Eminem Thinks Some New Rappers Need “A Hip Hop Lesson”

    The “real Hip Hop” versus “fake Hip Hop” argument is a topic routinely discussed and dissected. There are those who discredit the current rap generation for not having respect for the pioneers who helped establish Hip Hop culture.

    So, when Eminem sat down with French outlet Skyrock, naturally, the subject popped up. When asked whether the new rappers respect Hip Hop’s forefathers, Slim Shady explained why some of them could use “a Hip Hop lesson.”

    “As far as the new generation, I think some of the artists do [pay homage] and some of them probably don’t really care,” he said. “Me in particular, I’ve always been such a fan of rap, too. My heroes will always stay my heroes. And the people who, especially like, paved the road for someone like me, you know, I always pay homage to the ones who came before me because they made Hip Hop what it is today. They are responsible.

    “Our Hip Hop forefathers are responsible for rap even [being] here,” he continued. “What I would say to somebody coming up who is young in the game and doesn’t really respect that, [they] should go back and probably listen, and get a Hip Hop lesson. It’s one of the things that I’m able to do by feeding off that old energy and the new energy that’s out right now, and able to try to intertwine those. I would suggest, just for the fun of it if anything, going back and listening to … if you have maybe heard of Rakim but you don’t know his music, go listen to Rakim.”

    Mr. Mathers went on to list Masta Ace, Naughty By Nature’s Treach, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane as examples of dope MCs, and commended that era of Hip Hop.

    Elsewhere in the interview, Shady talked about his approach to songwriting, getting Beyoncé on “Walk On Water,” and the differences between Marshal Mathers and Slim Shady.

    Watch the entire interview above.

    57 thoughts on “Eminem Thinks Some New Rappers Need “A Hip Hop Lesson”

    1. Eminem is balding so badly, he wears a hairpiece when he cant wear his hats. Sometimes he wears both a hat and a hoodie over his head to hide his male pattern baldness.

    2. He’s right. That said, there’s a real anti-intellectual streak in the US right now- don’t expect kids to give a fuck about history.

    3. Thank God Kool G Rap is on his list everybody is only worried about the $ part & not the Art anymore….. Instagram: PlayboyRudy

    4. Eminem is undoubtedly one of the best to ever pick up the mic… but dude needs to hang it up. He can write good lyrics, but his delivery is atrocious in comparison to anything he did from 1998-2007. It’s too bad. Last album revival is a brow away, which even though I’ve kind disliked many of his others, i wouldn’t ever call them throw aways. Mmlp2 even destroys Revival… and that album was decent, but again. For Eminem,
      Meh.

      And honestly, why would New “rappers” like future and all them show homage to the adults? He didn’t learn from them… he didn’t learn to make his style from true hiphop music… he’s a totally different type of music… it’s sucks to me, but to each his own.

      1. You’re a fucking moron. It’s okay for Lil Yahty to rap, and Uzi Vert, and Lil Pump, but EMINEM needs to retire because you feel his delivery isn’t as good as it used to be?? Hahaha Wtf are you listening to. You need to retire commenting on Hip Hop, you dumb motherfucker.

        1. Dude, get over it already. Marshall ain’t as good as he used to be. Revival was a huge letdown for someone like Em. So just because some people aren’t feeling the new Eminem means they don’t listen to hip hop? Hip hop doesn’t begin and end with only Eminem, Stanley. Maybe Eminem needs a lesson on how to make a good album since he hasn’t had one in 15 years.

          1. who cares if he “ain’t as good as he used to be” fool. That doesn’t mean he’s trash and needs to retire, wtf are you talking about. I dont have you a problem with people not feeling new Em. I have a problem with dumbasses like you that think Em needs to retire. If you look at the current state of rap and tell me some dumb shit like that, then maybe you need a lesson on what makes a dope rapper.

            1. If Eminem keeps putting out trash albums like Revival, then he may as well retire. Don’t ruin the legacy even more. Just because the current state of rap isn’t good doesn’t mean we have to accept bullshit from veterans like Eminem. If he puts out trash, he’s gonna get called out for it. And again, you’re talking like Eminem is the only great rapper out and hip hop begins and ends with him, which is completely false. Do you even listen to anybody else besides Em?

            2. You just said the state of hip hop isn’t good, then said Eminem is putting out trash and needs to retire. Think about that for a second. Who gives a fuck if you didn’t like his pop features, Eminem still killed every non pop song on Revival. Fuck are you listenening to. I would love to sit down and talk hip hop with you fools face to face.

            3. Okay, I thought about it for a second. I don’t see anything wrong with what I said. And since you haven’t answered my question about who else you listen to besides Eminem, I’m gonna assume you’re one of those guys who only listens to Em and thinks he knows everything about hip hop. Let’s look at some legends in the game that dropped great albums last year, shall we? Jay-Z, Raekwon, Wu-Tang, the late Sean Price, all put out better albums than Revival and were more hip hop than that album. Let’s look at some of the younger cats who aren’t mumble rappers who dropped last year, shall we? Kendrick, Big KRIT, Joey Badass, and (this should really piss you off) Vince Staples all had better albums. Kendrick’s and Vince’s albums weren’t 100% hip hop either (DAMN had a little more singing than K Dot’s usual albums and BFT had an experimental sound) but they’re far more enjoyable and listenable than Revival. Now, since I didn’t list any mumble rappers like you anticipated, you’re gonna say I’m high, retarded or say I’m a dumbass or an idiot about my picks for better albums. Oh, and “Lose Yourself” came up on my shuffle earlier today and reminded me of how great Marshall once was. You were saying?

            4. Em, Roots, Jay, Nas, Tech 9, Immortal technique, Royce are some of my top, and Eminem is top of that list as the whole package, above dudes that murder microphones. From the bar structures, to the flows, from fast rap to slow rap, to the chorus, to the voice, to the stage presence, Em hasn’t lost any skill. He’s still Em, so I do have an issue when someone says “Em needs to retire”. Fuck are you talking about? Not one of those artist you named has ever even put out a track like Arose, nor could they. 20+ years later and Em still puts you through every emotion on his albums. Can any of those artist you just named hang with Em on a track today? No. That’s a bodybag. So why the Fuck would he need to retire. Re-phrase your statements, cuz that’s an ignorant ass opinion. And I love hip hop more than anybody I’ve ever met, and I’ve listened to all those albums and wasn’t impressed but I’m not going to a Jay Z page and saying “oh he needs to retire” when in reality dude hasn’t put out anything that’s impressed me for 10 years. Where’s all the hate for jay z? Em is so big that he can’t do shit without everyone hating on him. They want Eminem in 02 and anything else he does is “garbage”..? Really? If Em’s a Tech 9 or a Hopsin people are eating up Relapse-Revival. They’d love it. Leave this dude the fuck alone and let him rap.

      2. You do realize that Future is not a new rapper right? Dude’s been in the game for more than 15 years. Came up with the Dungeon Family, Outkast & Goodie Mobb.

    5. Eminem pays homage to the ones who came before him? hahaha…. he stole Esham The Unholy’s whole style and made millions. I guess that’s paying homage? Fuck outta here Marshall!!!!

    6. somebody get this guy some medication.. look at this feeble being, super red face, scrappy-doo beard, communist castro hat, what the fuck is wrong with this guy?

    7. If you always pay homage, why don’t you put some of these artists on your album,rather than Pink and Skylar Grey.
      Just a thought Marshall.
      If your last albums Track List included Masta Ace, Rakim and Kool G Rap,people might still be listening to your new album.

      1. Yeah, broke-ass comment section philosophers (such as yourself) who don’t buy shit anyway. He is not dropping albums for the validation of no-lifers on forums, he is dropping them to make money. Masta Ace, Rakim and G Rap features don’t sell records, Beyoncé and P!nk do. As simple as that.

        1. But you can’t collaborate with Beyonce and Pink to inflate your sales and then say that people need a hip-hop history lesson.

          1. Why not? Does he have to replicate Redman just because he is his hero? Em is doing his own thing, whether you like it or not. His ‘hip hop lesson’ comments were meant for these new lils and youngs who are acting ignorant and disrespectful towards the genre’s pioneers. He did not say “let’s all make the same music like Kool G Rap or whoever”, chill.

            1. I’m not even gonna go back and drag up bars from MMLP, I’m just gonna say Em dropped a freestyle that did more for the culture than his entire last album.

        2. You STUPID RETARD. We know WHY he did it, money. But understand IDIOT that he’s contradicting himself. Real rap fans appreciate the artists he shouted out but see Revival like the cash grab piece of shit it is

      1. If a kid born this century listened to Paid In Full start to finish they would find it so dated.

        Opening with I Ain’t No Joke, a scratch-heavy assault with a drum loop and a single repeated horn line, it sounds like it was made 30 years ago.

        Then we have Eric B Is On The Cut, where we don’t even hear Rakim.

        How many young kids have an attention span long enough to get to My Melody? I knew guys 15 years ago who only knew that track as a reference by 50 Cent.

        The really frustrating part is when people hear a bar that flips an older MC and you’re the only one who seems to notice, but maybe that is something to enjoy.

    8. I had a convo at my work with a teenage girl who was defending Revival like it wasn’t Em’s worst album. kids nowadays didn’t grow up with good hip-hop so they don’t know what it is. Example, Kendrick Lamar is good, sure but there’s a hundred emcee’s who are better. Kids think this guy is some kind of hip hop savior, don’t get me wrong, I like him too but he’s not the best I’ve heard. Em has the ability to still make solid music but he’s putting out straight garbage… maybe on his next joint, he’ll apologize to everyone for wasting our time with that tripe … apologizing seems to be all he knows how to do nowadays aside from collaborating with paint by numbers pop singers

      1. Eminem has released garbage in the past. The last 10 years have been a cycle of poor tracks followed by self-awareness and repeat.

        Kendrick is a beast right now, I’m yet to see anyone make a good argument against him that doesn’t come down to hating his success. If people put too much on him then it is only the same as a previous generation did with Nas.

    9. Haha, people saying Em need to retire. I think Revival wasn´t his best album. But to me it was still a great journey through his mind. The Album was 4/5 regarding the actuell Rap-Standard. I tried listening to Migos and lil Uzi Vert. I through that shit out the window of my car. How fucking stupid in the head can you be to actuelly enjoy that dumb shit…People need to listen to Em and learn.

      1. I like Migos and I know the difference between through and threw, and I can spell actually.

        Maybe there’s more to it than you realised or maybe liking Eminem doesn’t make you smart.

        1. Sorry, you are correct regarding my spelling. I am german and speak 6 languages. I get the shit mixed up in my docter theses as well…thx

          1. Speaking as your supervisor I would recommend you get back to work and stop bullshitting on the internet with your dumb ass opinions.

      2. How stupid can you be to buy a physical copy of an album of artists who you know you’re not gonna like? Lmao you can stream all their material. Waste of fuckin money.

      1. bro, 20 years ago all of the rappers was dissing each other but they weren’t serious. It was more like joke thing

    10. I’m 43, and hip hop changes and will continue to do so. I have sons who are 20. To them Drake, Migos, etc.. are the standard. I don’t hate on that, but I do expose them to Nas, Pac, Rakim, G Rap, Bootcamp, Redman, Treach, Ice Cube, PE, BDP, Mobb Deep, DMX, and the list goes on.

      I think Em’s point is spot on. As older hip hop heads we shouldn’t shit on the new stuff. It’s not for me, but similarly the new heads should know their history and respect it.

      It’s no different than basketball. The debate will always rage on about was 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s and so on better. Magic, Bird, Kareem, Isaiah, were all time greats, but so was MJ(the goat), Barkley, Karl Malone, Olajuwon, and so forth.

      We should be teaching the young generation the business so they don’t make mistakes on that side. Building generational wealth like Jay said. With that said, regardless of his last album, let’s not act like Em don’t have bars. He can spit that shit when he want to.

      1. We could open up an empathetic and intergenerational line of dialogue with the next generation or we could just call them gay on the internet. I propose we stick with the latter.

        1. Nah bro, we can’t do that. I try to be bigger than that. They are who they are. As I said the Uzi, Yahty’s and others of this generation aint for me, but some of them are. I can listen to Kendrick, Cole, and a few others all day long.

          In any event, we gotta keep working to get both sides to see value in each other(EVEN WHEN IT’S CHALLENGING).

    11. I think it’s clear that the biggest reason the new generation doesn’t feel the connection to hip hop that the older heads did, is the simple fact that mumble rap/trap/swag rap (Whatever you wanna call it) is not hip hop. They just call it hip hop out of laziness to not name it something else. The term mumble rap is something the old heads came up with. The sound of today’s music is definitely not hip hop. It’s all digital and clubby/poppy. And the lyrics are just ignorant because that’s what’s perceived as “cool.” You show these kids an emcee who can pen some dope rhymes and that’s actually looked DOWN upon by them. And it all goes back to that disconnect I mentioned earlier that today’s music is just something different. It’s not hip hop. It’s something else that hasn’t been named or officially categorized. These dudes aren’t rapping. They’re chanting with auto tune. If that wasn’t the case, then there would be more of a connection to that true school hip hop for these youngsters by it’s just not there out of the simple fact that this just a different category of music.

    12. Thats funny how do you think Em is not a pop rapper? He is more mainstream then any other artist I can think of. I agree the new trap rap music sucks but Em been a mainstream artist since the early 2000’s
      He definitely isnt a underground rapper by any means.
      You want real hip hop go bump some Your Old Droog or some C-Rayz-Walz or some Black Milk or anything that 12 year old white girls dont listen to. Anyone on here trying to defend Em is just a moron. Dude been a sellout along time ago. He can rhyme yeah but so can a million other people. White America loves Eminem funny how you think hes “down for the cause” even Dre woudlnt even touch that garbage album. Pretty sad. Its obvious this is his last album. What happend to D-12? No where to be found. Maybe try to go listen to music that isnt recommended on your shitty music streaming app and get your own sense of reality

      1. ..Em has arguably the most gruesome fucked up rhymes and stories ever told in Hip Hop. That’s Pop to you? Fucking Relapse was a whole album about murdering people in very gruesome, demented ways. What are you talking about? There’s a reason why those wack ass emcee’s you named are underground, because they simply can’t do what Em does. Any style track they want to do, Em is eating any of those motherfuckers alive. Fuck off an Eminem article, if he’s so wack you wouldnt of even clicked on it. FOH Whitey Ford, we know that’s you.

      2. ..Em has arguably the most gruesome fucked up rhymes and stories ever told in Hip Hop. That’s Pop to you? Fucking Relapse was a whole album about murdering people in very gruesome, demented ways. What are you talking about? There’s a reason why those wack ass emcee’s you named are underground, because they simply can’t do what Em does. The only rapper underground that deserves the fame is Tech n9ne. Any style track they want to do, Em is eating any of those motherfuckers alive. Fuck off an Eminem article, if he’s so wack you wouldnt of even clicked on it. FOH Whitey Ford, we know that’s you.

    13. For all you bitches sayin Em fell the fuck off, go listen to Caterpillar by Royce da 5’9″ ft Eminem. Now tell me again how Em fell off? GTFOH.

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