Eminem is in rare promo mode following the December 17 release of Music To Be Murdered By: Side B. Speaking to Apple Music host Zane Lowe, the sometimes elusive MC went into great detail about some of his earliest influences, favorite rappers and who he believes is criminally underrated.
When specifically asked about Nas, Slim Shady had a mouthful to say about how much he’s influenced him throughout his career.
“There’s too many moments that he had for me to even be able to count and one of the reasons that I picked ‘Halftime’ though is because there’s some rhyme schemes on there that most rappers to this day probably can’t do,” he explained. “And that’s one of the things that has made Nas so great over his career. Like when he, ‘Because when I blast the herb, that’s my word/I’ll be slaying them fast, doing this, that, and the third/But chill, pass the Andre, and let’s slay/I bag bitches up at John Jay and hit a matinee,” he was rhyming entire sentences.
“And I’m like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ Yo, Illmatic, I can’t even. Everybody knows that is a classic, essential album. I don’t know where you place that in Hip Hop, but it’s got to be at the top. It’s got to be up at the top. I’ve been inspired by so many rappers that that’s probably where I get … it taught me different flow patterns, different schemes you can do and then when you start finding your own that you feel like haven’t been done yet, that’s when it becomes fun.”
Shady, who’s often pressed for his G.O.A.T. list, also revealed Big Daddy Kane, Tupac Shakur, Redman, Rakim, Naughty By Nature’s Treach and Kool G Rap were still firmly in his Top 10.
“I rap to be the best rapper, but I’m not the only rapper who raps to be the best rapper,” he said. “Wayne, Cole, Kendrick, Joyner Lucas. They rap to be the best rapper and I feel like when you push yourself like that, that’s what I feel like inspires greatness. But the list, man, sometimes you almost have to go by era.
“Tupac, I feel like rappers like Rakim, G Rap, Kane, Treach, Pharoahe Monch, KRS-One would drive some new shit, it just outdid whatever was before that. And then along comes Rakim and he outdoes that. And then along comes G Rap and he starts outdoing everyone else. Redman — Redman was, to me, one of the most consistent artists. Still rapping to this day, he’s one of the most consistently dope rappers.”
But Eminem also pinpointed some of his picks for most underrated — and that list includes the late Heavy D and Main Source MC Large Professor.
“Sometimes I got to go back to and remember how great some rappers were, right?” he explained. “Heavy D. RIP to Heavy D, man. I have nothing but the utmost respect for that dude. And he was one of the most underrated rappers to me because he was like a chameleon because he could get on a song with Treach and keep up.
“He had commercial hits and then he could go, like, ready for them, but they’re not ready for me. That man … Heavy D was a chameleon. Heavy D was like Biggie to me. He had the kind of commercial hits that no matter how much you heard him you never really got tired of him.”
As far as Large Professor goes, he noted how groundbreaking Main Source’s inaugural album Breaking Atoms was and how it introduced the world to a then-unknown Nas.
“Large Professor, that’s one of the most underrated MCs of all time to me,” he continued. “Because man, that first album, that’s a classic. To me, that’s right there with the Brand New, with the Illmatic. That’s one of those albums that … a classic album to me is a album that you can play straight through.
“I think that’s probably would be my definition, one of the things that would factor in. But yeah, man, that was a play straight through album. Every song was dope. You got the beginning of Nas right there, ‘Live at the Barbecue.’ He said, ‘When I was 12, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus.'”
Finally, Em talked about what a huge influence MC Serch, Pete Nice and DJ Richie Rich — collectively known as 3rd Bass — had on him.
“I saw an interview with MC Serch recently where somebody asked him about if he thinks he influenced me and he was like, ‘Nah, fuck no, whatever, that’s bullshit,’ and that is bull because he did influence me, very heavy,” he said. “But 3rd Bass, I was very inspired by 3rd Bass. It wasn’t even just the fact that it was two white MCs, the music and the way they rapped for that time period was fucking cutting edge.
Eminem Rattles Off His Picks For Greatest Rapper Of All Time
“When Serch was like, ‘The light goes, my mic blows up. The silence is now sound,’ he was doing those in-between, ‘You ain’t my nucka. Sucker, I’m snuffing.’ I paid attention to it. Those two albums taught me a lot, man. They taught me a lot and then I hated the fact that they broke up.
“MC Serch, like I said, I saw the interview and I was like, ‘Oh, come on, Serch. You got to know you inspired me.’ Serch and Pete Nice, man. I wished that they would’ve stayed together, I wish they would’ve made more albums. I wish there wasn’t the tension between the two of them and it wasn’t like that, but I’m not the one to… ain’t my call.”
My top 5: 1. Tupac 2. Jay/Nas (two different styles) 3. Eminem 4. Biggie ( too short of a catalog) 5. Everybody else …
Drake is a rapper/singer
Solid list I got 1.Pac 2.Nas 3.Biggie 4.Jay 5.Rakim
That’s my list to bro
My top favourite rappers off all time-1City girls,2Dababy,3Lilbaby,4Krs1,5Drake,6Eminem,7Nas,8The game,9Tekashi69,10MC Hammer
Real student of the game. Much respect.
1.BDK 2.Rakim 3.Pac 4.B.I.G. 5.Nas 6. Jay-Z 7.MF DOOM (I had to get on underground Dude on there) 8.Em 9.Big Pun 10.Kendrick
I think everyone has their own qualifications of a top of what makes someone in a “Top 5”. If we all went by the same code of what makes Top 5, still would be different but would make more overall sense. To me record sales mean absolutely nothing, but impact on the game should hold weight. This is my top 5 not in any order: 2Pac, GZA, Rakim, Nas, DMX.
I know no one will agree with “X” and why isn’t B.I.G. there, I have my own criteria, someone mentioned about B.I.G.’s catalogue not having enough to judge off of and totally agree.
no Masta Ace?? almost everything based off
Also dont forget that he stole the whole ‘slim shady’ persona from cage.
No order but MF DOOM, TECH N9NE, Biggie, DMX and Em
Man Em been name dropping Masta Ace for 20 years. Stfu. Look it up, you want me to show you how to work google search
How come Pun ain’t on nobody list? Talent-wise there should be no excuse not to have dude so i guess it’s the shortness of his career and discography?
He’s actually KRS’s favorite.
This is the first time I will give this guy props! He is true to the craft. It is so hard to pick on who is the greatest of rap. It is like how can you measure an album with Nas’s illmatic in any era. Think folks!!! You can run through that album 1000 time with out fast forwarding any song and you learn something every single time. That is why that album is the Gift and Curse for Nas. The Album illmatic will never be duplicated and it stands alone on its pedestal. I feel what Eminem is saying. How can Nas never be in someone’s top 5? Sorry but future rappers cannot be in that conversation because they make only one good song that is “trending hot” considered a classic song. Nas entire album of songs was a classic on illmatic. How do you beat that? Even Kane, Slick Rick, LL, KRS One, and of course Rakim had a great albums but you can fast forward on a few songs. Nas’s illmatic you just cannot if you know anything about the streets where I come from. That album is picture of an African American struggle each and every day. Think folks, after 25 years we as hip hop heads still talking about Nas’s album illmatic. Nas is stamped forever, forever! Good props from Slim Shady!
Calm down bruh, you were a shitty president.
It’s almost flawless but I can’t stand one time 4 your mind. I always skip that track. Everything else on there is Nas at his best. I wish he would do another album using the same producers instead of trying to appeal to the masses and using hit boy. Kings disease was such a disappointment
That album turns 27 in April.
I have a large penis.
I have a micro penis
Must be nice
Top 5 – Ronan Dax, Teal’c, Col. O’niell, Col. Sheppard and Dr. Mckay
No cage? I mean you stole the whole slim shady persona from cage and then dissed him.
Cage is and has been straight up garbage forever. Talk about a rapper with zero style, zero cadence and is boring as fuck to listen to. Get out of here with that weak ass shit.
5.Bizzy Bone
4.coo coo cal
3.obie trice
2.Royce 5,9
1.Eminem
How about his list off Til I Collapse?
I got a list, here’s the order of the list that I’m in – it goes Reggie, JayZ, 2pac and Biggie, Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me….
Chubb Rock is probably one of the rappers Eminem probably forgets to mention cause if he appreciates Heavy D there is no way he didn’t admire Chubb Rocks cadence, word play and flow back when he was putting out music.
But he is right about illmatic. Hard not to give Nas his slot at the top if you’re a true hip-hop head.
And Kool G. Rap is who Nas once mentioned when he talked about putting together illmatic, he said he knew rappers like Kool G. was gonna hear it so it had to be flawless so he could be recognized by the great ones such as Kool G. Rap.
1. Bizzy Bone -most versatile flow and voice, very diverse lyrical context and not a single weakness in his skill. Bizzy is criminally underrated and it’s kind of obvious that Eminem was influenced by him. It’s sad that Em has never done a track with Bone…he probably doesn’t want to give Bone the prestige of having worked with eazy, pac, biggie, pun AND Eminem.
Bizzy is the one rapper nobody alive could mess with. The single most underrated rapper of all time.
Best rapper? Bizzy Bone. Greatest rapper? Eazy-E. Best production value? Dr Dre. Best hook artist? Nate Dogg. Best legacy? Tupac. There’s my top five.