The Game ignited a colorful debate online in March when he claimed he was a better rapper than Eminem during an episode of Drink Champs. The unabashed bravado was palpable as Game spoke, despite many rap fans disagreeing with his self-assessment. The Compton native has since doubled down on his statement regarding Slim Shady and supposedly has a diss track locked and loaded for the anointed “rap god.”
During a recent interview with HipHopDX, Houston rap legend Paul Wall was asked if it was important to have that kind of confidence as an MC, no matter how preposterous a notion may sound to the outside world. While his Start 2 Finish partner-in-rhyme Termanology preferred to stay out of the discussion as it pertained to Eminem and The Game, Wall was willing to offer his opinion on the matter while making a surprising admission about his own journey.
“I had a lack of confidence growing up my whole life,” he tells DX. “It’s is not even until the last year that I started actually having any confidence in my own personal stuff. I think Lord Jamar was the one who said white MCs are guests in the house of Hip Hop and I can’t disagree with that. I agree, but I feel like we’re all guests in this house and I just feel like there’s just a lack of respect for our elders as a whole. And I feel like no one is entitled to the door being open front row access, red carpet access to the house of Hip Hop.
“I feel like everybody has to humbly come in there, earn it and work no matter who you are or what you’ve done. In terms of The Game and Eminem, I’ll separate them two as individuals from my thoughts, but I definitely feel like I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having confidence in yourself and your skills and your talents and what you’re capable of doing.”
He adds, “And I feel like The Game is right. The artists that are confident, the most confident sometimes they do things and try things that others with less confidence maybe wouldn’t do, because they’re confident in the fact that it could work. It can be successful.”
Hearing Paul Wall has struggled with having confidence throughout his life is hard to believe. After all, he’s the same guy who’s responsible for the 2005 hit “Sittin’ Sideways,” which found the “undisputed king of the parking lot” flossin’ his famous grillz and rapping about being “something like a baller.” But he’s taken some lessons from what he’s observed about fame.
“With me, I got a lack of confidence, so it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t even want to try it. Let me just stick what I know, whatever, let me just whatever,'” he continues. “We as a society, we judge people based sometimes off of their fame. You’re more famous, you’re a better person. You’re more famous, you’re richer, you’re richer that means you worked harder. You got good things happening to you that’s because you’re a good person, but we all know that’s not true.
“There’s a lot of evil people out here who are greedy. Sometimes there’s circumstances or happenstances in life they can help get you a leg up that the next person didn’t have. One thing though that I also agree with is that record sales don’t mean you’re better. And I think back to Vanilla Ice who sold 40 million records, and I don’t mean no disrespect to Vanilla Ice, but I’ve never heard someone claim he was the greatest MC of all time.”
Vanilla Ice sold over one million copies of the 1990 hit “Ice Ice Baby” using a slick sample from David Bowie and Queen’s 1981 collaboration “Under Pressure” and some funky dance moves. The accompanying album, To The Extreme, reportedly went on to sell over 15 million copies. Still, it never put him in a GOAT conversation – ever. Paul Wall understands it’s different with Eminem.
“There ain’t no side, I’m only going bring Eminem back into it because I want clarify that I don’t mean anything bad at all,” he says. “If Eminem never sold any records, he definitely has a skillset and a talent. He is elite. Ain’t no denying that. His dopeness, you can’t get around that or deny that in any aspect. The Game — let me just go all the way there with it — The Game, they’re different fan bases.
How Paul Wall Wound Up Being One Of The Only Southern Rappers With A Pete Rock Beat
“The Game definitely has the bars and the element of Hip Hop and some of the crossover, the skill sets that Eminem might be elite at, but The Game also brings a different aspect into it because he brings the street side to it or his perspective into it that’s different than Eminem’s perspective. So with them going at Verzuz, it’s going to be two different people, two different groups. One group saying this guy’s better because I like him and another group saying this guy’s better because I like him. But at the end of the day, that’s Eminem. If he’s not the best, he’s one of the best and that’s usually agreed upon by most people.”
As for confidence, Termanology had to cultivate it early on in an effort to prove he could rap along with the best of them.
“I do think though it is good to be confident,” he offers. “I think that me specifically I’ve been underrated my whole career and what has got me on songs with some of the bigger artists like Busta Rhymes, The LOX or Wu-Tang, Jadakiss — especially when you’re not that known as an elite lyricist mainstream wise — is confidence.
“So, I’ve been over-confident my whole career but in a respectful manner because I’ve been lucky enough to have that kind of platform to be able to be on songs with people like that from the beginning of my career. I’ve been able to get on records with just me and Method Man head to head. So I do agree with being confident, but I also agree with being logical and respectful.”
Start 2 Finish arrived on Friday (April 8) and includes the Pete Rock-produced single “Recognize My Car.” Watch the video and bump the album above.
Game got game, Em got better skills.
Well said.
This a shame. Eminem the Jordan of Battle Rap. And if you quick to say Em aint never battle nobody, not his fault. Easy work. Who did Jordan battle? 92 Blazers? 96 Sonics? Whatever lol. Game don’t want it.
Underestimate those Blazers and Sonics teams.
I’m aware you were merely using them for comparison sake. They were good though….
As for Em, he battled Canibus, he was lyrical as fuq, the production of his album was his mistep
KRS-ONE is the best battle rapper. Eminem is great at what he does but tends to stay on one topic and rappping fast doesnt make you the greatest ask Twista.
You’re dumb if you think all Eminem has in his tool belt is rapping fast. Dude’s punchlines are top notch. I feel like when it comes to the topic of Eminem there’s a bit of an Elvis complex going on here. People see a white dude coming into a predominantly black art form (like Elvis did with rock in the 50s) and doing it better than a lot of other people in the same space and knee jerk to say he isn’t that great. In Eminem’s case, he is that great. Y’all need to stop with the cappin on this man.
Eminem will kill the game this guys just 2ants clout
“Eminem is the Jordan of battle rap”
Who has Eminem faced in a battle? Benzino (a magazine owner) and Mariah Carey (a female pop singer)?
MGK was the closest thing to a rapper that Eminem ever battled, and MGK literally handed his 2-incher to him in a bag. Which is sad because MGK isn’t even a real rapper.
In short, the Jordan of battle raps would have gone up against a real rapper. And Eminem never did because let’s face it, he’s Mariah Carey in baggy pants.
Paul wall is good at dodging the fact that he’s calling game disrespectful. He definitely has said enough to get a response from em. Those weak ass lyrics that leaked are insanely pathetic. Attacking the ones that em loves is obvious game wants war but at what cost. Your career that has been dead for over a decade. Game can’t be that butt hurt over not being included in the super bowl that he attacks the one person on that stage that will kill what’s left of your career.
yo go check out my Bubba Sparxxx Diss Track “Country Breakfast” on all streaming platforms. follow me @chriswademuzic
Does Bubba Sparxxx still rap? Bubba made it and got on a timberland track so why the hate?
I remember those old real slim shady flows when Paul Wall and Chamillion were doing their thing. Texas is the biggest state and Paul Wall represents H-Town. Always showing love and respect to Lil’ Keke, Big Pokey, and everyone before him. I would like to hear another Baby Bash & Paul Wall album.
Yo this is Chris Wade (@chriswademuzic) and im the dopest white rapper in Houston! #facts Eminem obliterates Game all day…. and Texas is the 2nd biggest state. to keep it a stack.. Listen to my Bubba Sparxxx Diss Track “Country Breakfast” on all streaming platforms
People act like Em wasn’t built on battle rap. And since when do people think Em didn’t build a lyrical skill set completely set up for battle rap? Gayme gets destroyed by Em.
Game will do anything for clout…. Bubba Sparxxx is a Country Crook… took my $1,000….. listen to my diss track for bubba called “Country Breakfast” (Bubba Sparxxx Diss)
Reality:
Eminem never battled any rapper that could rap. In fact, he never battled anyone except Benzino (a magazine owner) and Mariah Carey (An R&B singer). The one rapper he did go up against literally handed his 2-incher to him. He wasn’t even the winner of a battle rap at the Rap Olympics he talks so much about on record. He was second place even in that.
In short, there’s a reason Eminem is worth $230 million despite being the bestselling artist of a decade. Someone else handed a career to him. His total album sales minus Dre at the height of his fame… 1,000 copies. And that’s exactly how many he would have sold.
He’s really simply not that good. And the last decade of records my God, it’s stuff so bad even he probably doesn’t even go back and listen to it. He’s a good pop star, though, but hip-hop? Puke.
And has Game done?
Sooooo, the core of his speech is that he struggled with confidence all through his career, but to cap things off, he has been overconfident that’s how he succeeded in the career.
There is confident and then there is delusional. Guess which one is Game.
They’re all delusional and stupid. It’s really sad to see the whole lot of them these days. Any time they open their mouth, the whole world rolls its eyes. 50 years old with the power to say anything to the world and sitting there talking about rectal thermometers up mom’s ass in battle raps.
There’s confidence and then there’s plain disrespect, the line in which game diss eminem is about his daughter…. not even going after slim, but rather making threats towards his daughter. Doesn’t matter how tf u look at it, game is crossing a line and I hope he takes such a hit from eminem that he quits rap. Knowing how tight Dre and game was after all that sht with 50, guaranteed some sht gunna come out about game.
And not a soul but Interscope’s paid Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook followers will know about it. All of this is stupid. Even in the day it was stupid. But it’s especially stupid given the conditions of 2022.
It’s amazing you give artists a platform where they can say anything in the world to anyone, get out their feelings, their history, and their message…
And they spend the entire year saying, “I talk fast in more syllables than you!”
No one wants to hear a bunch of senior citizens battle each other. The fact that they are trying to make headlines with this shows just how desperately out of the loop any of them are.
Put out good music. If you do, people will buy it. If you don’t, they won’t?
Come on man, who is the game. The only G-Unit/ex G-Unit member who would beat for sure in a versus is Tony Yayo. He would not stand a chance against Eminem.