Jan 15, 2016This is how I would compare the two albums...
Southpaw's good songs
1. "R.N.S." - best one on here simply because it is the only song (I'm not counting BIG or Weekend cause they're not new songs) that actually has a good chorus and good verses; also nice to see Royce let the other rappers shine since he has two songs with Bad Meets Evil and one with Prhyme/Logic
2. "All I Think About" - lyrics, flow, and rhyme are sick; beat sounds like an 8-bit videogame and chorus is bad but tolerable since its rap
3. "Phenomenal" - title says it all - although it was clearly meant for the movie, Em made it work with the lyrics still making sense in life; flow and rhyme are also sick, chorus becomes tolerable once you get used to it
4. "Beast" - lyrics and chorus aren't too great; rhyme, speed, and flow are incredible and definitely make up for it
5. "Mode" - basically I like for the same reasons as Beast, but the lyrics are better; however, the beat seems depressing and feels like its conflicting with the vocals; most of the time I can't get through the song without skipping, but the rapping is awesome
Overall, Southpaw is full of songs with phenomenal rapping during verses, mostly bad choruses, weird beats, and songs that were clearly added in to god with the movie (like In "This Corner", "Kings Never Die", and obviously "Phenomenal"). In terms of Eminem, his work in "Phenomenal" and "All I Think About" were the best. Raw was ok, but I think "Vegas" was enough sex jokes and "Vegas" was a much better song because the beat and style was much more tolerable. "Kings Never Die" was also ok, but it gets pretty boring and stale after the first half of the song when he starts singing...ugh. I feel that the album was great mostly rappers making great raps about how they are and also about hood-related subjects.
SHADYXV's good songs -
1. "Vegas" - ok chorus; ok beat; amazing rhyme, flow, and speed by both rappers in this song - Em has an awesome, but long verse for 3 mins, and then Royce comes in with a refreshing style in the second one
2. "Psychopath Killer" - good chorus by Yelawolf (would've been nice to see him to get a verse in this); rhyme, flow, and speed are great of course; Em's verse shines very bright in this song, but I believe Crooked might've been up there with him if his was longer
3. "Guts Over Fear" - awesome chorus by someone who can actually sing; awesome lyrics and rhyme about deep, meaningful subjects
4. "SHADYXV" - amazing freestyle over great lyrics, rhyme, rhythm, and flow over a sample of Billy Squier; no chorus (thank God)
5. "Detroit vs Everybody" - nice variety of styles from Detroit's finest; although Em is definitely the best rapper on this song, I feel that Big Sean and Royce have the best and most memorable lyrics and rhymes to offer
SHADYXV has songs with a much better balance between good choruses and good verses. However, the songs on the 1st disc (the one with the newer songs) are mostly Eminem songs that were either about his love life or about looking back on his past career. When comparing both albums in terms of Eminem, it's a bit unfair because he is in almost double the amount of songs in SHADYXV than he was in Southpaw. The best way to do this is to see the ratio between songs he is good in and songs he isn't good in. A "good" gives 1 point, a "bad" gives 0 points, and "ok" gives 1/2 point. -
SHADYXV - 9 songs on Disc 1 with Eminem
SHADYXV - good
Psychopath Killer - good
Die Alone - ok
Vegas - good
Guts Over Fear - good
Fine Line - ok
Twisted - bad
Right For Me - ok
Detroit Vs. Everybody - ok
1 + 1 + 1/2 + 1 + 1 + 1/2 + 0 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 6 good songs
6/9 = 66% of Eminem's work in Disc 1 of SHADYXV was good
Southpaw - 4 songs with Eminem
Kings Never Die - ok
Raw - ok
All I Think About - good
Phenomenal - good
1/2 + 1/2 + 1 + 1 = 3
3/4 = 75% of Eminem's work in the soundtrack of Southpaw was good.
The Southpaw soundtrack is better in terms of how good the album is overall and also how good the portion of the Eminem/BME songs were.
However, SHADYXV is much better if you want more of Eminem. Although his work on the Southpaw soundtrack was better overall, 6 good Eminem songs is better than 3 good Eminem songs. Also, I probably should've mentioned the fact that there are classic Shady Record songs on the 2nd disc from the likes of Obie Trice, 50 Cent, D12, and Eminem, of course.
If you want a better variety of new music with better quality, and have heard most of the songs from SHADYXV Disc 2, then Southpaw is a better choice for you. However, if you are looking for more Eminem, if maybe you haven't heard or owned some of the older Shady Records songs, or if you want a good introduction to unfamiliar talents like Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse, then SHADYXV is your best buy.
Now that I'm done recommending what to choose, Let me just say that I bought both. I got sick of both albums after the same amount of time. I was actually able to listen to only SHADYXV for 4 months, and with Southpaw, which was half the size, it was 2 months. Factoring in every song on every disc on both albums, I will rate each song with the same system as the last one; only this time, I won't only look at Eminem songs and will factor in all parts of each song not just Em's parts. The overall ration of good to bad songs for each album will determine which one is better. Remember - "good" gives 1 point, a "bad" gives 0 points, and "ok" gives 1/2 point.
SHADYXV - 28 songs
SHADYXV - good
Psychopath Killer - good
Die Alone - ok
Vegas - good
Y'all Ready Know - good
Guts Over Fear - good
Down - ok
Bane - good
Fine Line - ok
Twisted - ok
Right For Me - good
Detroit vs Everybody - good
I Get Money - ok
Purple Pills - ok
Lose Yourself - good
Cry Now - good
Let's Roll - bad
Hammer Dance - good
P.I.M.P. - ok
You Don't Know - ok
My Band - good
Wanna Know - ok
Wanksta - bad
The Setup - bad
In Da Club - ok
Fight Music - good
Pop The Trunk - good
Lose Yourself (Demo) - good
Total - 20/28=71.4%
Southpaw - 12 songs (14 but I can't be the judge of instrumentals because this a rap album so I'm not including Cry For Love Parts 1 and 2)
Kings Never Die - ok
Beast - good
This Corner - good
What About the Rest Of Us - ok
Raw - good
R.N.S. - good
Wicked Games - good
All I Think About - good
Drama Never Ends - ok
Mode - ok
Notorious Thugs - good
Phenomenal - good
Total - 10/12=83.3%
I thought it would be a bit closer (maybe in the 5% range) but Southpaw gets a clean, clear win over SHADYXV. This means that not only is it better in terms of Eminem's songs, but everything it has to offer. However, if I were to include Cry For Love Parts 1 and 2 and say they were bad, both albums would be equal with 71.4%. Also if I included the two parts and said that just one of them was even half good, Southpaw would still be better. I could also compare Southpaw to Disc One of SHADYXV. In terms of Disc One, that would end up being the same as Southpaw's overall score is right now. The only way SHADYXV wins is if I only count Disc One for Shady and count all songs for Southpaw and say that Cry For Love Parts 1 and 2 were straight up bad. Seeing that Southpaw won in the fairest way possible, it is definitely a way better album than SHADYXV.
