The change in Eminem's approach to delivery

[Hopsinshadie]

Eminem used to be so superb that we didn't even concern ourselves with how well he rapped to the beat, his production, his timing, his voice, etc... He was so flawless that we hardly had to evaluate, we just got shocked with whatever came out of him. The guy was crazy. He owned the mic, he literally murdered rhymes and instead of cringing, we were wowed. But now it's like we see and scrutinize things in his music that are good, not so good, not so bad, and just utterly awful. One of our posters even wrote that Recovery 2.0 wouldn't be half bad. In a way, people are satisfied as long as it's not half bad.

[EminemInsider]

Eminem used to be as much an actor as he was a rapper when it came to recording songs. When he rapped, he said his lyrics like he actually meant them. The tone of his voice was directly connected to what he was saying...it was conversational in tone. It didn't usually sound like he was reading his lyrics off anything...he just had them memorized and was prepared to rap even if you caught him at 4 in the morning in his bathroom taking a piss. And on the occasions where it did sound he was reading them, it sounded like he was reading a note or a book he'd written to you...he knew the tone of what he was trying to get across and read it in that tone.

Now, it sounds like he's reading them and thinking only of directly matching them to the beat in certain ways and emphasizing words/parts of words/yelling for the effect of "intensity." His choices don't actually have any connection to the meaning of what he's saying anymore. He's rapping all the syllables like he's beating a drum...that's the best way to put it. Bul-LUT-proof, to-touch-me.

And for many of us who have long enjoyed Eminem when he did it the other way, we're really disappointed in this new direction.

You do realize that the song you're referring to basically has no meaning besides "let's get pumped while I dazzle you with my wordplay and rhyming"? Have you heard GTC?

Doesn't matter. Listen to "If I Get Locked Up Tonight," and then listen to "Survival."

The way Eminem flowed in the chorus of IIGLUT would be the way he flowed for the entire song these days.

I don't think he'll be rapping like he did on Going Through Changes any time soon.

[Armored Jean-Claude]

I also agree.

He lost something in his delivery.

Not that he isn't capable of doing it anymore, but it's like he's oriented toward something else

[Kill You]

So you're blaming him for switching up his flow to not sound boring? Okay then. Give it up, guys, we will never change the minds of these fucks who pick apart everything.

[EminemInsider]

So you're blaming him for switching up his flow to not sound boring? Okay then. Give it up, guys, we will never change the minds of these fucks who pick apart everything.

Uh, no, you fucking moron. What I'm saying is his switching up his flow makes him sound boring.

A guy saying lines in conversational tones is interesting. A guy rapping syllables of words to a beat, with no regard for the words themselves...as if they're just an instrument...is not interesting. To me, anyway.

If you like that shit, that's fine. But it's not fine to have such piss-poor reading comprehension.

[kkaniff]

The reunion, if I recall correctly.

[Raul]

I'd much rather hear his flow on MMLP, TES, but... I don't think that his present flow is bad. It's just different, and sometimes awkward. I like when he stretches words and pronounce them different and shit but sometimes the flow itself is truncated.

For example, I find the Like Toy Soldiers flow 'well-made' but boring AF. Can't even listen to the whole song.

[kkaniff]

I want him to do a song and not rhyme. I feel like he's too obsessive about rhyme schemes to the point where he ignores his storytelling and flow. I want him to have a go at Jay Z and Kanye because he's jealous of them. I want him to tell President Obama that he hates his guts and his wife is ugly. I want him to tell Macklemore he sucks. I want him to not give a fuck. But I understand why he has to.

[RayMcTechGuy]

100% agree with you. But I do like the new direction as well