What Separates Eminem From His Peers?

[unmissingpiece]

His skin colour.
Partially.

A very small part. Asher Roth, Mackelmore, Mac Miller, Action Bronson, Necro etc don't have the career Em has had. Nor do most rap artists no matter their color. Fuck. Nor do most musicians period.

That's true, but Eminem was also the first major white hip hop artist (I think). I'd consider Vanilla Ice as more of a one-hit wonder. Similar as to the appeal of a new product and the knockoffs that come with it, if that makes sense. (Sorry if that offends anyone)
As people have mentioned, it also singled him out for criticism, which may have inadvertently increased his popularity. The shock factor of some of his lyrics may have boosted his popularity as well.

Of course, this is all in addition to the other points people have said.

[VINTAGƎ]

His skin colour.
Partially.

A very small part. Asher Roth, Mackelmore, Mac Miller, Action Bronson, Necro etc don't have the career Em has had. Nor do most rap artists no matter their color. Fuck. Nor do most musicians period.

Yeah, but I think it goes deeper than that. Em definitely was getting singled out by critics because he was white and saying controversial things and while being white didn't make him famous, his reaction to the criticism (his albums) which was more than likely a result of his skin colour did.

That's true. I just think that, overall his skin color is not a major part of his success, or longevity.

Maybe early on, in the SSLP/MMLP days where people were like "yo, this white dude can rap. And he's saying some beast shit."

But once Eminem Show came along, that was it. That novelty wore off. He was officially the largest artist on the planet and the white thing played no role.

It doesn't explain why he's been relevant for 15 years commercially now. Most artists do not have that kind of sustained success. Especially one that released a critically panned album, disappeared for 5 years, and dropped another critically panned album (though loved by fans).

I mean for the guy to still be around, certainly there is something personal, or musical, or both, that separates him from the rest.

[VINTAGƎ]

Yeah, I see what you're saying. To be honest, skill is skill and I can't see why people wouldn't have made a huge deal if any rapper was saying the things he was saying. I think the heavily pressed up "DR. DRE" signing also helped propel that. Just the mere connection between a new signed rapper with a core member of NWA was enough to get people ready to bitch and the fact his single was so successful made people focus on his album which contained all of the controversy.

But I sometimes look at it this way, SSLP garnered controversy and criticism which may have been fueled by his skin colour which lead to his masterpiece, the MMLP. So again, not to say skin dictates talent but his skin colour undoubtedly gathered more negative attention which allowed him to manipulate it into his own twisted way and put out a bombshell...so in theory, you could say him being white helped him put out an amazing album (which I don't think anyone can deny anyways).

I dunno why I feel like I'm 'disagreeing' with you, Em was/is and always will be fucking dope and a top contender. I sometimes wonder what direction he would have went had SSLP been welcomed with open arms.

I get what you're saying. The SSLP had a spotlight put on it and it was put under a microscope because of the Dre signing and his skin color.

He used that negative feedback as fuel for what is widely considered the best album of his career.

Had he been black, maybe the album goes under the radar, maybe it's more accepted in the hip hop community, and he has no rage to fuel his next album.

I can see that.

I just think that, now, or -- since TES, his color has been irrelevant. If that was the reason he was big, if that was his only gimmick, he would have been done a long time ago. Plenty white rappers come and go. He would have just been another one of them.

But he's managed to be larger than life, and one of the biggest artists in the history of music, while his peers will never reach that level. There's something he's doing that other guys aren't. I'm just trying to figure out what it can be that makes him so different. Being lyrical can't be it, or the sole reason. There are intangibles I guess that have allowed him to be this big for this long, despite his hiatus, despite negative critical receptions, despite doing his best to stay away from the public eye.

He still makes headlines, he still sells a comical amount of records. He's still the most relevant rapper in the game when he's not in hiding

[EmsTruFan]

Initially, it was his image, content, and personality.

Now, I think it's merely his skill and success.

But his personal life all throughout... Few people have lived lives like Eminem. It's funny 'cause they made a successful movie about his life, but it wasn't nearly as dramatic as what he actually lived.

[__EWF]

Most of his fans are not hip hop/rap fans, they don't care about his skills. They wouldn't even know how to assess such a thing.

I think people love his personal story. The 8 Mile mythology, all the drama with his mother and Kim, his addiction. People love that stuff. They love the story of an underdog. It's part of what makes him and his music relatable and interesting to many people.

[Elision]

Other emcees have boxed themselves in, in my opinion. They get too caught up in their image and it limits their creativity.

what? name one solid artist who has done this to themselves

[EminemBase]

Other emcees have boxed themselves in, in my opinion. They get too caught up in their image and it limits their creativity.

what? name one solid artist who has done this to themselves

50 Cent. Jay-Z.

[Elision]

Other emcees have boxed themselves in, in my opinion. They get too caught up in their image and it limits their creativity.

what? name one solid artist who has done this to themselves

50 Cent. Jay-Z.

50 is a joke by himself. and jay is fine, he could do whatever he wants and still be exalted

[Fury]

This might sound silly, but his ability to rhyme. I think Danny Brown said it best, Eminem is the best to ever rhyme words.

[VINTAGƎ]

Other emcees have boxed themselves in, in my opinion. They get too caught up in their image and it limits their creativity.

what? name one solid artist who has done this to themselves

Jay-Z is the king of that shit. Rick Ross. Shit, most rappers out now fit into a specific category. Club rap, gangster rap, etc etc. Any artist that is a niche artist fits into that box. They can't leave that box because they've already established themselves as someone else.

[VINTAGƎ]

50 is a joke by himself. and jay is fine, he could do whatever he wants and still be exalted

No. He really can't. Not that he would want to, but Jay-Z could never make a funny single. He can't make a Without Me or a Just Lose It.

Can you imagine a Jay-Z video where he's running around going AHH AHH AHH!

He boxed himself in. Baller rap, club rap, that's what Jay's fans expect of him.

Like someone mentioned, this dude is not gonna drop a Lose Yourself type of song ever.

It was Big Pimpin back then and it's Niggas In Paris now.

He's one of those rappers who's fans can't relate to his life, but live vicariously through it. When they hear him rap about these expensive clothing brands, exotic vacations, model bitches -- they enjoy it because they envision themselves living that life. It's cool to drive through the city blasting Picasso Baby. It's not cool to drive around the city blasting Brainless.

Eminem is not striving to be cool like Jay-Z is. His humor, his insecurities, his honesty is on full display in his music. He has a wide variety of emotions. Jay-Z has one -- cool.

He has to be cool in every situation no matter the circumstances. He's boxed himself in creatively.

[Elision]

It's cool to drive through the city blasting Picasso Baby. It's not cool to drive around the city blasting Brainless.

Eminem is not striving to be cool like Jay-Z is. His humor, his insecurities, his honesty is on full display in his music. He has a wide variety of emotions. Jay-Z has one -- cool.

He has to be cool in every situation no matter the circumstances. He's boxed himself in creatively.

just

i'm going to bed

[EminemBase]

50 Cent. Jay-Z.

50 is a joke by himself. and jay is fine, he could do whatever he wants and still be exalted[/quote]

They both take themselves very seriously, that was the point.

50 has boxed himself in and limited himself to have to constantly be this straight-talking street thug terminator figure, who's always mumbling about his stacks and his 9s.

[VINTAGƎ]

50 Cent. Jay-Z.

50 is a joke by himself. and jay is fine, he could do whatever he wants and still be exalted

They both take themselves very seriously, that was the point.

50 has boxed himself in and limited himself to have to constantly be this straight-talking street thug terminator figure, who's always mumbling about his stacks and his 9s.[/quote]
^^^^^

[kkaniff]

Wonderful thread. Major props to Vintage.
Seriously, this is a question everybody should be asking. It's not fucking normal how big Eminem is (PAUSE), having this much of an influence on three consecutive generations is weird,
I'm 22, Em owned pop culture when I was a kid, when I was a teenager he still had an impact on pop culture despite his absence and now Em is every bit as popular as Justin Bieber or Lorde. IT. ISN'T. NORMAL.
We've got legends like Madonna or Micheal Jackson who, years after the peak of their fame, still have some influence based on the popularity/immortality of their past works but not at all up to the level of their prime.
To put it simply, you only peak once (Y.O.P.O?), with Recovery Ems hype was every bit as much as it was during the MMLP days, most liked person on Facebook, 500 mill views for LTWYL alone, selling 5 million copies of a hip-hop album in motherfucking 2010. It was Eminem's second peak, which is why, to this day, I still think that Recovery is Em's second most important album and should have definitely gotten the Grammy for AOTY.
...
It's not just one thing, it's a whole combination of factors. Em is a combination of rockstar and cult-leader.
He has, maybe subconsciously, made himself almost an almost mythological/fairy tale figure, a combination of Harry Potter and Jesus Christ, we want to know what he's feeling, we scrutinize his every word and gesture, is he getting back together with Kim? Does he like Macklemore? Why is he walking funny? Most of all we relate to his music, Lose Yourself moves me the way church sermons cant, I could relate to Superman back when I still thought girls had cooties, I hate Kim like she cheated on me with a bouncer, and I love Hailie like she's my daughter, even though I've never laid eyes on the bitch.
...
So, all those words really boil down to is that I dunno what makes Em so influential. Brilliant responses so far though.