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I just saw Eminem's latest video, When I'm Gone, and I really have to wonder what happened to this dude. Remember when Eminem was a hot rapper? I know this video has been out for a minute, but its the first time I watched the whole thing. The last few singles he's released have all used practically the same beat, and if you only started listening to hip hop in the past year or so, you might think he only raps about his daughter and puppets.
Prior to releasing Encore (I don't count Curtain Call as a real album), all of his albums with Dr. Dre were classics. Yeah, a lot of the stuff he rapped about was spaced out and he probably wouldn't have sold anywhere near as much as he did if he weren't white, but he consistently killed it. At his best, he could tell a story like Slick Rick, had the charisma of a Biggie and the flow of a Rakim. So where did things go wrong?
For one, he started producing his own beats and using less of Dr. Dre's production. Em's beats are ok, but they tend to be repetitive. It seems like he went over the top with his lyrics on Dre beats, just to impress him. Second, he got too focused on D12. Yeah, its cool to hook your crew up, but give them your groupies, don't give them two albums. Perhaps the biggest reason, though, is that his main antagonists have all fallen off. Everlast hasn't put out an album in years, Benzino got tossed out of the Source and all of the boy bands are gone. Without any major targets to go against, Eminem's material has fallen off and when he's not rapping about his family it seems like he's not even trying.
So all of this is just to say that I miss the old Em. I think at this point in his career, he can go one of two ways: completely fall of like DMX after Great Depression or he can make a comeback like Jay-Z after In My Lifetime Vol. 1. Its hard to believe that an mc with his skills can completely fall off, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him come out with something hot by the end of the year.
For a demo of Eminem's skills on the mic, check out this four minute freestyle where Stretch Armstrong just throws out random words and Em comes up with lyrics based on the words:
Download Eminem/Stretch Armstrong Freestyle (mp3)
3/6/2006 8:43:43 PM posted by Fresh