You should be comparing him to rappers of his time not past greats. He is definitely one of the greatest of his time in the mainstream as far as I'm concerned, and I don't even like him all that much.

I am not making an comparison, just an observation. The media and critics are calling him the greatest so I am not making the comparison.

How is he uniquely different from other rappers?
What has Eminem innovated?

There are other rappers from his era that are more talented like Mos Def or Lupe. He has the commercial success but that does not necessarily make the most talented.

While I agree with the questions you posed I don't see anything that Mos Def and Lupe have done that would make them any better if you replaced Eminem for them in either question.

The difference is Eminem touched a wider fan base and popularity is really what defines the greatness of a musician by the standards currently in place. If that wasn't the case then underground artists like Aesop, Doom (who I hate btw), Last Emperor, and Immortal Technique would be way more deserving of the title than any modern mainstream artist.

I never said that Mos Def or Lupe were the best of their generation. I said that there were more talented rappers than Eminem and I listed them as being more talented but that does not mean they are the best.

I insisted that maybe a more accurate title would be "most commercially successful" since he does have a wide fan base and has accomplished a lot commercially but like I said before that does not mean he is the most talented or most creative because there are a ton of MC's that are better than him.

Yes I understand I just don't see how either of those artists are more talented, and I like them both better than Em. Hence my first sentence.

Honestly, I think Em is more talented than both when considering what constitutes skill in an MC (flow, wordplay, rhyme scheme, intelligence, proper use of english, diverse vocab) I just don't like the overall production of the music he puts out.

Of course this is all subjective I'm sure you have a different definition of talent. I just wanted you to see things from my POV.

I would recommend you listen to more of their music because they are more talented lyrically, flow, rhyme scheme, and I find them to be more intellectual and political.

They are more talented than Eminem. If Eminem was black he would not be as popular. He only has three really good albums of course that is my opinion.

I have. I even said I liked their music better than Em, but I still think Em is a more talented MC.

I agree with you on the Em being black part, but popularity has nothing to do with this.

Okay that is your opinion. I don't think he is more talented than them.

Popularity has everything to do with that because if he was black he would not be as popular.

There are a ton of black rappers that are way better than him.

Is this thread about Eminem or Ice Cube? Cube gets lionized as a Rap Pioneer but he gets far too little credit for just being a great rapper. Listen to his contributions to NWA and Amerikka's Most Wanted and on and on and on. He really has one of the great flows in all of rap and he can come off as furiously angry and hilariously funny at the same time, which is no mean trick. Cube also deserves credit for at least trying to advance the cause of rap even today - listen to 'I am the West', a very funky and legitimate attempt to bring gangsta rap into the 21st century, even as the rapper acknowledges that he is getting a little old for this sheet. Stuff like this is getting buried under an avalanche of pop hop crapola and its a shame.

Ice Cube is definitely in my top five. I won't compare him to Eminem because I don't really like Eminem. Nothing personal. I'd just rather listen to Cube.

Personally I don't think Ice Cube was as good as Dre or Eazy E.

Eazy Duz It, and The Chronic easily topped Death Certificate in my opinion.