The Future of Eminem (Official Discussion Thread)

[DetroitSkills]

the monster isnt bad at fucking all.... only song thats in the area code of "wtf: is STIW

[Mathers]

I feel like if Em went back to his natural color again soon it would bring up painful memories of Recovery.

That's like saying it will bring up painful memories of 8 Mile.

[yoda you can call me]

I feel like if Em went back to his natural color again soon it would bring up painful memories of Recovery.

lal, that's pretty funny

[shadyblogger]

I feel like if Em went back to his natural color again soon it would bring up painful memories of Recovery.

lal, that's pretty funny

[VINTAGƎ]

the monster isnt bad at fucking all.... only song thats in the area code of "wtf: is STIW

It's not *terrible* but...I mean me personally -- I hear "Bad Guy," "Rap God," and "Headlights" and can see people making the argument in favor of longer wait times between albums. Those songs just seem like it took a lot of focus to craft.

But you make us wait 3 years and we get Monster? Really? Didn't he say this was one of the last songs he made? How long could he have possibly worked on that song? Would you rather get a song like that next year, or wait 3 years, anticipating every song will be incredible, and get it anyway?

You see what I mean? We can wait 3 years and get Monster, wait 5 years and get We Made You/Old Times Sake/etc -- or wait 1 year and get LTWYL. If this is who Eminem is now, someone who is capable of churning out quality, entertaining albums with a few duds thrown in between, wouldn't you rather get that every year, or every other year, as opposed to waiting 3-5 for roughly the same level of quality?

[shadyblogger]

I don't want Em rushing shit just to get his stuff out there. I mean if he feels he has an album that is on par with his classics then I think he could release it whenever I suppose. I mean we could have gotten MMLP 2 in 2012 if Em hadn't of done Hell: The Sequel but then again he probably needed to do that album with Royce for experimentation purposes. Like I think all of Em's albums are important in his career as to him trying new stuff and seeing what works and what doesn't work. I think Recovery didn't work but MMLP 2 most certainly did. Em may have needed some rejection from hip-hop fans to get him back on track with some of his good ole classic shit again.

[__EWF]

Some people need to be rushed though, otherwise they stagnant. Look at what Rubin has said. Em seems like the type to get bogged down in his own musings, or in his own head as he said to Zane. Having a deadline forces you to make decisions, get on with things, and that can make a person better. Drowning in tracks and ideas for years can produce substandard work. His recent stuff has been very mixed, so I agree with vintage, why wait another 4/5 years for that? He should just get on with it, and have fun. All this wallowing about his legacy and worrying about making an impact is actually hurting him imo.

[yoda you can call me]

Some people need to be rushed though, otherwise they stagnant. Look at what Rubin has said. Em seems like the type to get bogged down in his own musings, or in his own head as he said to Zane. Having a deadline forces you to make decisions, get on with things, and that can make a person better. Drowning in tracks and ideas for years can produce substandard work. His recent stuff has been very mixed, so I agree with vintage, why wait another 4/5 years for that? He should just get on with it, and have fun. All this wallowing about his legacy and worrying about making an impact is actually hurting him imo.

well he his the type of cat that thrives under pressure. "im not gonna top my name is", The Way I Am is a perfect example of that

[VINTAGƎ]

@Swa -- The overall point I'm trying to make is -- time spent on a project doesn't necessarily mean it'll be better. You're right about my creative process and his being different. Everyone who creates has a different process. But time is not something that correlates to quality across the board, or else every artist, writer, etc would be taking large chunks of time churning out their creations when that's not the case. It all comes down to artistic inspiration.

Eminem could feel burned out right now given all the work he put into this album, the promo tour, the concerts, etc -- and literally wake up tomorrow with a brilliant concept for a new album and begin writing. That's just how it happens.

And he seemed to be able to do that previously with relative ease. 99, Slim Shady. 00, Marshall Mathers, 02, Eminem Show. That's his three best albums in a four year span. In four years, he put out what are largely considered his greatest works. Fuck it, when was 8 Mile, 03 right? So three critically acclaimed albums, a critically acclaimed movie, and an accompanying soundtrack in five years time. In the ten years following -- a dud, a mixed reviewed album leaning more towards negative, a mixed reviewed album leaning more towards positive, a slightly more positive leaning album.

Now you may say "well you can't compare the two eras, 99-03 was his prime, all artists have their prime." -- And I would agree. If that's the case, then what I'm saying is -- if the days of untouchable albums like MMLP, TES are done, and all we can hope for is MMLP 2 level of quality (a quality album but not quite classic) -- then I'd rather he do that more frequently, as opposed to him disappearing for 3 years, us wetting our pants thinking he's about to drop some next level classic shit -- and it's just another solid album with a few duds thrown in.

What the wait does is, rightly or wrongly, create hype. Again, look at Dre. The longer he waited, the more people expected it to be perfect. Now he's reached a point where, it would be a better career move if he releases nothing because no album will live up to the myth of Detox. People are gonna say "we waited ten years for this shit?"

If the best Eminem can do nowadays is MMLP 2. Then I'd rather this

MMLP 2 (2013)
MMLP 2 equivalent (2015)
MMLP 2 equivalent (2017)

As opposed to

MMLP 2 (2013)
MMLP 2 equivalent (2017)

[ganjakush56]

Damn, these are some very fucking informative and interesting discussion points..keep going, its actually hella interesting

btw, Is there anyone that would want Eminem to move into a more political space with his music? by doing this, he could easily expand his subject matter and take the focus away from his family. He is obviously capable of this and it would be VERY interesting i think. I don't know, I just want hip-hop to have its convention shattering culture bending substantial quality that i used to have.

[VINTAGƎ]

Damn, these are some very fucking informative and interesting discussion points..keep going, its actually hella interesting

btw, Is there anyone that would want Eminem to move into a more political space with his music? by doing this, he could easily expand his subject matter and take the focus away from his family. He is obviously capable of this and it would be VERY interesting i think. I don't know, I just want hip-hop to have its convention shattering culture bending substantial quality that i used to have.

I prefer songs where he has a broader theme to it, so I'm all for anything that works on a grander scale, or something different period.

He has a platform and following few artists have ever had. I'd definitely like to see him use it more to speak about real life topics, current events, etc as opposed to just his upbringing and personal life.

But it has to come from the heart. He has to feel it. He has to feel the subject matter, or else it'll sound forced. I don't want him to say "alright, time to do a political song just because I haven't done one in a while."

That's one thing that's bothered me about rap as a whole and why I feel it doesn't get the respect it deserves come awards time. Come Album Of The Year time. Lack of quality subject matter in the mainstream. Emphasis on the mainstream. I'm well aware of all the conscious rappers underground. But commercially, that's rare. Eminem is one of the rare artists who could do a conscious type of song and not make it feel like a college lecture, but make it interesting, and catchy. Because in addition to rhyming, he can song write. Two totally different skills. And he's versatile in his subject matter. He could definitely do some high brow shit, but it seems like he doesn't want to.

I mentioned that in one of my threads. He has the ability to transcend the genre, craft songs with broad, relatable themes (like the underdog theme that shows in Lose Yourself or TIC) or songs about reconciliation and turning a new leaf like Headlights, but he doesn't do that often and it seems he's more comfortable making songs that just display technical skills or tell a shocking or funny story.

To his credit, you can't just up and decide to create a game changing song. They just sort of happen. I'm sure if he could put out an album of nothing but Lose Yourself quality songs, he'd do it.

I don't want people to think I listen to every song he makes now and compare it to his best and then disregard it. It's not like I listen to Evil Twin and say "what? This ain't Sing For The Moment type of shit, fuck this garbage."

I can appreciate individual songs for what they are. But sometimes it just seems he's more content being known as a really good rapper as opposed to a really good artist.

[Kippers]

I've never taken anything Eminem's said about quitting rap seriously ever since I heard,

'Fuck rap, I'm givin' it up y'all, I'm sorry
(But Eminem this is your record release party)'

on SSLP. I think he says it on basically every album as an optional 'get out of jail free card' if his latest project plummets and doesn't sell. At least, I'm willing to bet that was his reasoning behind those lines when he first came out; being new to the genre, being white, lacking the confidence he has now, unable to predict if what he has to say will make an impact or be interesting etc.

I think that motif has stuck with him, because it portrays a certain moment of missed self-confidence that he still carries with him today. He cares so much more now than he did back then, or at least has become alert to the idea of a continued legacy and how he's perceived, that ironically those lines of worry - about not being accepted - may be closer to the truth than they ever were upon his pre-debut nerves.

I, and clearly a lot of other people, believe Eminem is in the best creative space he's been in for a long time, but I don't think Eminem thinks or knows he's in that space. Does he know what that space is? He's experimented with and used every flow in the book, and even invented one or two iconic ones along the way, all with arguably equally positive receptions. Knowing that a song with Rihanna is going to be huge, and then knowing a song like Rap God is going to be huge, and then a song where someone gets killed is going to be huge - albeit to different audiences - must really fuck with someones perception of what being in the correct creative space is, or what that even means anymore.

He can't tell anyone when his next great idea for an album is coming, because for all anyone knows he may never get another one. Or he gets another great concept in 5,6,7 years from now or 1 year from now. He creates a safety net for himself which I consider a wise move, that if he wants to stop or has to answer to why he hasn't put anything out he can come back with, 'well, I DID say...'

[ganjakush56]

Damn, these are some very fucking informative and interesting discussion points..keep going, its actually hella interesting

btw, Is there anyone that would want Eminem to move into a more political space with his music? by doing this, he could easily expand his subject matter and take the focus away from his family. He is obviously capable of this and it would be VERY interesting i think. I don't know, I just want hip-hop to have its convention shattering culture bending substantial quality that i used to have.

I prefer songs where he has a broader theme to it, so I'm all for anything that works on a grander scale, or something different period.

He has a platform and following few artists have ever had. I'd definitely like to see him use it more to speak about real life topics, current events, etc as opposed to just his upbringing and personal life.

But it has to come from the heart. He has to feel it. He has to feel the subject matter, or else it'll sound forced. I don't want him to say "alright, time to do a political song just because I haven't done one in a while."

That's one thing that's bothered me about rap as a whole and why I feel it doesn't get the respect it deserves come awards time. Come Album Of The Year time. Lack of quality subject matter in the mainstream. Emphasis on the mainstream. I'm well aware of all the conscious rappers underground. But commercially, that's rare. Eminem is one of the rare artists who could do a conscious type of song and not make it feel like a college lecture, but make it interesting, and catchy. Because in addition to rhyming, he can song write. Two totally different skills. And he's versatile in his subject matter. He could definitely do some high brow shit, but it seems like he doesn't want to.

I mentioned that in one of my threads. He has the ability to transcend the genre, craft songs with broad, relatable themes (like the underdog theme that shows in Lose Yourself or TIC) or songs about reconciliation and turning a new leaf like Headlights, but he doesn't do that often and it seems he's more comfortable making songs that just display technical skills or tell a shocking or funny story.

To his credit, you can't just up and decide to create a game changing song. They just sort of happen. I'm sure if he could put out an album of nothing but Lose Yourself quality songs, he'd do it.

I don't want people to think I listen to every song he makes now and compare it to his best and then disregard it. It's not like I listen to Evil Twin and say "what? This ain't Sing For The Moment type of shit, fuck this garbage."

I can appreciate individual songs for what they are. But sometimes it just seems he's more content being known as a really good rapper as opposed to a really good artist.

I totally agree; a political track MUST be fueled by authentic passion and emotion. Making one just to make one in order maybe please a fanbase or just expand the artistic boundaries of a genre is counter intuitive or almost contradictory in relation to the point of the track. I'm assuming by politically fueled hiphop, you and I are discussing the same thing - When I say political, I am talking about the level of aggression and passion along with the topics similar to those of Immortal Technique. I feel Eminem definitely has some sort of shit on his mind regarding the situation of Detroit, the socioeconomic environemnt - I am sure that he knows that part of the reason why he was raised in a predominantly black community and arguably why he dove into hip-hop as far as he did is partly due to the socioeconomic platform or environment in which he was living.

I do hope he understands that the vain hip-hop Eminem is highly regarded for (that being hardcore hip-hop or horrorcore at times) stems from an attitude or mentality of a revolutionary stance; it stems from the voices of a minority that was otherwise not heard in mainstream American culture - this hardcore hip-hop voice and culture was demonized, labeled as unorthodox, crude, vulgar but it represented the hidden realities of the United States, a reality that escapes commentary in a educational contexts, in political contexts, in legislative contexts, etc. In an interview from 1999, Eminem said something along the following: "I don't censor my music because the shit I talk about - it happens in real life but no one wants to talk about it"; he was referring to the violence, misogyny, rape, drug use, and vulgarity of his lyrical content - the following year, MMLP reflected this with tons of social commentary. One thing that the MMLP2 lacked was the level of social commentary heard in the original.

If fuckin Yeezus can start somewhat of a movement (even if it is fueled by pseudo intellectual idiots) then think what an Eminem album can do. That is,I think, a way Eminem could have a similar impact to what he had in the early 2000s. It would be grand, epic, tantamount to an actual societal movement. If schools won't educate my generation (I'm not even 20), then I believe that music can become an appropriate platform for such (like it was in past decades). Right now, mainstream hip-hop espouses doctrines regarding twerking, smoking weed simply because weed is "cool", drinking to get fucked up, fuckin mad bitches, objectifying women, blind materialism - those are all symptoms of a consumerist driven sense of self or ego. This equals maximum profit for transnational corporations whose target demographic is between the ages of 15 and 35. Eminem could push an effort to shatter this and I feel it would be an appropriate and truly epic way for him to begin to conclude his career.

Eminem came out into the mainstream with the intention to gain respect from peers and to shit on middle America or mainstream American culture. It is only logical that he goes out with that same attitude and content - it would be a return to form in the pursuit of a final evolution.

[Kippers]

I was just agreeing basically. I know that he was jesting with those comments about quitting, and also found it interesting that he could/still can hide behind them in case he fails. But just highlighting the point that what was once one of his gags is now a hard hitting concern that he's clearly begun worrying about seriously - the Bad Guy verse.

Looking back I should have added finally that we (I) should begin taking those comments with a whole shaker full of salt at this point in his career, because he doesn't necessarily have another 7-8 new albums ahead of him like he did in '99. He may well do that, but I don't predict that JayZ/LL Cool J level of output coming from him.

[TranSlucEnt]

I think we will get 1 more (final) album before he goes retreating into production and maybe an occasional guest feature, for good. But, not 'till.. 2015-2016