Hip Hop: The Undefeated Greatness of Eminem
Labeling an MC as G.O.A.T is a tough call. Hip Hop has evolved over time but at the end of the day, bars are still bars. Hip Hop started with battling and while it has become commercial, skills are still the main grading course for greatness. Eminem is easily regarded as one of the best to do it, but is he the best ever?
Looking over his resume, the Detroit MC has gone bar-for-bar with some of the greatest to ever step in a booth. From Jay-z and Nas to Lil Wayne and Biggie, Eminem has traded bars with heavyweights. But how many people can say that Em has ever taken a loss?
Here are a few of his collabs in which you can draw your own conclusion.
Eminem vs Nas
What made this pairing so historical was that according to Nas and many Hip Hop heads, Eminem murdered Jay Z on his own shit (Renegade). Now it was Nas’s turn to turn the tables. But it didn’t go down that way at all. For Nas and Jay Z, it was never a competition with Em but that didn’t mean that Eminem was not going to bring his best to the booth.
This is what the greats do. When paired against people they grew up listening to, one has to imagine that they will put everything into those bars. And that’s exactly what Em did on EPMD 2.
Nas verse was great but Em easily stole the show with bars:
Yeah, and this shit ain’t for the faint
‘Cause the brain’s illa trained killer, danger, deranged
And I drank all the DayQuil (Yeah) I blank on the paper
Then wait ’til the page fill up (What?)
Hate spiller, shameful the strength of a pain pill or tranq’
I just pray for the day when I’m able to say that I’m placed with the greats
And my name’s with the Kane’s and the Wayne’s, and the Jay’s and the Dre’s
And the Ye’s, and the Drake’s and the J Dilla’s, Jada’s, Cool J’s
And the Ra’s and amazin’ as Nas is, and praise to the Gods of this
Shout to the golden age of Hip-Hop and the name of this song is
Eminem vs Jay Z
Eminem was featured on songs before but this time he went up against arguably the GOAT. Em and Jay on the same track, this is what Hip Hop needed. While the subject matter was different, it was clear that Eminem came in with a different agenda than Jay. Not too many MCs can walk away from a session with HOV and say that got the best of him.
But Em is clearly one of the few who can say that with a straight face. Jay dropped bars about his upbringing while Em crushed the media and his naysayers with tightly constructed bars.
Since I’m in a position to talk to these kids and they listen
I ain’t no politician, but I’ll kick it with ’em a minute
‘Cause see, they call me a menace and if the shoe fits, I’ll wear it
But if it don’t, then y’all’ll swallow the truth, grin and bear it
Now who’s the king of these rude, ludicrous, lucrative lyrics?
Who could inherit the title, put the youth in hysterics
Usin’ his music to steer it, sharin’ his views and his merits?
But there’s a huge interference, they’re sayin’ you shouldn’t hear it
Eminem vs Lil Wayne
Over the years, Lil Wayne had the game in a chokehold of his own. While he held his own with the heavy spitter from Detroit, Em was just on a mission to prove to everyone that he’s clearly the king of features. No More Love was grimey. Wayne spits powerful bars but in my opinion, that may have been Em’s best verse ever. He addressed his past issues and told everyone in Hip Hop that he was ready for war.
Related: Music: Is It Time to name Eminem the G.O.A.T yet?
Wayne never had a chance when Em put together a string of bars that firmly placed him as one of the best to ever do it. These bars deserved a mic drop.
Man, get these wack cocksuckers off stage!
Where the fuck is Kanye when you need him? (Oh!)
Snatch the mic from ’em, bitch, I’ma let you finish in a minute
Yeah, that rap was tight, but I’m (Yeah!)
‘Bout to spit the greatest verse of all time
So you might want to go back to the lab tonight and, um (Yeah!)
Scribble out them rhymes you were gonna spit
And start over from scratch and write new ones
But I’m afraid that it ain’t gonna make no difference
Eminem vs Drake
For some, Drake is considered a legend in Hip Hop. While Hip Hop heads may dispute that claim, Drake has more than earned a title in their game. But placing Eminem on a song means that you must come correct on all fronts.
Drake opened the song with what I still consider nursery rhymes. His verse was not as well constructed as his later verses would become but for a rapper making his name with heavyweights such as Lil Wayne, Kayne, and Em, Drake was left stranded on an island with Em and it was a manslaughter.
It was only right that Em went last as he had a point to prove.
There they go, packin’ stadiums as Shady spits his flow
Nuts they go, Macadamian, they go so ballistic, whoa
He can make them look like bozos
He’s wonderin’ if he should spit this slow, fuck no
Go for broke, his cup just runneth over, oh no
He ain’t had him a buzz like this
Since the last time that he overdosed
They been waitin’ patiently for Pinocchio to poke his nose
Back into the game and they know
Rap will never be the same as befo’
Eminem vs Biggie
Although Biggie was already deceased when this track was made, how many people believe that Big’s verse would have been any different than what was laced on the track? Big had a style that was second to none but his subject matter wasn’t as wide as Em’s
Em is a pure lyricist. He’s an old-school battle rapper. Big was witty but Em took that wittiness to another level with these bars.
He’s ready for war, I’m ready for war
I got machetes and swords for any faggot that said he was raw
My Uzi’s heavy as yours, yeah you met me before
I just didn’t have as large an arsenal of weapons before
Marshall will step in the door, I’ll lay your head on the floor
With your body spread on the bedspread, red on the wall
Red on the ceiling, red on the floor, get a new whore
Met on the second, wed on the third, then she’s dead on the fourth
I’m dead wrong!
At the end of all of this, where do you have him ranked?
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
