Is Eminem Limiting Himself?

[VINTAGƎ]

Now, let me start by saying I love this new album, but listening to it, it got me thinking about Eminem and what his goals are as an artist, and what we should expect as fans.

On this album, he has some deep songs and/or songs that you can describe as having focused content. Songs that don't rely on super lyrical stuff or punchlines. Not a ton of songs like that, but a few.

But in listening to his interviews during this album cycle, it seems like this is his goal:

To be the rappingest rapper who ever rapped. He has referred to "competitive rapping," more times than I'd like to count in these string of new interviews. Coming from his battle rapping roots, that's understandable. He wants to be recognized as a great, if not the greatest technical emcee. But should that really be his focus?

Can most of us agree that he's at his best when he makes songs like Lose Yourself? Songs that transcend the genre? Where he's competing against legitimate, big time artists, as opposed to bullshit rappers?

Is there anyone out there who still thinks Em can't lyrically wrap circles around most, if not all rappers? How many more times does he feel he has to prove it?

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.

I mentioned this in another thread, but Lose Yourself is like 10 years old and has been used in commercials these past few years. That's something people like Kanye and Jay will never have. They seem more focused on creating a persona/image than making songs that will age well. Even if I'm wrong about that, and they are trying to write timeless songs, I don't think they'll ever have a Till I Collapse or a Sing For The Moment. I don't see it.

When Em focuses and writes a song with direction and content and pays more attention to how the song makes the listener feel as opposed to how the words blend together, he can't be fucked with.

He seems like he'd much rather compete with people like Pharaohe Monch and Kendrick Lamar as opposed to Michael Jackson and Led Zeppelin. He's certainly in his right to do that, and he's shown time and time again, that he is a hip hop head to the core, but at the same time, he samples a lot of non-rap songs and has claimed to listen to a variety of genres, so I don't doubt he's up on other artists and their place in musical history.

I don't know how he can listen to classics from world renowned artists and not consider them competition, but listen to a marginally good rap album from a marginally good rap artist and think "oh I have to beat this guy."

Admittedly, although I listen to a lot of hip hop, it's not nearly as much as it used to be, and I'd more so consider myself a fan of music in general, liking music from rock to pop and anything in between. Am I expecting too much from him as an artist?

I just feel like he keeps himself in the rap box and it's limiting his artistic freedom. If he wrote from the mind frame of "I want to craft a good song," as opposed to "fuck, I only rhymed 3 syllables, I have to rhyme 8, I have to show them I can do it," the quality of his music would be untouchable, as it once was.

[Kill You]

Well for most of the album he is rapping his ass off. Even on The Monster he raps his ass off.

[LolBurn]

He's already said he's at the point at his career where he's not limiting himself to record sales or anything else. He just wants to make good music.

[Kill You]

He's already said he's at the point at his career where he's not limiting himself to record sales or anything else. He just wants to make good music.

And tbh MMLP2 is great music. Not bad at all.

[Mr Change]

Nope

[Hopsinshadie]

Great thread. Yes, Eminem is limiting himself. He forgot to focus on the big picture and is focusing on his little obsessions in what he thinks is the right way to rap. Any of you play sports? Think about an athlete that focuses on the technical aspects of their game. While that's good, if all you do is focus on the technical aspects but you forget about the other elements such as heart, hunger, determination, then you will play more like a robot and you won't be as fluid or as natural.

That's Em's problem. He is already technically sound. He needs to focus on creating good content and subject first. Focus more on ideas and less on lyrics? Why? Because his lyrics are his strengths and he should work on his weaknesses.

[Kill You]

Great thread. Yes, Eminem is limiting himself. He forgot to focus on the big picture and is focusing on his little obsessions in what he thinks is the right way to rap. Any of you play sports? Think about an athlete that focuses on the technical aspects of their game. While that's good, if all you do is focus on the technical aspects but you forget about the other elements such as heart, hunger, determination, then you will play more like a robot and you won't be as fluid or as natural.

That's Em's problem. He is already technically sound. He needs to focus on creating good content and subject first. Focus more on ideas and less on lyrics? Why? Because his lyrics are his strengths and he should work on his weaknesses.

Only you, troll...

[VINTAGƎ]

Well for most of the album he is rapping his ass off. Even on The Monster he raps his ass off.

There is no doubt he is rapping his ass off. He rapped his ass off on Relapse too. It doesn't mean the songs themselves are particularly good or memorable.

I can't shake this feeling that he never got over the critical burn of Encore and Relapse and has made it his mission to turn every doubter and hater into a believer it.

The dude has been in this game almost 2 decades. If you don't like him and respect his lyrical prowess by now you're not going to.

The guy who claims to not give a fuck, ironically, seems to give a fuck a great deal.

I think if he said "fuck it, I know what I'm capable of lyrically, I'm just gonna focus on songwriting," his shit would be so much better.

Again, not that this album is bad, at all. I love it. But there is a whole other level that he's reached before in his career that I believe he can still reach if he wanted to, but it seems like he doesn't want to. That annoys me as a fan.

[Hopsinshadie]

Well for most of the album he is rapping his ass off. Even on The Monster he raps his ass off.

There is no doubt he is rapping his ass off. He rapped his ass off on Relapse too. It doesn't mean the songs themselves are particularly good or memorable.

I can't shake this feeling that he never got over the critical burn of Encore and Relapse and has made it his mission to turn every doubter and hater into a believer it.

The dude has been in this game almost 2 decades. If you don't like him and respect his lyrical prowess by now you're not going to.

The guy who claims to not give a fuck, ironically, seems to give a fuck a great deal.

I think if he said "fuck it, I know what I'm capable of lyrically, I'm just gonna focus on songwriting," his shit would be so much better.

Again, not that this album is bad, at all. I love it. But there is a whole other level that he's reached before in his career that I believe he can still reach if he wanted to, but it seems like he doesn't want to. That annoys me as a fan.

Good. Good discussion.

[Hopsinshadie]

Great thread. Yes, Eminem is limiting himself. He forgot to focus on the big picture and is focusing on his little obsessions in what he thinks is the right way to rap. Any of you play sports? Think about an athlete that focuses on the technical aspects of their game. While that's good, if all you do is focus on the technical aspects but you forget about the other elements such as heart, hunger, determination, then you will play more like a robot and you won't be as fluid or as natural.

That's Em's problem. He is already technically sound. He needs to focus on creating good content and subject first. Focus more on ideas and less on lyrics? Why? Because his lyrics are his strengths and he should work on his weaknesses.

Only you, troll...

You're the troll because you advertently go against everything I say.

[VINTAGƎ]

He's already said he's at the point at his career where he's not limiting himself to record sales or anything else. He just wants to make good music.

And tbh MMLP2 is great music. Not bad at all.

It's a very solid album. But there is definitely another gear he can kick it into that he didn't.

I'm not one of those people that is gonna hate on everything he's done recently and live in the past but I don't see any harm in being critical. I'm not gonna be the same fan I was when I was 11 years old and blindly supported anything he did like a Justin Beiber fan or something.

I just feel like he can transcend the genre and be considered one of the greatest artists period, but he prefers to stay within rap and just be the greatest emcee.

[The Asshole]

No I don't really see him as limiting himself. He's found a way to make one of his best album in his 40s, an age that was never thought to be reached by rappers and he still has great lyrical talent. It's refreshing whenever he comes out with new stuff because at least the people I'm around at times pump Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and all these other bullshit artists with nothing to say. Which is a major reason I don't listen to many new artists outside of a few (J.Cole Kendrick, both Em picked to go on tour with him so shows the respect they get.) Is his new album up to where his first 3 are. No I couldn't say that. But are they damn good, show the maturity he has gone through, and still remain better than 98% of the other crap. Hell yea so no I don't really see himself like he's limiting himself.

[VINTAGƎ]

No I don't really see him as limiting himself. He's found a way to make one of his best album in his 40s, an age that was never thought to be reached by rappers and he still has great lyrical talent. It's refreshing whenever he comes out with new stuff because at least the people I'm around at times pump Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and all these other bullshit artists with nothing to say. Which is a major reason I don't listen to many new artists outside of a few (J.Cole Kendrick, both Em picked to go on tour with him so shows the respect they get.) Is his new album up to where his first 3 are. No I couldn't say that. But are they damn good, show the maturity he has gone through, and still remain better than 98% of the other crap. Hell yea so no I don't really see himself like he's limiting himself.

I agree with all of this, but as you mentioned, he's better than a lot of these other bullshit rappers.

My issue is that he sees these artists as his competition.

Not just wack rappers, even good ones.

He put Kendrick on the album and said "oh I have to make sure I go in, Kendrick is a dope emcee," but in reality, who the fuck is Kendrick in the grand scheme of music in general? He's nobody.

I would prefer he listened to a critically praised album from a popular artist and said "damn, they really did a good job on that album. I have to step it up."

Not focus on being lyrically better than these no name rappers and taking pride in it.

I wish he would take a Kanye West approach minus the comical ego and the weird experimental shit. Do you think Kanye West cares that most rappers can out rap him? He's not looking at other rappers.

Eminem earned his stripes long ago. His legacy in rap is set. The people who love him already love him and the people who hate him will never change. Like I said, it's been 15 years and 8 studio albums.

I don't know why he'd choose to focus on being the most lyrical rapper he can be as opposed to just making good music, lyrical or not.

[aog34]

i sorta agree with the op. He's lost that raw ability to reinvent the wheel and conceptually bring something to audio form we have never heard before. All he does now is showcase that he can do what you're favorite rapper can do but 10X better, which I'm enjoying right now. But when em was at his all time best, he made me put songs on repeat with my jaw to the ground. Ill never forget when i heard "kim" 13 years ago for the first time. It was like magic. I didn't think a rapper was possible to basically write a movie in audio format before so captivating. He needs to go back to that mindset.

[Hopsinshadie]

The more u listen to mmlp2, the more you realize how good he once was