There you go again. You assume everybody except you is ignorant of what makes a good rapper. When all I've said all along is the technical ability is just one aspect of what makes an emcee really snap for me - and eminem has proven that he is fine on a technical level. So (as I said earlier) if he doesn't want to show off and keep the rhymes simple then that's fine with me.

Let's agree to disagree - I don't think technical ability (beyond competence) is as important in what makes an overall good rapper as you do. For me, if that was the case, then Ol' Dirty Bastard was one of the worst rappers of all time... but he's one of my favorite Wu-Tang rappers because his style is so off-beat messy, simple and humorous. It has character. And that I think is an important ingredient to a good rapper.

You on the other hand find technical ability very important. Or atleast you are rating emcees on how they perform on a technical level but still enjoy listening to them - I can understand that.

All I'm saying is for me, rating an emcee goes beyond their technical talent.

I can understand what you're saying. One of my personal favourite rappers of all time is Tupac. He wasn't very lyrically gifted but i enjoyed his music, i found it entertaining and (in my opinion) he helped bring conscious rap (brendas got a baby, trapped, changes) into the mainstream. Even if only for a moment.

However, if someone asked me if tupac is one of the best rappers i would reply no. He's one of my favourites but he's not one of the best (by any stretch of the imagination).

When i talk about who the best rapper is i try to leave my personal bias aside and concentrate on who is technically good. For example if someone asked me for my opinion on Big L i would say he was one of the most talented lyricists of his time and was a great rapper. But personally i never listen to his music because i find it boring.

We'll obviously have to agree to disagree. Like you said.

And yes, as i've "matured" (if you can call it that) i've found that i enjoy listening to rappers who are great lyricists rather than the usual pop crap. Simply because it's a display of talent/skill much like listening to Jimi Hendrix or Van Halen playing the guitar.

Bold answers.

lol how can you say he hasn't lost his lyrical ability? you understand when i refer to lyrical ability im not referring to what he's talking about, right? Eminem has always had a horrorcore feel to him (it's more acid rap technically...but whatever). That's not why i'm saying he's on 50cents level. I'm saying that because their lyrical ability is on the same level. I can't think of a single new eminem track that is good lyrically. Yes it might be funny, entertaining, have good flow ect but none of it is good lyrically. Are you SURE you know what i mean by lyrical ability? You have to be confused.

like i already said...lyrical ability "internal rhymes, offbeat rhymes, multiple syllable rhyming, alliteration, assonance rhyming, metaphors, wordplay, personification, hyperbole, similies, double entendres" - ring any bells?

forget WHAT he's rapping about. Forget the topic and what he's saying. I'm talking about HOW he's saying it.

Note: i don't think he's "lost" it as such. It's not a set of car keys. Unless he's received heavy brain damage then he still knows how to do it. It's probably due to writers block or choosen not to use it because it's easier and he only cares about the money now.

This is an example that I always use when people say that Eminem has lost his lyrical ability.

you think that displays lyrical ability? on what level? The same level as infinite? sslp? mmlp? devils night?

it displays lyrical ability (barely) but in comparison to the stuff he was writing before 2002 it's the same as comparing big pun to biggie smalls or the terminator to an ant.

The only decent piece (lyrically) he has released recently was no apologies and that was 90% recycled from an old cypher/freestyle he did with d12.


you can't honestly think that anything from relapse is on the same level as this...

Did you not read when I said that Relapse definitely isn't as strong as his other releases?

Lil Wayne, Soulja Boi, and MIMS

someone said it was just as good. there's so many people against me right now i dont really know who is who lol

And your gunning them down like zombies in a last stand. It's pretty badass if I do say so myself.