Eminem Tops the Charts

Oh wow, had no idea he could put up those kind of numbers still.

 

This is what I think is so funny about people saying he's irrelevant over the last week. Like him or not, he's incredibly relevant and I don't see that changing anytime soon

 

He isn't relevant, he just has a shitttttt ton of fans that will eat up literally anything he puts out. It's not a shock at all to me that this new album was a chart topper.

 

Que?

 

Eminem is one of the most popular and influential rappers ever. Calling him irrelevant is laughable.

 

Doesn't "a shitttttt ton of fans" make someone relevant?

I also think how quickly MGK put out a retaliation video also shows that Em is still pretty relevant whether or not the quality of his content merits it.

 

I don't condone the use of the F word, and I certainly have grown up to understand that plenty of his lyrics are detestable. However, his talent and influence are beyond undeniable.

 

I think I mis-worded my reply. Yes, he still has tons of fans, but my point on relevancy wasn't necessarily that. He just doesn't fit anymore with where hip hop is and the artists constantly putting out amazing music. He still resorts to the old bully-rap and name calling. IMO his new music is not relevant at all, but yes, people will still buy it in mass numbers because they've been fans for so long.

 

I agree 100%, and believe I mis-worded my thoughts

 

But what you're calling "bully-rap" is part of what rap and hip-hop was grounded in. He's true to the nature of where the genre started. Hating him for not giving up what made him who he is and being one of the masses of terrible rappers that are popular nowadays is just not something I would do.

 

This is his best output since Eminem Show.

 

Personally, where rap is currently is pretty much shit and a lot of it, I find, is detestable. The best stuff coming out in hip hop is the stuff that harkens back to the lyricism and attitude that it was born in. The mumble rap, SoundCloud garbage is definitely relevant in today's culture but I think that there's a huge surge coming in terms of more lyrical and even battle based rap. Eminem is not a bully rapper, he's a battle rapper. That's how this culture was started

 

You must not know too many Eminem fans. They will bicker for days over which of his recent records is the worst. I've seen more sycophants on Fall Out Boy boards, by far. Heaven forbid you're not a fan of the direction *that* band took.

 

His best release since some of his work on Bad Meets Evil with Royce in 2011

 

I would argue popularity and relevancy are very much adjacent. Now is B. Rabbit still pushing the envelope lyrically and sonically, not so much (other being able to rap a million miles a minute).

 

Did anyone ever determine what Bon Iver meant by the phrase "killing the track" he was featured on for this release?

 

He meant getting it wiped from streaming services, physical copies, etc. Obviously wasn't successful

 

Rap did not start as battle rap, rap more or less (reality is always more complex than time here alows) started with MCs trying to hype a crowd for a DJ, to then recording silly but catchy raps over danceable instrumentals. Battle rap, conscious rap etc. emerged a little later. This information is easily accessible. Discounting current rap shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the culture, especially given that the pantheon of current rap superstars represents many ages and sub-genres.

Also, here: Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang

 

Lol no.

 

Agreed on both counts that he should drop the use of the F word but his talent is ridiculous. They censored the F word on that song...is that the second time he's been censored on an album? Do we know if it was voluntary this time?

Just listening to this album for the first time. It's really good.

 

It is voluntary. The explicit version of the song also doesn't have it said.

 

Right, but when he was censored in "I'm Back" on the Marshall Mathers LP, I believe it was the label that did that after he recorded it.

After some googling, apparently, he's been censored quite a few times.

 

yea releasing the album by surprise did numbers for it

 

Releasing a good album also did numbers for it. He has 6 albums in the top 200 right now