Which Way Does Eminem Do It?

[shadyblogger]

I know every rapper has their own way of writing rap songs but as far as the beat and writing the lyrics, how does Eminem do it? Does he tend to hear the best first and then write lyrics to fit the beat, or does he write the lyrics first and then find a good beat to fit the lyrics? Which does he do first?

[Dewey Decimal]

Depends on the song. He said if he thought of a sick Rhyme he'd write it down and use it later. But i also heard him fuck with the beat a bit .. meaning he must of heard the beat before he wrote the rhymes


So both

[Brainless BadGuy]

A bit of both. He says that he can only make up the perfect beat for some of the lyrics he jots down (eg brainless) but I think with Dre & Rubin he hears the beat first and (w)raps the lyrics around them.

[yoda you can call me]

William Shakespeare, Ghostwrites for him. #Faxonly

[Elision]

William Shakespeare, Ghostwrites for him. #Faxonly

2/10

[yoda you can call me]

William Shakespeare, Ghostwrites for him. #Faxonly

2/10

[Amadeo]

1996-1999 Eminem: Writing lyrics to "skeleton" versions of beats the Bass Brothers would make for him. These lyrics were written so they could be rapped on virtually any other rap beat with the same tempo, if ever wanted to drop a "freestyle" on radio.

The beats he would write to would be so stripped down that he may as well have been writing to a metronome. The lyrics are so much better on paper in these days, since he's not humping the beat with every syllable. There were also plenty of funny jokes/lines that he wrote without a beat in mind.

2000-2001: Eminem now turns his attention to writing "to beats." He focuses more on switching up his cadence more to fit the beat and acting out his vocals...but the lyrics on paper still pack a punch (except for verses like Fight Music).

2002: Eminem goes too far in the direction of "riding the beat." Ends up with some songs with mediocre lyrics on paper (Business) due to his insistence on "sinking in" to the beat. He no longer writes to skeletal versions of beats...he produces them fully and then writes to them, and is starting to craft less creative flows.

2008-2009: Eminem starts to write to Dre beats, and even writes without a beat, to tempos in his head. Going back to his 1999 approach a bit.

2010-2013: Eminem's "stacking ammo" is no longer thinking of multis...it's now thinking of punchlines. He stops writing to beats and begins to shoe-horn punchlines into his verses, and the flow becomes disjointed.

So the lesson here is that Eminem probably should be writing to beats...but he should only have the general tone of the beat and the tempo of the beat in mind when he does...he needs to allow room for creative flow within his verses by not becoming a slave to the beat and just "doing whatever it tellz him."

His method for Headlights seems to be the way to go. Take a "skeleton version" of a beat from a producer. The beat has to have just enough going on to inspire a certain feeling in the lyricist, but not enough going on that it controls Eminem's pen. Once he's crafted the lyrics to the skeleton, make some additions to the beat to enhance your lyrics and vocals that you laid. This way, both the beat and the lyrics are organic.

This is a much better process than taking the full instrumental and trying to force the mood of your vocals to match the beat's, which is Recovery in a nutshell.

[yoda you can call me]

^Good informative read brah

[Visadio]

^Good informative read brah

[kkaniff]

Can't believe nobody said 'missionary'.

[yoda you can call me]

2010-2013: Eminem's "stacking ammo" is no longer thinking of multis...it's now thinking of punchlines. He stops writing to beats and begins to shoe-horn punchlines into his verses, and the flow becomes disjointed.

Not really, that style hasn't been evident for three years. By the end of 2011 he already had changed with songs like "The Reunion", "A Kiss" and his BET cypher verse.

Yep, i must of skimmed over this bit when i read it this morning, his style now, has completely improved from Recovery, punchlines aren't the main focus anymore, he's got all sorts going on now

[Jason M.]

Expected something wayyy different when I saw the title.

[Amadeo]

2010-2013: Eminem's "stacking ammo" is no longer thinking of multis...it's now thinking of punchlines. He stops writing to beats and begins to shoe-horn punchlines into his verses, and the flow becomes disjointed.

Not really, that style hasn't been evident for three years. By the end of 2011 he already had changed with songs like "The Reunion", "A Kiss" and his BET cypher verse.

No, his flow is still choppy on The Reunion and A Kiss. The Reunion is one of the choppiest flows he's done.

It's less choppy on MMLP2, but still choppy. It all stems from the fact that he thinks of the punchline first and then figures out how he can rap it over the beat, which almost never leads to a smooth flow. Rhyme or Reason is the only punchline-heavy Eminem song that actually sounds smooth.

His flow is less choppy on MMLP2 because his sense of rhythm is improving in general...he's a slightly better performer now than he was 3 years ago. I have a feeling this new method of getting skeleton beats is also improving his delivery dramatically. The beat is being moulded around the vocals rather than the other way around.