by Kez » May 5th, '11, 01:48
lmao xras
I dunno truthfully I didn't properly get into music till I was a bit older. I had a friend who would often play me some songs, notably I remember him playing me songs from MMLP (and not the pop ones, stuff like Under the Influence and I'm Back), then like a year or so later I recall him playing me Go To Sleep. I thought that shit was fucking awesome. We were like...11 I think. I had a copy of The Eminem Show not long after that that I would often spin, I recall the ones I listened to most being Business and Sing For The Moment. I remember sitting on the step outside the door with the friend I mentioned above with his lines about standing on corners rapping in my head for some reason. That whole song pretty much stayed in my head infact.
Then a couple years later when I started high school, I happened to get into a conversation with a dude and the convo turned to Em. He asked if I liked him I was like yeah but I aint checked much, so he burned me copies of MMLP and SSLP. Shit changed that day. I went home and listened the fuck out of it. I came to school the next day and we were rapping Criminal in the classroom. I was hooked after that basically. I became an Em fan before a fan of general hip hop tbh, he was like all I listened to for at least half a year. After that I started writing my own shit. I didn't really officially start listening to more hip hop till I was like..15. Then I checked out whatever I could. Me and my other friend who was deep into Em started broadening our tastes around age 15 onwards, just checking out new shit, and we've basically just grown from that.
It's different over here, hip hop isn't as prominent. The few UK rap acts I recall from my youth were mostly gimmicks; Goldie Lookin Chain (although don't get me wrong I like their shit I think they're hilarious) and Dry Your Eyes by The Streets were big when I was a kid. Grand Don't Come For Free's an amazing album, but what kid listens to albums? That was about the only hip hop I was exposed to in the mainstream till I properly found Em. I mean yeah as a kid I laughed at The Real Slim Shady and Without Me, but that's not the same. That's just pop. But yeah, despite the fact that some people will say you can't be a true hip hop fan if Em was your introduction, I know in my heart this is the music I most respect. It's what attracts me, I would defend it from anyone. Say what you want, but this is the music I prefer to listen to. Obviously I listen to other stuff, but hip hop is the one I listen to most.