Jun 9, 2018 Just curious about what you guys think of some of the albums that have been given the official classic stamp within the genre. For example... These are just some random ones off the top of my head. Just posted a few to potentially trigger any feelings/thoughts about them and set the vibe for the thread. I'm thinking of albums that came out early 2000s at the latest. f--- bending your opinion because they're held in such high regard. I'm more interested in personal opinions. Negative and positive. I understand bringing in their significance to society and how they influenced the genre as well though.
Jun 9, 2018 Sometimes when i revisit it I think this and then other times im like "wow, such a masterpiece, what was I thinking". Its odd.
Jun 9, 2018 There are some songs on there that are undeniable, but the album is well over an hour long and a decent amount of the songs hinge on pop-culture references from almost two decades ago
Jun 9, 2018 True. I think in order to get a full experience still you have to look at it through a lense in context to the period. Eminem show ages completely fine imo because most of the topics are still relevant in some way.
Jun 9, 2018 Just to completely set the record straight... My aim wasn't to talk about the albums in the OP specifically.... They're not my favourite albums. Just wanted to throw some examples out there. I don't think MMLP aged any worse than Low End Theory did or some of the other albums in the OP. MMLP is still a great album. Eminem was a great rapper... preference aside. Let's not let his recent efforts cloud that. What about MMLP aged so poorly? Because the rebellious and anti-PC nature of it is something that still pops up in the culture. Tyler The Creator being a good recent example. There will be others in the future too. Feel like we're overdue for someone to come out on that type of vibe again actually.
Jun 9, 2018 Really can't agree with the first part of this, aside from the song about pagers, Low End Theory holds up extremely well and very few people have ever been able to successfully recreate the sound of that album. I'm not disputing Eminem's skill at the time, either, he was a great writer and there are songs on there that still work to this day, but the album is so deeply tied to late 90's/early 2000's pop culture that removed from that era a lot of the songs don't work. I mean who's thinking about Fred Durst and K-Fed in 2018 aside from probably Eminem himself.
Jun 9, 2018 There are odd lines referencing pop culture, sure. But I don't see how it's even really a main takeaway from the album. Like how can you allow the occasional pop culture references ruin the album for you or stop you from viewing it a classic? I mean Kanye has quite a lot of pop-culture references on The College Dropout too but I don't see that criticism being applied to it. The Low End Theory comparison wasn't that fair because it came out a decade earlier. But sonically... the way they're rapping... It sounds real dated. The College Dropout comparison is better in relation to your criticism of MMLP.
Jun 9, 2018 All the albums in the OP are good. Well, except the Eminem one, but that's not a classic in the first place.
Jun 9, 2018 all classics feel like that list needs some Wu albums in there. Plus GRODT. Plus some Scarface.
Jun 9, 2018 Love them all, not even a big fan of it but you're lying to yourself if you don't consider MMLP an essential
Jun 9, 2018 Influence on culture - check Technical skill - check Production - check Compelling/Emotionally gripping - check Authenticity - check Innovation - check Def think it's down to preference for you. It's a classic album for most people. And even if it doesn't resonate with them personally... They acknowledge it's a classic album. Liquid Swords still doesn't totally click with me. I think it's cool and respect it. I just struggle to see it as a classic from a personal standpoint. A lot of the Wu-Tang music from that era doesn't resonate with me like I'd like it to. I find that people tell you to go right back to the roots of a genre when getting you into it... that often doesn't work well for me. I understand and appreciate the music better when I go back slowly. Which are your favourite Wu-Tang albums?
Jun 9, 2018 ;If you want to make a narrow argument like Eminem did special stuff with his rhyme schemes or something, sure. That being said, I don't find his music emotionally gripping or compelling. It's immature shock jock shlock. Production was never Em's strongest quality. Authenticity is irrelevant to art. Martin Scoresse was never a mob boss lol. As for innovation, name one rapper Eminem directly influence that isn't terrible lol. Maybe Lou the Human? But for him there are dozens of Hopsins and Bekays and what not. I guess, but then any album that sales a lot is a classic. Drake would love that ofc, but his albums still mostly garbage.
Jun 9, 2018 Authenticity is important to me personally. It's not a necessity but yeah. I understand if it's not important to others. I wasn't talking about Eminem's production ability. I was talking about the production on the album. A lot of it was produced by Dre. Pretty unanimously believed that the production is very good. A lot of others found it emotive/captivating so you're in the minority there too. I understand this is just your opinion which you're obviously entitled to. However, a lot of people disagree with you. I don't know what direct influence means or how to quantify that but Eminem has influenced TONS of rappers in different ways. It's common knowledge and plenty of artists have come out and said it themselves. He's also just a unique artist so it isn't a surprise there aren't a bunch of rappers that sound exactly like him (good rappers aren't trying to sound like someone else anyway). DMX is similar in that way but probably even more extreme. I feel like everyone on this forum is either a stan or anti-stan lol