Image via Getty / Paul Archuleta
After the launch of Music to be murdered – side B, Eminem sat down for an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music to reflect on his career. Speaking about the childhood of hip-hop, as well as the discovery of Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, Em suggested that due to the evolution of the genre there will never really be anyone who claims the title of “best rapper of all time”.
“Hip-hop has gone through many different transitions for someone to really be the best rapper of all time,” Eminem told Lowe in the 20:40 part of the interview, after talking about his appreciation for rap pioneer Rakim. “It has evolved. Now people are doing things with flows that I could never have seen happen. But at the same time, the rappers of that era meant a lot more to that era, because there were so many innovators and so many rappers.”
Reflecting on the evolution of rap as a whole, he said that the “golden age of hip-hop” is his favorite due to how new everything was at the time. “You never heard that before,” noted Marshall. “I know I saw and heard a lot of people say it wasn’t going to be anything. Do you know what I’m saying? Like it’s not going to last or anything. Here we are what, 40, 50 years later? It’s crazy. And it’s the biggest song. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the biggest genre. “
Em also said that he does not think that anything he has done so far is as influential as those who influenced him. He has many current favorites, however, and has named Lil Wayne, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Joyner Lucas as people who “rap to be the best rapper”. If he were to list his favorite rappers, he would prefer to do so at the time, citing Tupac, Rakim and KRS-One, among others.
Later in the interview, he played Pete Davidson’s parody of “Stan” in SNL, for which Em provided a brief cameo. “His delivery was certainly very accurate,” he said of Pete’s rap, adding that he was not so sure of the sketch after reading the lyrics. “The whole thing was great.”
Music to be murdered – side B fell just before Christmas, and Advertising panel reports that the record is set to jump from No. 199 to No. 3, thanks to the luxury relaunch. Taylor Swift’s second album of the year, Ever, should stick to first place for the second week in a row, while Paul McCartney McCartney III will debut at No. 2.
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