First Listen: Staff Reactions To Eminem’s “Shady CXVPHER”

    Eminem rustled the boys together for the “Shady CXVPHER.” Told them all psychically to get their freestyles ready, and the Shady crew did not disappoint. It’s amazing how the point man has fashioned out of such individual emcees a “quintet” in Slaughterhouse and a young macabre sin slinger in Yelawolf. It’s something Aftermath and Shady have been very good at. Their draft picks don’t seem to do much after their stint with the Detroit emcee, but as a squad they absolutely beast. 

    And that’s what they were brought together to do. Spin tales of their own over a zero beat, and mics so clear you could hear a car straddle a pothole or the eerie silence of a hollowed out industrial crucible in the sky. The Battle Rap elements are all there, but instead of hampering each emcee, it seems to give them the room to breathe. Maybe the Total Slaughter maestro is on to something.  Of course we had to weigh in. This time, we’ve got freelance writers Henry Mansell and Jay Balfour, and myself, Features Editor Andre Grant. 

    Has Shady Done It Again?

    Henry: A cursory scroll through #Yelawolf on Twitter following the delayed release of the “Shady CXVPHER” illustrated a clear consensus that echoed among Hip Hop’s keyboard warriors. Buffs from across the spectrum who had tuned in weren’t feeling his material. Was it that bad? Or were the others just that good? Yela’ found himself rooted at the foot of a gaggle of opinion hierarchies, with comments springing from, “Yelawolf should have stayed at home” to, “Damn Yelawolf no bueno,” which is Spanish for no good. Twitter, as they say, had no chill. Nevertheless, the cypher, as it was always going to do, stimulated some compelling dialogue. Yelawolf’s appeal is anchored in his off-kilter aesthetic but it’s the said that’s seen the Shady wordsmith’s talents so often curtly thrown into the recycling bin. Thanks in part to his engrained social fabric, a white rapper from Alabama; he’s an easy target, à la Charlamagne Tha God and Lord Jamar (to whom Yela’ later references). However, if we egress from the politics, Yela’ can rap. 

    He inaugurates his verse with his “backstory,” setting the narrative tone for his rhymes. He then effortlessly weaves through his biography, lacing his arc with a bed of entendres, “I still smoke to the cigarette, butt.” While the other partakers to the cypher (Slaughterhouse and Eminem) go straight acapella, Yela’ interpolates some bottleneck slide guitar melodically behind his bars in a fitting nod to the visual backdrop of his birthplace — Gadsden, Alabama. After claiming immunity from uniting rock and Rap, Yela’ throws the ball back into Charlamagne Tha God and Lord Jamar’s court with, “Still I’m working, sawing, milling this tree / Building this house exactly the way Charlamagne Tha God and Lord Jamar thought it would be / Wait a minute, the Lord and the God hate me / Jesus Christ, I am the White Devil / Nah / I’m still working, sawing, milling this tree / Building this house exactly the way I thought it should be.” Wrapping up, Yelawolf invites us to tour his materialistic possessions with a nod to Jimmy Iovine for the check.

    Although Yelawolf’s verse will no doubt get lost among the lyrical diatribes of Crooked I, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9 and of course, the verbal acrobatics of Motor City luminary, Eminem, one can’t help but tip a cap to the Slumerican front-man for not only standing toe-to-toe with these lyrical titans, but for holding his own. He’s an underdog, probably always will be, but Yelawolf’s CXVPHER continues.

    Andre: The dexterity on Slaughterhouse alone is, I don’t know, radical. There’s an emotion in each of them connected to a certain place. Joe’s chip-on-the-shoulder is Jersey sized; Joell Ortiz’s against-all-odds seems molded through jagged high-rises jutting into a misshapen NYC sky; Crooked’s breath is thoroughly filled with the moldy, violent sub-urban LBC; and Royce da 5’9 feels filled with the broken promises and amber beer bottles of a broken, funk filled Detroit. The mutual balancing of their sounds and ideas and places like getting those EQ’s just right is what I, personally, have been expecting from a Slaughterhouse record. Like some kind of rap Wild Buffalo Bill tour across America. Each one speaks the language of their people, and you remember that the United States is an amalgam of cultural landscapes whose new language is Hip Hop. 

    Take Yelawolf, for example, who gives you his best Bob Dylan, nah, his best Walt Whitman. The peculiar meanderings of Alabama move through his flows. The creek that you used to be able to drink out of that now tastes like BP, or the ecosystem now lost through American ingenuity or greed or whatever. He warns you against the wedding of Rap and Rock (I think he means reconciliation?) but he’s probably the only one interested in doing so, and perhaps the last that should try. It’s a testament to the creativity of the Shady team that they should frame things this way. “A Shady America,” should have been the campaign slogan. I may have voted for them. 

    The crown jewel, though, is always Em’. It’s tough to put words to his flow at this point. Is he just a genius technician? Or is he something more? Raps’ very own American Horror Story, or Rocky Horror Picture Show? It doesn’t matter at this point. He’s a reached a level of Rap superstardom and mastery of craft that says he can do just about anything with words. People who are really, really good at something sometimes get to the point where they’re playing against themselves, and Em’s been there for a while. When was the last time someone even challenged him? When Nas’ said, “And Eminem murdered you on your own shit?” Whatever the case, I’m just here to enjoy it. And one day when I’m old I hope to see him at some post-apocalyptic concert in a desert somewhere so I can remember.

    Jay: Eleven minutes into a music-less cypher, Eminem begins his pre-amble with: “I just turned Slaughterhouse into a quintet.” A few years ago when the group signed with Shady Records there was the Royce Da 5’9 history to point out, but it was also a chance for Marshall to co-opt their lyrical platform for himself. The group’s label ties first manifested in a bonus track feature on Recovery and ever since it seems like the signing has been a way for Em’ to pick the Rap lunch table he wants to sit at. Slaughterhouse is now a corporate machine for Shady’s Total Slaughter as much as it is an artistic vehicle for a new album. And, it seems, when Eminem wants to spit a seven-minute acapella, they’re there to make it seem less out-of-touch. 

    He’s stuck. He wants people to listen closely enough to decipher his acrobatics while granting him a pass that they shouldn’t actually need to amount to anything. There’s Joe Budden early on, legitimately crying out for personal and emotional help in a sadly obligated verse of his own. In the context, Budden’s family issues seem downright depressing and out of place. None of the verses acknowledge the others, but you can imagine Eminem trying to lift his spirits about the assignment, like, “C’mon Joe, there’s Ray Rice jokes to be made.” 

    There’s a neurosis to Em’s lyrical attack, a compulsion to string together words that shouldn’t seem to fit. His latest serving is worth all the “oohs” and “aahs,” but a 42-year old man that jokes about punching a Pop star in the face and spits derogatory lines about Anderson Cooper’s sexuality isn’t just tired, it’s corny. Even with — or maybe especially with — similar and more violent tirades splayed out throughout his career, Em’ used to be a voice for youngsters in angst. He’s as strong a lyricist as ever, but he’s long left that more important trick behind.

    Henry Mansell is a Birmingham, England native infatuated with Hip Hop music and culture. His favorite question is, “Who Is Your Top 5? Dead or Alive.” Alongside HipHopDX, Henry’s work can be read on publications including XXL and BattleRap.com, among others. Follow him on Twitter @HenryMansell.

    Jay Balfour is a freelance writer and editor based in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to HipHopDX he’s written for publications like Bonafide Magazine, Red Bull Music Academy, and more. Follow him on Twitter @jbal4_.

    Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.

    RELATED: First Listen: Our Favorite Songs Off Big K.R.I.T.’s “Cadillactica” [Editorial]

    108 thoughts on “First Listen: Staff Reactions To Eminem’s “Shady CXVPHER”

    1. until I looked at the check of $8170 , I did not believe that my father in law had been actualey taking home money parttime from their laptop. . there moms best frend has done this 4 less than 9 months and just paid the mortgage on there house and purchased McLaren F1 . original site……..

      ========================
      http://WWW.yelpwork.COM
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    2. WOW, you guys finally chime in on something that’s actually hip hop & basically take a poo on it. What another shitty article. Henry wastes his whole portion talking about the worst participant in this cypher. Andre, yours was decent for a change but then Jay comes in & ruins the whole thing by adding his 2 dumbs cents & essentially saying Em’s verse wasn’t very good, did you even listen to this shit. I can’t even recall ever seeing an MC do what EM did on this cypher, It was absolutely nuts & I’m surprised the entire focus of this article was not EM. Also, no mention of Cooked I & he had the 2nd best verse of all. Yet another DX fail, I sure hope you all find that senior writer you have been after because your staff is just brutally pathetic.

      1. Crooked came with recycled unoriginal gansterisms, Em got wordplay and skill that don’t amount to anything with meaning

    3. Damn what happened to sohh.com. That used to be the site. Anyways after reading this article how can you even begin to hate say anything negative after this cypher. Sheer technical skill alone should allow you to give rave reviews especially with the same generic music everyone else is making. Give me a job as a writer, because I don’t know if those degrees taught you anything about hip hop.

      1. the SOHH articles were always trash, but the comments section, at least the way it was laid out, made the site worth while. Used to have some decent discussions about actual hip hop music there…..then all the trolls came out and fucked shit up for every body. The forum was flooded with dogshit and it drove everyone away.

    4. i think Yela brilliantly put together his life, truth with some fluidity. Way better than Budden’s and imo Royce. Crooked I was good, he loves this shit…..Joel masterfully played off simple math and Eminem well 7 minutes, there were times he absolutely fucking murdered it, then he slow it down a bit (sort of) and brought it back up. His jabs at Lebron followed by whoever he spoke of selling 300,000 copies to Ray Rice. Eminem set the tone in the first 10 seconds that u knew his would destroy everyone, the fact it went on for another 6 minutes of freestyling is amazing

    5. “Yela found himself rooted at the foot of a gaggle of opinion hierarchies, with comments springing from, Yelawolf should have stayed at home to, Damn Yelawolf no bueno, which is Spanish for no good.”

      I don’t know you but I think you should be punched in the mouth.

    6. “Theres a neurosis to Ems lyrical attack, a compulsion to string together words that shouldnt seem to fit. His latest serving is worth all the oohs and aahs, but a 42-year old man that jokes about punching a Pop star in the face and spits derogatory lines about Anderson Coopers sexuality isnt just tired, its corny.”

      Yeah, it’s a fucking freestyle, it’s just random shit. Are you new to hip hop or something? “He seems to string words together that don’t seem to fit” no shit you fucking dunce. And don’t call shit corny just because you’re sensitive. Punching a pop star in the head, OH NO. What about all the murdering of kids and fucking with himself he did? You seemed fine with that. You’re like a feminist at a comedy show, you pick your one thing that bothered you.

      1. I was waiting for Britney and sure enough he mentions her. Same old same shit. He still dresses like a 14 year old and going blonde again it does nothing for him artists have to revent themselves unfortunately em just doesn’t. He still continues to spit about his past his fucked up relationship get over it.Move on dude.

    7. WOW!!! Jay seems a little butt hurt theres no deep introspect in a freestyle cypher to promote an album. I guess Em can’t just have fun after recovering from addiction and making up with his mother. This guy needs to go back to masturbating to his Atmosphere records.

      Pusha-T said it the best “Cocaine aside, all the bloggers behooved/My critics finally have a verse of mine to jerk off too”

    8. this is the shit i love..if Em who is a superstar could do crazy cyphers like this..then ds lil ass new fucking rappers are super wack…Em verse was the best followed by crooked,yelawolf dint go in like em and crook did..i expected more…royce woldplay is incredible,he showed up at the end of his verse! joel and joe didnt disappoint either

    9. Eminem bodied it
      Then crooked I
      Then Yelawolf
      Then Joe budden Took a different approach which was cool
      Joel same shit
      Royce WAC as fuck I don’t know what happened to him

    10. Em killed it. Royce was decent. Everyone else was horrendous. Especially Budden. Terrible.
      Yelawolf is no under dog. He just didn’t show up. Yelawolf has great technical ability, but was too lazy to put it on display.

      As a unit, Shady doesn’t hold a candle to Strange Music’s latest cyphers.

      1. Agree with this entire comment outside of the Yelawolf commentary. Thought he had the second best verse after Em. Not that it’s saying much since Buddens, Joel, Royce & Crooked all had typical, lazy ass verses.

        Seeing Em rap alongside Royce was like watching Muggsy Bogues drive the lane on Dwight Howard.

    11. Glad Henry spoke up about YELAWOLF .. Most creative and versatile Hip Hop Artist of All Time .. Just wait for LOVESTORY

      1. He just showed he has no clue about the content he is writing about, fuck, he fits right in with this staff then doesn’t he?

    12. crooked I was the only enjoyable one to listen to.
      Joe budden jesus christ was horrible….yela was trash to me, joell had a few decent lines, royce was boring and eminem’s rhymes are just getting tired…rhyming a bunch of syllabes together but saying nothing…i only listened once but there wasn’t one line that i can remember or that stood out to me

    13. This article was fucking stupid. How are you going to watch a cypher featuring a group called “Slaughterhouse” and expect political correctness? Yela’s verse was a lot calmer but I respect that he took a different approach and didn’t feel the need to go all guns blazing. Same for Joe,I really felt his verse. Crooked I absolutely killed yet he didn’t even get a passing mention. Joel and Royce were equally good and definitely had bars.

      As for Eminem, it’s clear that HHDX just doesn’t like the guy and nothing he does is ever going to be right. He tried to show maturity and growth on Recovery, HHDX bitched about a so called “decline in skill”. He went ultra lyrical with Marshal Mathers LP 2, HHDX said it was “too lyrical” (the dumbest remark I have ever read in my life, on anything, ever). Now they are complaining because he spit with fire and aggression that hasn’t been seen since the first half of his career. It’s a cypher, you are supposed to go as hard as humanly possible!

      HHDX just sound like R&B/pop fans trying to critique hip hop to the same standards. Anyone who is a fan of wordplay and skill (you know, the shit actually matters!) knows that this cypher was pure fire. Only thing that was corny was this article. Maybe you should just stick to Drake albums.

      1. Amen x2. Nothing Em ever does seems to be good enough for his eternal critics. And critics are forever stuck making comparisons of his current work to the “old” Eminem. And of course he can never win there either. People just need to stop their bitching and just appreciate Em for where he’s at in his evolution as an artist. Although I agree there is something definitely “neurotic” in his compulsion to make words go together. That’s why he’s so good. And why he’s so endearing. We all know Em ain’t right in the head.

    14. lol at this weak ass write up romanticizing an acapella cypher for promotional purposes.

      the mishapen new york sky, a jersey sized chip on his shoulder. andre should write screen plays. what a gifted dick sucker.

      eminem is washed the fuck up and he still blows these bums outta the water everytime he raps with them. not even close. em at half speed at the end of the road is better than these guys put together,

      em is a fading legend but slaughterhouse is an embarrassment. buncha never was artists being relaunched for the 4th or 5th time to the same failing results. em is a loyal guy no doubt. im sure interscope was in his ear telling him to ditch those bums after the flop that was their major label debut but here he is. shoving em up our ass again.

      royce is like 40. nice hat you fucking loser. so cool. rhinestone du rags to woven chaplin hats. ever since he got back with em his whole style and rap game took a shit. he’s washed up. one long run on rhyme of nothingness where he thinks hes killing it when he aint killing shit but time.

      1. what the fuck wrong with you two dumbasses? what would make you think eminem is washed up after MURDERING that cypher and detriot vs everybody verse? you 2 are some real dumbasses and shouldnt be on an eminem article.

      2. I fail to see how Em is washed up when he’s one of the few artists that still sells records. If he’s washed up, what does that say about the state of hip hop?

      3. I disagree. They’re all really, really, really good MCs. Plain and simple. Let me guess…you got some wack ass underground guys who you think are better. Go take a seat for now. Slaughterhouse is sick. They just are. It’s nice to have them around in this watered down era we’re suffering through right now. Y’all need to chill with all this. Be thankful that these guys exist and do it all for the love of spitting bars. It’ll be a lost art sometime in the near future.

      4. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

        the ONLY post that matters

        one can only imagine, in horror, what Joell’s motherfucking feet smell like up close

      5. What you fail to realize is the reason Slaughter has been around so long is because they have talent. People like Jay Z, and Em can sell a Million easy at there age is because that era produced longevity and actual talent. Most new rappers are here today and gone tomorrow. I swear Em fans are the most cock sucking fans I have ever seen. Some are actually blinded by love and hate Slaughter House for having skills so they actually will go as far to ignoring their skill level. SMH the hate.

    15. em as a rhymer? one of, if not best ever.

      em as a rapper? prob not even in the top 20 all time.

      – just my 2cents

      1. the difference is his tracks are like an event that you just have to hear, the Problem is replayability. Once you hear an em track there is no reason to go back and listen again and again.

        the dudes tracks just dont have that replayabilty.

      2. You’re seriously arguing that the music of the top selling hip-hop artist of the past TWO DECADES doesn’t have replay value? What?

        Actually, forget the untouchable success in terms of record sales. Some of the best lyricists ever don’t sell shit (Cunninglynguists, Immortal Tech, etc…). If you’re a true hip-hop head, there is simply no way you can listen to a verse by Em and not appreciate the lyrical ability. The only other rapper in the history of the game that had the ability to string words together like Em was Big L. That’s it.

      3. @googleMYName

        Marshall Mathers LP is probably my most played album of all time. you don’t know what you’re talking about

    16. I grew up when shady was taking over the radio and destroying the children. I am a product of his music, so my love for his product will never fade. But as I grew older I learned to appreciate several other styles, and genres of music. Yela is a great artist, perhaps not the best rapper, but hes truly gifted in creating a unique sound. Slaughterhouse is definitely a gifted group of rappers from a generation that never truly appreciated their talents, this may not be their demographic anymore. Em, has a talent that is unmatched. He can rhyme forever, and the spot on the “list” hes strived to be on for so long has already been placed for him. So at times, his “why am i not good enough?” rants get old. We know you’re good, we know you’re legendary. We get it. Needless to say, plenty of the comments made below have valid points. But is there talent here? Of course. Maybe just not this generation. I personally loved every minute. But like I said.. I’m a sucker for the music i grew up with. Peace.

    17. I don’t see the point in over analysing a cypher.. its just album promo aha
      if this was a TDE or BET joint ya’ll would just say who bodied it and who sucked.
      my 2 cents; em went hard as always.. crooked was tight.. wasn’t really feels the others..

    18. I thought all of them killed it, maybe not Joe so much, he always got some emotional baggage.

      Vintage Eminem, of course vintage Em is always going to bring the controversy, but thats what you want from Mr. Mathers.

    19. BITCH AZELIA BANKS SHUT THE FUCK UP SUCK DICK AND DIE YOU FUCKIN WHORE!!!! AND EMINEM WILL DESTROY FAT CO BITCH ROSS… MY BAD THAT FUCKIN FAGGET COP NEVER EVEN WENT PLATINUM ANYWAY NOT EVEN WHEN CDS WERE STILL SELLINback in 05 06!!! GAME AND JEEZY ARE THE LAST REAL NIGGAZ OF A DEAD BREED!!! ALL THESE FAGGET INTERNET STANS DONT KNOW REAL FROM FAKE!!! THE DOCUMENTARY 2 in january REAL HIPHOP!!!! if it aint kendrick and drake i dont listen to these bitch ass weak new niggaz! Game should 600 bar these fags will fit well as a real hiphop followup to Eminems amazing cypher!!!

      WACKEST RaPPERS
      AZELIA BANKS
      DEJ LOAF
      TRINIDAD DROPPED
      CHIEF KEEF DROPPED
      GUCCI MANE in JAIL
      IGGY AZELIA
      ANY WEAK ASS RAPPER WIT DREADS… cause non of them niggaz was rockin that shit til wayne did it
      ALL THE FAKE ASS NEW CHICAGO RAPPERS BESIDES KING LOUIE…LOUIE IS NICE
      Lil DURk ON WAY to Jail
      Migos just weak as fuck fuck q tip bitch ass
      troy ave fake ass bitch nigga list goes on.

    20. This cypher was garbage. All Eminem can do is rap about beating and raping women. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. Real niggas are waiting on Drake, ILoveMakonnen, P. Reign, PARTYNEXTDOOR and The Weeknd to do an OVOXO Cypher.

      1. OVO you are not a very good troll, aren’t you the same cat who’s always wanting dick pics & shirtless pics? Souonds pretty durn homosexual man.

      2. GO LAUGHTERHOUSE! GO LAUGHTERHOUSE!

        JOELL ORTIZ SOLO SOLD 14 COPIES IN ** LAST MONTH ** !!

        THAT’S CALLED “PIGGYBACK” SUCCESS!!!

    21. I thought Yelawolf had the best verse. I like Eminem but I wasn’t really to hype on his part, the entire cypher as a whole was weak. But I’m glad they did it just for the love of Hip-Hop.

    22. My name is Marshall…
      …I’m repping that motherfucking Motor City, bitch.

      I just turned Slaughterhouse to a quintet
      Began to trend-set, murdered a friend’s pet
      Made shit as ill as it can get went in depth
      Like a fucking vignette and two bars skins wet
      I’m already covered in sweat
      And I wasn’t even ready to come in yet
      AHH, let me set this drink down
      Beat up a gal, start beef with her pal
      Probably be wild ’til I’m wrinkled and senile
      And “Rap God” was a freestyle
      Off the top of the dome piece while I was sleep on the couch
      And I’m freestyling now
      I need a towel, sweat leaks from my brow
      It’s burning my eyes, my cerebral is foul
      Cause shit I’m thinking about should be illegal
      I need my head banned like the guy who left Cleveland Ohio
      And went to South Beach with his talents
      Scream “fuck you” on the way out and wink with a smile
      This whole game can eat a dick, I’m going back deep underground
      But right now I’m back on that bullshit and you I’m singling out
      Cause you’re so fucking outdated you should mingle a while
      What the fuck is this clusterfuck of busters
      Bunch of Buster Douglas’, motherfuckers is one hit wonders
      One swing and you’re crowned
      Knocked one out the park, one catchy jingle and now
      You think you fucking with me cause you sold like 300 thou
      Bitch, I can jump without my feet ever leaving the ground
      Reach up, swing from a cloud with 3 thousand people around
      Evil and vile enough to leap in the crowd
      And heave a child in a sink hole on Cinco De Mayo
      When I’m sprinkled in pico de gallo
      Mardi Gras beads in a towel
      I just made that up
      I don’t know much Spanish, I’m not bilingual
      But I’ll show you a Mexican stand off
      Between just these two amigos
      Cause neither really wants to say what we’re thinking out loud
      But I sure as fuck think I know how read body English, no doubt
      Cause we’re trying to kill each other, but lyrically
      The fuck is humility? What is a real emcee?
      Royce, he came up in the shit with me
      Never spit that hustler shit, it wasn’t a fit for me
      Let them adjust ’til they just get the gist of me
      Just not giving a fuck and plus with the history
      Of muscular distrophy, it wasn’t a mystery
      Why this middle finger was stuck in this upward positioning
      So what in the fuck is a list to me?
      I’m used to not being on it, I expect it out ’em
      Heck wit’ em, I get my respect without ’em
      Ain’t really been into diamonds since I put my first record out
      But I could put a chain around my second album
      And wear it as a neck medallion
      Became a millionaire, went downhill from there
      Became civil, office swivel chair, sterling silverware
      Screaming life is still unfair til I get a real career
      The fuck am I gonna do until then? This job is too fulfilling
      Two ga-jillion pairs of super villain shoes to fill in
      And a mood to kill till I plow my Coupe de Ville
      Into some children at the food pavilion and Build-A-Bear
      Warrior’s mind, Im pro-hydrocodone euphoria
      In the Drug Emporium line, I’m soaring
      I’m pouring Vicodin four at the time ignoring the warning signs on ’em fore I go four wheeler riding
      Gory and violent and horrifying
      You surely won’t find no one more appalling
      Than I am with this retaliatorial rhyming for Gloria Steinem
      But I finger her like a witness, show me a line-up
      I usually am abusive, but excuse me, ma’am
      I guess I must’ve threw you for a loop like toucan Sam
      When I said I could use the sample cause you’s a tramp
      But look how you react to this trigger like
      When I call you a bigger dyke than the Hoover Dam
      You playing right in Lex Luthor’s hands
      It’s such a ruthless plan, might even lose a fan
      But fuck it, Superman wouldn’t change in a phone booth for Stan
      I’m a brand new being like Grand Puba’s band
      Happy as Anderson Cooper having a tuba crammed
      In his pooper with lubricant…wait, that’s too… I can’t
      Since honesty is the best policy I’ll give you the old college try
      Try to acknowledge my mistakes, probably won’t qualify
      As a gentleman and a scholar, but it’s time that I swallow pride
      And say that I’m sorry, sorry that I can’t apologize
      I think of all them times I compromised my bottom lines
      And thought of rhymes that sodomized your daughter’s minds
      Then I’m like dollar signs
      But I may fight for gay rights especially if they dyke
      It’s more of a knockout than Janay Rice
      Play nice, bitch, I punch Lana Del Rey right
      In the face twice like Ray Rice in broad daylight
      In plain sight of the elevator surveillance
      Til her head is banged on the railing
      Then celebrate with the Ravens
      Never date an assailant that self-medicates with inhalants
      I’d meditate, but I may need a better way to escape
      The aggression, rage and the anger
      Cause them restraints on the ankles
      Heavyweights and an anchor with handcuffs in chains
      This ain’t enough to contain it
      But I still get the same respect as Jay if I came on
      Stage in a fucking negligee everyday and Liz Claiborne
      Devastated from breakup with Kate Hudson
      Wait slut, your friends, what are they gonna say
      Cause makeup ain’t gonna cover
      That eye that’s seven-eighths of the way shut
      Peppersprayed with your face cut
      Made my bank like a lay up
      Off these effing skanks on the way up
      Oh, bitch thinks she’s heaven sent
      It’s evident that she ain’t never been with seven inches
      Yes, I said seven, I measured it
      Seven inches from the floor
      While I’m standing on the fourth floor balcony
      At the Sheridan when I’m stretching it
      Bitch, I’m a pimp so a limp dick is all you’ll ever get
      So if she’s hesitant to get the hint
      I’ll bet you that I get the message sent who she’s messing with
      Hella quick when I tell a chick not to never use sex as a weapon
      When I step in and beat the wretched wench with a crescent wrench
      Existential detriments to a lesbian devil
      In the unpleasant stench of an estrogen level
      That separatists like a Chechnian rebel
      Impressionist with a pencil
      A pessimist, with his lips pressed against
      The edge of this Red Bull
      Pedal to the metal I’m rippin’ this shit cause right away I’ll give it to a bitch like a pedestrian, deadly as ever
      You see what kind of effects she has on the opposite sex when I push her flexible little sexy ass through a plate of plexiglass
      SHADYXV as perplexing as
      The last fifteen years and I’m predicting my next relapse
      When I spit these lyrics so don’t look at me weird
      When I start shifting gears and shit re-smears all over Britney Spears
      And these little Disney queers
      Who use chicks for beards?
      Just made that up too…
      Oh and the Shady 2.0
      We wrote it in roman numerals like they do for the Super Bowls
      Cause it’s supposed to confuse you hoes
      The flows lose you as usual, so juvenile
      2 year old when I go to the studio
      It’s only music but don’t be foolish though
      You don’t know me through it ho but you can blow me to it though
      In my homie’s Buick
      Been known to lose it though so if I overdo it you drove me to it
      When I step in the vocal booth like I’m supposed to do
      And I murder you on a fuckin’ track like Tony Stewart
      In one take, if I fuck up and I don’t redo it
      You couldn’t sound grown on a beat if you were moaning to it
      The day I don’t say fuck you all, you can throw me through it
      Rootinest-tootinest, shootin’ this from the hip
      With the sentiments, Eminem isn’t penning them for the women
      I’m an enemy to them and the epitome of an inconsiderate idiot
      But they consider me equivalent to chlamydia
      They tryna get rid of me gadzooks
      But I stiggity stand for the fliggity flag
      Of the United States and the freedom, I distribute these raps through
      And if I catch you doing anything
      Hindering or prohibiting that after I give me that
      Tattoo of your lips on my ass I’mma be literally
      Pickin’ up and deliberately whippin’ the Statue of Liberty at you
      WOOOOH!

    23. Hey Jay, I don’t think you understand hip hop, it’s not to help you get over your broken heart, its to spit some crazy lyrical shit that leaves you scratching your head and wanting to rewind it…. or at least it did. If you think Em gets more from Slaughterhouse then Slaughterhouse gets from em… I don’t understand how you’re employed.

    24. Joe budden doesn’t fit in.. that guy needs to battle mack 10, master p and 50 Tyson. people with similar talent

    25. White people are weak they steal or imitate every goddamn thing they present as something they created or mastered, especially when it comes to hip hop always seems like they trying maad hard just to rhyme ya’ll co-sign whatever they put in front of you. Mac miller, yella wolf, eminem , chris webby, ritz, and the dumb ass crakkka dyed with cornrows all the same white man. Trailer park or privileged all corny as fk

      1. well theres one thing white people have created and its this thing called a first world country. places where people can do things like oh i dunno, live peacefully and not worry about a militia of 15 year olds trained to kill by savages who have no respect for human life. just remember if it wasnt for england you wouldnt even be able to rap at all cos they also invented this thing called the english language. it seems pretty hard to rap in african languages, quite a lot of clicking involved id say.

    26. not trying to be funny when i say this..why cant eminem rap like this on the regular i like his shit but hes getting older and rappin like this is a 20 year olds prime.

    27. I’m Nigerian, 22 years old and I started listening to rap in 2010. I had heard when I’m gone by Eminem although I didn’t know the title then or who sang it but the rap was so melodious and fun to the hears and it was so touching that I wanted to know who sang it. Then Recovery was released which mind you is his most successful album internationally and is probably the favorite rap album of anyone who isn’t American and started listening to rap around the time. It isn’t mine though. Anyway, love the way you lie was the first track off the album that I listened to and the way this guy was rapping was just so different. I have never given shit about rap because it was always boring and I didn’t have the have the patience to listen to what is being said until then. Anyway, I didn’t hear what Eminem was saying then (I can now without checking for lyrics) and I didn’t bother checking for lyrics because I didn’t know it was possible to get them on Internet then. All I knew was that he sounded different (something I now know as rap flow).. Then I had a discussion with a roommate one day who is a real Stan. He raved a lot about Eminem and told me how he’s a battle emcee who has never been beaten and the best rapper ever etc and then he played “the warning” for me giving me his phone so I can follow his lyrics and my God, I was wowed. I don’t care for how he bashes women but the way he said the things he said in that song was insane. I never knew rap was about stuff like that. No drugs, money or girls. It was so refreshing. That day I knew I had to dig up on him and pay interest to rap in general. What I honestly feel is that this guy is the best by a long distance. Now I’m aware of all the arguments about him being washed up and not as good as he used to be but that was the Eminem I discovered and I freaked about that it was so shocking to me when I first came across criticisms of him. I wonder what he must have been around the time you Americans consider him dope. Now, don’t get me wrong I have listened to all of Em’s album safe Infinite and I have heard most collaboration but I guess I can’t properly appreciate his older stuff because I wasn’t in that moment to understand the vibe so I can’t properly judge but I think that guy you think has lost it is still the best. I can’t say I’m an hip hop head but I follow rap well and I think you guys must have been so spoiled by Eminem’s genius at a time that the fact he’s not meeting up to his own standards means he’s no more good and others are better than him. I beg to differ though. This guy is still insane. I’m very particular about how rappers say what they say Rather than the actual thing being said because I feel that’s where the genius is and I think this guy is the best. My ranking of his albums from top is mmlp, relapse, mmlp2,Eminem show, recovery, sslp, encore. I know sslp is considered a classic and I love the album but I don’t prefer it to the others but I gave reasons earlier why that may be so. I heard the shit about relapse trash because of his accent and I’m like wtf. That album for me is a classic. And for this review. I don’t belong to your culture so maybe I don’t really understand some argument by the hhdx staff but I really like shady Cypher and I think they are wrong with their opinion. He was dope. He had the best verse followed by crooked I, yelawolf, Joel Ortiz, then royce and Joe Budden both of which I didn’t like.

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