Feb 5, 2018 Might just be one of those things you needed to really be on board with from early on. If you didn't like it when he was on the come up you're not gonna really understand why the following is so dedicated. A weird analogy, but people in my age range were kids when Pokemon became a worldwide phenomenon. You can't replicate or explain in words how Pokemon swept the world in the late 90's. There's nothing like that. And people get so defensive of gen 1 being the best when it kinda actually is inferior to some later iterations of the game from a technical and design standpoint, but that nostalgia skews our objectivity. If you were a kid who thought Pokemon was annoying back then, no one's gonna convince that person in 2018 that Pokemon is dope. Its still around but its never going to boom like it did back then and it's not gonna draw in new fans in the same phenomenal way it used to. Eminem's basically the same thing. I don't think anyone ever came on the scene like he did. Divisive, intriguing, obnoxious, corny, edgy, offensive, emotional, he was a lot of things to a lot of people. No artist has ever been quite the enigmatic sensation that he was. And he took the world by storm too. If you weren't there for it, or you were and you didn't vibe with it, you probably aren't going to now. It's a legacy interwoven into pop culture history and the lives of those who experienced it dynamically. I know that's a more lofty answer probably than what you were looking for but that's how I see it.
Feb 6, 2018 Eminem was making brilliant art, full of nuance, subtlety, vividness, emotional resonance, and satire and doing it with fluent, poetic writing, and with brilliant, thematically connected, complex rhyme schemes and great deliveries. If you can't see it then maybe it's your problem.
Feb 6, 2018 You weren’t old enough to witness the reign of Eminem and Shady records. 8 mile was the peak of his fame.
Feb 6, 2018 Ok, I'm gonna try explain it with an analogy. I've also wondered what it is that draws people to Em so much (myself included). Today, we have now in this 'mumble rap' vs. 'real rap' debate. The Joe Budden vs. Yachty thing is an example. Now, unless you're a dusty old head, you want to route for the underdog, right? They're brazen, they're young, they dont give a f---. And the Joe Buddens of the world tend to have this sour, stuck in the past attitude. Like change isn't good. So you route for the Yachty's instead. That was Em in the late 90's/early 2000's, but on a waaaay bigger scale. It was the entire middle-upper class white america that were so appalled at his brazenness, at his idgaf attitude. Major political figures denounced him, and he just kept baiting them and just kept on winning. the ultimate underdog champion. Like imagine if Yachty had followed that Joe Budden interview with a stone cold classic, diamond-selling album. And this wasn't only in the US - Eminem was banned from schools around the world. Parents, teachers, everyone was freaking out. he was a global phenomenon. there's no debating he brought hip hop to much larger audience as well. But times have changed. He didn't really make timeless music (besides Stan, I guess), so his s--- didn't age well because it was so well-tuned to that specific era. Nowadays it just doesn't stick and a lot of it comes off as cringy. But, he also happened to be an insanely talented rapper and had a knack for making catchy pop rap. i think that boosted his reach and longevity, maybe too far. thats probably the best way to explain it. if you're willing to give him another chance, try SSLP, MMLP and Devil's Night, with in that in mind. He took a turn with TES and 8 Mile, becoming more mature and picking apart his whole story. Might not appeal to everyone, but i still found those albums incredible. There's also a lot of great features and freestyles if you're willing to dig around. Anything after that is pretty much worthless. Encore's interesting if you wanna hear what it's like for a major pop star to melt down completely. Relapse might be interesting if you like Dre beats/horrorcore rap. anyone else think im on the right track? or am i way off?