Eminem and the Wu-Tang Clan have been given their flowers by treasured singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who listed the rap icons among artists he believes have a “feeling for words and language.”
The comments were made during an interview with The Wall Street Journal, where Dylan was asked to elaborate on some of the music he’s consumed this year, and how he goes about discovering new artists.
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“Mostly by accident, by chance,” Dylan admitted. “If I go looking for something I usually don’t find it. In fact, I never find it. I walk into things intuitively when I’m most likely not looking for anything.”
He continued: “Performers and songwriters recommend things to me. Others I just wake up and they’re there. Some I’ve seen live … Zach Deputy, I’ve discovered him lately. He’s a one man show like Ed Sheeran, but he sits down when he plays.
“I’m a fan of Royal Blood, Celeste, Rag’n’Bone Man, Wu-Tang, Eminem, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, anybody with a feeling for words and language, anybody whose vision parallels mine.”
Dylan went on to say that while he has an affinity for vinyl, he dove into the works of Slim Shady and Wu-Tang via streaming services.
“I listen to CDs, satellite radio and streaming,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer added. “I do love the sound of old vinyl though, especially on a tube record player from back in the day. I bought three of those in an antique store in Oregon about 30 years ago.
“They’re just little, but the tone quality is so powerful and miraculous, has so much depth, it always takes me back to the days when life was different and unpredictable. You had no idea what was coming down the road, and it didn’t matter. The laws of time didn’t apply to you.”
The folk-rock legend is equally as cherished in the Hip Hop space. Back in 2018, Kanye West took to Twitter to call on Bob Dylan to collaborate with him, although he never responded.
Pharrell, meanwhile, compared Kendrick Lamar to Dylan back in 2013, telling Complex: “Kendrick Lamar is this era’s Bob Dylan. Masterful storytelling. Listen to it. It will elevate you. And just like that, music has changed.”
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K. Dot responded to Pharrell’s praise and took the opportunity to shout out Dylan’s artistry in the process.
“That was crazy,” he said in an interview with Arsenio Hall. “I always said, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’m going to say something. I’m not going to just rap a bunch of verses.’ That was Dylan.
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“He’s a legend and he said something. He voiced his opinion and the world gravitated towards it and I want to do that with my music.”
