.

[CrashBand]

Abram already told you it's all about intent.

Saying it's all about the intent is stupid considering we don't know what Eminem's intentions were.

But whether it's a bite or not is all about the intent.

And yes, we don't know.

[CrashBand]

bigray, it doesn't matter if they're different - they are the same rhyme.

You could look at someones piece in the tournament you just did and "bite" their rhymes. Even if your content was different.

[SliK]

Swagger just dumb call it Sarah Palin
If these niggas is fly, I must be parasailin'

I might get Sarah Palin by the hair and make her
wear a bathin' suit and take her parasailin'"

[CrashBand]

Lol @ Wayne's punchlines.

[AbramIsaac]

Abram already told you it's all about intent.

Saying it's all about the intent is stupid considering we don't know what Eminem's intentions were.

I get why you're saying that, but that's exactly what you're doing. Just as we are all saying his intent wasn't to bite, you're saying it was. So then we have to step back and look at the factors aside from the rhyme itself, since intent is out of the equation.

If it wasn't a bite, then the only other options are coincidence or paying homage. I think we both agree that it wasn't paying homage, because it's not structured in a close enough way, nor delivered in a manner that the listener could tell and say "that's referencing that King T verse". This leaves coincidence as the only other alternative to biting.

Coincidence implies that he would be likely to write a rhyme like that, free of outside influence by another MC. While we can't predict nor deconstruct the artistic process of another with 100% certainty, there are factors that we can look at to decide whether or not this is possible. Let's take a look at the rhyme itself.

Fuck it, I'm a loose cannon*
Bruce Banner's back in the booth**

* As I'm sure you know, the term "loose cannon" has been used by others, and himself, to describe Eminem. This describes his persona as a whole, but also specifically his style on this song. He's just spitting in every direction, without control, talking about superhuman feats (setting the world on fire, arguing with God, etc) and just generally being a menace of sorts.

** Bruce Banner (again, as I'm sure you know) is the man who turns into The Hulk. The Hulk is for all intents and purposes indestructible, and is a startling contrast to the mild mannered Bruce Banner. He could be set off at any moment, and when angered, becomes a monster capable of completely destroying anything in his path. This ties in with the "loose cannon" concept as well, in accordance with the theme of the track.

Now, that's not to say that he put all of this conscious thought into tying these rhymes together. It is, however, to demonstrate that aside from this phrase/name pair rhyming, they are almost synonymous in a metaphorical sense. Beyond that, Eminem is and always has been a comic book fanatic, so it's no stretch to think that his subconscious is riddled with brightly colored heroes and villains, and it no doubt plays a role in his writing on some level.

What is all of this needlessly extensive examination of two bars for? To decide on whether or this rhyme was thought up by Eminem, or bitten from King T, from a song 10 years prior. My point is that while it is entirely possible that he bit that rhyme, it seems significantly more probable that he came up with it on his own.

[CrashBand]

How is it the same rhyme?

They both rhymed "loose cannon" with "Bruce Banner". Lol.

[CrashBand]

My point is there is more to biting than 2 words that rhyme.

No there's not.

I could bite those two rhymes.

[CrashBand]

Well we don't know.

And don't get me confused, I'm not saying he definitely bit the rhyme.

I'm just saying it doesn't matter if the content is different - as long as it's got the same rhyme. (the longer the rhyme, the more likely it being a bite).

[EminemBase]

I'm 99% sure that no way was it intentional by EM... Those rhymes are even placed different.

That whole line from the other dude would be impossible to be in Ems head really 11 years later... Not impossible but I highly doubt it.


I'm coming "Straight Outta Compton" with a loose cannon.

this is a reference to a song by N.W.A.

Smoke big green, call it Bruce BANNER

Hulk is green and so is weed lol

My point is there is more to biting than 2 words that rhyme.

Yeah, the use of 'loose cannon' as a phrase is even different. King T uses it as a reference to a firearm 'a lose cannon', Em uses it as a metaphorical reference to himself / the more common usage to mean 'a nut / crazy'... and Em has also mentioned Hulk multiple times, so seems far more likely the rhyme is of his own making. Doubt he'd risk his rep for one rhyme.

[SajN]

99 % sure that he just had it in his mind and wrote it down. I don't even think he remembered King T's line.

Shit happens, even when I write down a nice rhyme, I don't realize right away that it has already been used by one of the rappers that I listen to... It just happens.

[Kill You]

It's like what everyone else has been saying, it's IMPOSSIBLE to be completely original in the rap game. If you wrote it then more than likely someone wrote it before you did. If this was the case then every single rapper who ever lived is a biter and shouldn't receive credit for their work. There are only so many words in the English language, there are bound to be repeat rhymes and this will keep going on forever until the end of time.

And no, it's not a case of "if it was Eminem it'd be fine..." this is just the truth. I said something similar in another thread like this and it wasn't even about Eminem.

When I write lyrics I tend to use rhymes that Em has used before and I don't even notice it at first. Shit happens like Sajn said. You can only make so many words rhyme.