CULTIVATED INFLUENCE

By: Caleb Horvath

 

In the first addition to our “best of” series, we decided to start off with perhaps the most polarizing hip hop artist of a generation, Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem. Eminem’s rise to the pinnacle of rap music is worthy of his semi-biopic smash hit, 8 Mile (2002), and at age 40, Eminem is now at over a decade and a half into the game.

With our Cultivated Influence “best of” series, week to week we will be ranking the top songs, verses, or albums of some of our favorite musicians, mainly in the world of hip hop. Starting off with the great Eminem is nearly an impossible task, with enough verses in his back catalog to make even Lil’ Wayne blush, but with all the buzz this month over the Kendrick Lamar verse on “Control” breathing some much needed life into lyrical hip hop, starting with arguably the best lyricist of all is a no-brainer. Picking the best Eminem verses is like choosing the best Fresh Prince episodes, almost all of them are great in their own unique way. But we have put together the 20 best, based on flow, lyricism, popularity, and importance of each verse.  There are hundreds of verses from dozens of classic Em songs that could’ve been picked, but here we go:

20. Eminem- Cleaning Out My Closet (2002, The Eminem Show, 3^rd verse)

Coming off of the wildly popular Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem went back to the lab and cooked up arguably his most complete album, The Eminem Show, in 2003. The 2^nd single from the album was essentially an open invitation into the deepest parts of his personal life, with a response to critics and fans alike about the onslaught of harsh raps towards his mother on his first two LP’s. Cleaning Out My Closet was dark, ominous, and almost flawlessly crafted, and it’s 3^rd verse is introspective Eminem at his peak. After a tirade against his mother’s abuse of drugs, and towards the younger him, Eminem let’s out his last words: “Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me, well guess what? I am dead. Dead to you as can be.” Dark stuff.

Best bars: Now I would never diss my own momma just to get recognition/Take a second to listen for who you think this record is dissin’/But put yourself in my position; just try to envision/Witnessin’ your momma poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen

19. Nicki Minaj featuring Eminem- Roman’s Revenge (2010, Pink Friday, Em’s 1^st verse)

2010 was a new beginning for Eminem. After Recovery exploded in the summer, to the surprise of many, a new Eminem had formed. Starting with an album which for the first time had little Dr. Dre prescence, Eminem began doing something he had rarely done in this career- doing features with artists outside of his Interscope-Shady Records-G-Unit camp. In the new Twitter-era of music, Eminem getting on a song with budding superstar Nicki Minaj had a tremendous amount of both skepticism and buzz. While there were better Eminem-featured verses in 2010 alone (see “All She Wrote” with T.I. & “Airplanes Part 2” with B.O.B.), this song was a monster, and built up even higher anticipation for Minaj’s debut album. Eminem delivers a punchline-filled, hilarious back and forth with Nicki, and while Nicki holds her own, Marshall steals the show.

Best bars:  I swear to God, life is a dumb blonde white broad/With fake tits and a bad dye job/Who just spit in my fucking face and called me a fucking tightwad/So finally I broke down and bought her an iPod/And caught her stealing my music, so I tied her arms and legs to the bed/Set up the camera and pissed twice on her/Look, two pees and a tripod!

18. Dr. Dre featuring Eminem- Forgot About Dre (2000, The Chronic 2001, Em’s verse)

Eminem and Dr. Dre were just meant to be musical partners. Although it’s mainly been Dre behind the boards and Em on the mic, every time they’ve made a collaboration it’s been pretty special (see later for another one). In 1999, Dr. Dre put out the follow-up to his classic The Chronic, titled 2001, and in the first month of 2000 released this smash. While Eminem was still riding the high from his massive debut album, this song was the biggest of features from Em that held people over salivating for his next LP. The music video made the song even bigger, becoming a staple on MTV’s TRL. The quotable verse mixed with an extremely catchy hook warrants a spot on our list.

Best bars: I don’t give a fuck if it’s dark or not/I’m harder than me tryna park a Dodge/When I’m drunk as fuck/Right next to a humongous truck in a two-car garage

17. Eminem featuring Lil Wayne- No Love (2010, Recovery, Em’s verse)

Remember a few years back when Lil Wayne started to actually convince us that he was the best rapper alive? I don’t like the memory of that either, and while Weezy did a lot by himself to hurt his case post-Carter 3, Eminem did as well with three features with the Young Money star in 2009 and 2010. “No Love” was the third and final song the two did in that span, which was a virtual knockout blow of any debate between the two. While Wayne shows up here with a completely adequate first verse, Eminem rips off possibly his best verse on an album full of good ones. With Lil Wayne being the superstar of rap in the moment, it almost felt like Wayne made Eminem hungrier, and he jumped at the chance to show off his skills alongside Wayne, despite their new collaborative friendship. Here, Eminem spit 40+ bars with lightning quick delivery; with punchlines, similes, and metaphors galore.

Best bars: Cold-hearted from the day I Bogarted the game, my soul started to rot, fellow/When I’m not even in my harshest, You can still get roasted cause Marsh is not mellow/’til I’m toppling from the top I’m not going to stop/I’m standing on my Monopoly board/That means I’m on top of my game and it don’t stop ’til my hip don’t hop anymore/When you’re so good that you can’t say it cause it ain’t even cool for you to sound cocky anymore/People just get sick cause you spit these fools can’t drool or dribble a drop anymore

16. The Game featuring Eminem- We Ain’t (2005, The Documentary, Em’s verse)

Before his epic fall-out with 50 Cent, The Game was the newest member of G-Unit, the top hip hop crew in the game for a few years in the mid-2000’s. The Game was also the most promising protégé Dr. Dre had come across since Eminem, so on Game’s huge debut, The Documentary, Eminem gave the young spitter a feature. Not much needs to be said about this one, except that Eminem destroys it. You know you had a dope verse when the highly confident Game rhymes immediately after your verse: “Get Dre on the phone quick/Tell him Em’ just killed me on my own shit.”

Best bars: Only Dre can judge me for the mistakes I’m making/If I’m faking, I’m Clay Aiken/You ain’t 50 and you ain’t Game, you lame, you’re tame/Bitch your mind’s lost, you ain’t ready to make that flame switch/You’ll end up in the same situation, same shit/Different day, just with different gangstas in your face/Which- way do you wanna face when your brains hit pavement/Think of what you’ll say to Pastor Mase and save it

15. Bad Meets Evil- Welcome 2 Hell (2011, Hell: The Sequel, Em’s last verse)

This is the only verse on this list that has any type of personal bias towards it. You probably won’t see this one on many similar lists, but it should be. Eminem and Royce Da 5’9’’ reunited for their underrated LP a couple years ago and just assaulted every beat they touched. This opening track to the album has some of Eminem’s most rapid-fire flow of his career, with line after line that will make you SMH of how he did it. But the sole reason this verse made this list is the pop-culture referencing extended simile, which Eminem is the king of, near the end of the song. Extended similes, which Eminem in his later years has brought to more and more songs, is the art of starting out with a topic and rhyming scheme and coming back to it bars later. You may have to google who David Carradine was, but just peep below, it’s special.

Best bars: Me and Nickel fucking shit up on the dime so tellin’ us to pipe down/It’s like talking to a meth head/Bruce Willis on his death bed, last breath with an infection/Fighting it while he’s watching internet porn/About to meet his death with an erection/MY GOD, what I mean is David Carradine jacking his penis/In front of his tripod choking his own neck, what part you don’t get?/I’m saying I DIE HARD!

14. Eminem- Just Don’t Give a Fuck (1997, The Slim Shady EP & LP, 1^st verse)

When Eminem released The Slim Shady EP, he got buzz growing for his full-length album by releasing “Just Don’t Give a Fuck”, his first official single ever. JDGAF is classic “Old Eminem”, a bunch of insults (mainly towards himself), some bragging, all done in a zany, hilarious, and lyrically superior way than had ever been done before (look up “As the World Turns” from Slim Shady LP and his guest appearance on Madd the Rapper’s “Stir Crazy” for a couple other LOL-raps). Eminem still make you crack up with stuff in 2013, but old Eminem could have you swerving your car off the road laughing. Slim Shady makes you laugh in three ways: 1) He’s just really funny, 2) The stuff he says is so profound, inappropriate, and ridiculous that you laugh out of shock, 3) The words he rhymes make you laugh out of bewilderment that he thought it up. JDGAF is important in that it was his first official single, although “My Name Is” was clearly his breakout.

Best bars: You wacker than the motherfucker you bit your style from/You ain’t gonna sell two copies if you press a double album/Admit it, fuck it, while we coming out in the open/I’m doing acid, crack, smack, coke and smcking dope then/My name is Marshall Mathers, I’m an alcoholic/I have a disease and they don’t know what to call it/Better hide your wallet ‘cause I’m coming up quick to strip your cash/Bought a ticket to your concert just to come and whip your ass

13. Eminem- Despicable freestyle (2010, 1^st verse)

Why is this freestyle, that wasn’t even on an album, on this list? In 2008, Eminem came back from his four-hiatus with Relapse, a difficult album to process. It was refreshing to see Em clean and off the drugs, and though there are lyrical strongpoints on the album (ex. Stay Wide Awake, 3 AM, Underground), for the most part the album felt like there was a lot of rust from the time taken off. And let’s not even begin to talk about that weird accent that pervaded through the disc. People began to question whether Em was past his prime. And though the vet came back in 2009 with a couple of huge features (see later for one of them), this 2:16 onslaught of Drake’s “Over” and Lloyd Banks’ “Beamer, Benz, Or Bentley) instrumentals got everybody and their mother excited for Recovery two months before was released (not to mention that accent was long gone). Without this freestyle, it’s possible that the first-week numbers wouldn’t have been as big for Recovery.

Best bars: When I die so does hip-hop, Hitchcock of the shit bitch ask Doc/Doc got it ziplocked in a bag, you fags ain’t been able to fade me since Kid Rock had a high top/Keep bloggin’ while I mind-boggle/And I zone like I’m in the twilight, dog/Get off my bone, this is my mic, doggonit-I like hoggin’ it/Flow’s so wet I’mma take this beat tobogganin’, I’m waterloggin’ it/I’m soggin’ it, pull your verse out the beat and stomp on it/Suplexing it on cement like I’m on some “Straight Outta Compton” shit

12. Masta Ace feat. Eminem- Hellbound (2000, Em’s verse)

This is one of Eminem’s most unheard and underappreciated great verses. Em diehards and hip hop purists know about it though, and the song ranks among his fans’ favorite collaborations, with an idol of Marshall’s, the great Masta Ace. Ace actually just threw an old Eminem verse over this uplifting instrumental without the knowledge of the rapper, and boy did he pick a good one. The lyrics have a sharpness and precision to them, and the way Eminem multi-rhymes syllables is on display here several times. From start to finish, this is one of Em’s purest and most complete verses in his catalog.

Best bars: I’m so bananas I’m showin up to your open casket/To fill it full of explosive gasses and close it back/With a lit match in it while I sit back and just hope it catches/Blow you to fragments, laugh, roll you and smoke the ashes

11. Eminem- Déjà vu (2008, Relapse, 3^rd verse)

As stated earlier, Relapse is an interesting, if not an underwhelming listen. There are glimpses of lyrical brilliance, and some songs are really constructed well, while a few others are a mess. One that is not a mess is “Déjà vu”, which is one of the best autobiographical songs ever made about drug use. It’s a hidden gem on Em’s worst selling album, but alone it makes the album slightly above average. Eminem chronicles real life moments of his struggle with addiction, opening himself up to be completely vulnerable, something to be applauded for. The hardest part it appears was the toll it was taking on him as a parent, which ultimately led him to sobriety. The 2^nd verse is the best verse, although a great four bars of introspection comes later in verse three, as Em admits to the reality of an incident that made news a couple years earlier: “Taken four years to just put out an album, B/See me and you we almost had the same outcome, Heath/’Cause that Christmas you know the whole pneumonia thing?/It was bologna, was it the methadone ya think?” Difficult but imperative listening.

Best bars: Maybe just a nice cold brew, what’s a beer/That’s the devil in my ear, I been sober a fuckin’ year/And that fucker still talks to me he’s all I can fuckin’ hear/Marshall, come on we’ll watch the game, it’s the Cowboys and Buccaneers/And maybe if I just drink half I’ll be half buzzed/For half of the time, who’s the mastermind behind that little line/With that kind of rationale man I got half a mind/To have another half of glass of wine, sound asinine

10. Eminem- Infinite (1996, Infinite EP, 2^nd verse)

It’s crazy to think that Eminem, with possibly thousands of verses to his credit, may have written one of his best when he was barely 23 years old back in the mid-90’s. Infinite is technically Eminem’s debut solo album, although Slim Shady LP is widely known and considered his first, and “Infinite” is the title track and the LP’s best. “Infinite” rhymes more words together than maybe any song ever known, and it exposed Eminem to a bigger, albeit still small, audience in 1996. A lot of critics compared the tracks on Infinite to early Nas, saying Eminem was “impersonating” the Queensbridge MC. Looking back, those comparisons were a bit flawed, as now the LP is looked at as a lyrical marvel for someone that young.

Best bars: There’s never been a greater since the burial of Jesus/Fuck around and catch all the venereal diseases/My thesis will smash a stereo to pieces/My acapella releases classic masterpieces through telekinesis/It eases you mentally, gently, sentimentally, instrumentally/With entity, dementedly meant to be Infinite

9. Drake featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem- Forever Remix (2009, More Than a Game Soundtrack, Em’s verse)

This is maybe the most important verse of the latter half of Eminem’s career. This absolute blockbuster had the biggest lineup of talent on one song in years in rap music, with four of the five biggest names in all of hip hop (Hov) appearing on it. The remixed Drake mixtape song was made for Lebron James’ documentary, but it will be remembered as the song that Eminem officially came back. Ever since Wayne exploded towards superstardom around 2007, people always yearned for a Wayne-Em track. With Drake arriving in a hurry, and Kanye an established phenomenon, it was a perfect storm. After a good Drake verse, two decent verses from Kanye and Wayne, the stage was set for Marshall. It’s a blazing assault, with few punchlines and just straight fury on the mic. It put the other verses to absolute shame, and it felt like it started the process of shaking the long time away that was evident on Relapse. Plus, the video showed Eminem reunited with Royce Da 5’9’’ and Slaughterhouse, which was icing on the cake.

8. Eminem featuring Dr. Dre- Guilty Conscience (1999, The Slim Shady EP, all of Em’s parts)

Meet Eddie, 23 years old. “Guilty Conscience” is a dark comedy if there ever was one in music. Serious subject matter is at time surreal and others laugh out loud funny thanks to the chemistry and back and forth between Dre and Em. Though there isn’t technically a “whole verse” from Shady, his little two and four bar spurts add up to an epic concoction of funny wordplay in this follow-up single to Em’s first smash hit, “My Name Is”. The pinnacle moment in the song is when the young rookie MC makes fun of the person that made him famous: “You gonna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes?/What’s wrong, didn’t think I’d remember?/Uhh ahh temper temper!/Mr. Dre? Mr. NWA?/Mr. AK coming straight outta Compton ya’ll better make way?” Classic.

Best bars: Go in, gaffle the money and run to one of your Aunt’s cribs/And borrow a damn dress and one of her blonde wigs/Tell her you need a place to stay, you’ll be safe for days/If you shave your legs with Renee’s razor blades

7. Eminem- The Way I Am (2000, Marshall Mathers LP, 2^nd verse)

Eminem needed to release The Way I Am. After the silly singles The Slim Shady LP  produced, and with “The Real Slim Shady” proving to be a huge first single off of The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem was in the midst of controversy about his inappropriate and hateful lyrics from one section of the culture, and the other section of listeners waiting to take him more seriously. “The Way I Am” is one of the more important songs in Em’s collection, as it is an open diary to critics, naysayers, and even his own fans. It shows a different side of Eminem than previously seen to people who didn’t know him as an artist outside of his singles and music videos. Whether it was shaking the “wigger” title, or shaming fans and paparazzi when he’s out in public with his daughter, or slamming the critics of his lyrics and their relevance in school violence, Eminem was on the defensive. The outcome was possibly his most poignant lyrics thus far, and the message was sent loud and clear. A respect and understanding for the young, troubled man arose from fans and critics alike. A complete song from beginning to end, all three verses gave different topic matters their best fight, and the 2^nd verse is the strongest and most powerful.

Best bars: It seems like the media immediately points a finger at me/So I point one back at ’em, but not the index or pinkie/Or the ring or the thumb, it’s the one you put up/When you don’t give a fuck, when you won’t just put up/With the bullshit they pull, cause they full of shit too/When a dude’s getting bullied and shoots up his school/And they blame it on Marilyn and the heroin/Where were the parents at? And look where it’s at/Middle America, now it’s a tragedy/Now it’s so sad to see, an upper class city/Having this happening, then attack Eminem cause I rap this way

6. Eminem- Nail in the Coffin / The Sauce (2002)

Eminem is the total package. The guy can make a grimey, old school hip hop lyrical record. He can make a radio jam without being corny. He can write emotionally draining masterpieces about addiction, relationships, and mental health. He can make a ridiculous song about farts or body excretions and make it hilarious. But perhaps Eminem’s greatest strength is battle rapping or dissing his opponents and enemies. The young Detroit native rose to prominence in the underground battle rap game, where spewing insults and verbal attacks is the name of the game. That background helped immensely in a slew of beefs Eminem had in the first part of his career, ranging from Canibus to Fred Durst to Ja Rule (look up “Can-I-Bitch”, “Girls”, and “Bully” for three other GREAT Eminem diss songs towards those gentlemen). But his greatest diss record moments came in two separate songs, both one long verse each, directed at The Source magazine’s Ray Benzino and Dave Mays. Benzino was the most sought-after target, as Benzino had made comments against Eminem involving race in the world of hip hop, along with two diss records towards the MC. Nail in the Coffin and The Sauce are equally brutal, both never pulling punches, and both expertly written. Benzino and Mays never recovered from the disses, later leaving the magazine they owned. Bit of advice: don’t go to war with Slim Shady.

Best bars: (Nail in the Coffin) If you’re that much of a gangsta, put the mic down/You should be out killing motherfuckers right now! Kill a motherfucker dead, kill him dead, bitch! Shoot ’em in the fucking head- go ahead, bitch/Slap my mom, slap the fuck out of her!/She can’t sue you; she wouldn’t get a buck out of ya/Cause you’re broke as fuck, you suck, you’re a fucking joke/If you was really selling coke, well then what the fuck you stop for, dummy?/If you slew some crack you’d make a lot more money then you do from rap

(The Sauce) You wanna talk about some shit that you don’t know about, yea?/Let’s talk about how you’re puttin your own son out there/To try to eat off him because you missed your boat/You’re never gonna blow, bitch, you’re just too old/No wonder you’re sore now, Lordy you’re bored now/I’m pushing thirty, you’re kickin forty’s door down

5. 50 Cent featuring Eminem- Patiently Waiting (2003, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Em’s verse)

There haven’t been too many LP’s in the new millennium that had the hype or did the numbers that an Eminem record can do, but 50 Cent’s massive debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, was one of them. Eminem and Dre found Fiddy and helped him form an all-time classic first album. Get Rich spanned multiple smash hits, went diamond status, and launched Curtis Jackson near the peak of hip hop. 50 Cent’s lyrics and stories of street life were visceral, and intro to end he shines everywhere. Having said that (you know where I’m going with this), the most memorable verse on the entire album is Eminem’s on “Patiently Waiting”. The guy just have a knack for doing this type-a-thing. The track itself is one of 50’s best, and he goes hard as hell on his two verses, but Eminem is effortlessly smooth in lines like “Don’t let me lose you, I’m not tryna confuse you/When I let loose wit this uzi and just shoot through your Isuzu”. He’s truly a scene-stealer.

Best bars: Take some Big and some Pac and you mix em’ up in a pot/Sprinkle a little Big L on top, what the fuck do you got?/You got the realest and illest killas tied up in a knot/The juggernauts of this rap shit, like it or not/It’s like a fight to the top just to see who’d die for the spot/You put ya life in this, nothin like survivin a shot

4. Eminem- Til I Collapse (2002, The Eminem Show, 2^nd verse)

This is the workout or work hard anthem of all anthems. “Til I Collapse” could make you want to mow your yard or wash your dishes better than anybody could ever imagine. It gets you THAT hyped for ANYTHING. Despite never being a radio single, the best song from Eminem’s best, or at least, most complete album, The Eminem Show, has become a both diehard and casual Eminem fan’s favorite. As of last year, the song has over two million singles sold, almost unheard of for a non-single, especially one that came before singles were sold on i-tunes. A Nate Dogg (R.I.P.) hook fits perfectly between three showcasing Em verses. Much like the aforementioned “The Way I Am”, any of the three could easily be on this list, but the 2^nd one in particular stands out. “Music is like magic, there’s a certain feeling you get when you’re real when you spit, and people are feelin’ your shit”. Damn right.

Best bars: When your run is over just admit when it’s at its end/Because I’m at the end of my wits with half the shit that gets in/I got a list, here’s the order of my list that it’s in/It goes Reggie, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie/Andre from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me/But in this industry I’m the cause of a lot of envy/So when I’m not put on this list, the shit does not offend me

3. Eminem- Stan (2000, The Marshall Mathers LP, 3^rd verse)

When all is said and done, “Stan” will be the best song Eminem ever made. It is a masterclass in lyrical connection, a raw-to-the-bone cautionary tale of an obsessed fan. “Stan” is the song that won Marshall Mathers more fans than any song prior to or since. It’s heartfelt, it’s genuine, and it’s sincere. Eminem delivers four verses here, three as the voice of Stan, and the final verse as himself. Rapped over a chilling instrumental, co-produced by Em himself, Eminem’s Stan persona will put goosebumps on your arms. All four verses here could be in the top 10 of his list, but the final Stan verse ultimately is the track’s most emotional and captivating moment. If “Til I Collapse” is the best song off of Eminem’s best album, then “Stan” is the most compelling song off of his most compelling album.

Best bars: Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?/You know the song by Phil Collins “In the Air of the Night”/About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning/But didn’t, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him/That’s kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from drowning/Now it’s too late, I’m on a thousand downers now, I’m drowsy/And all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call/I hope you know I ripped all of your pictures off the wall

2. Eminem- Lose Yourself (2002, 8 Mile Soundtrack, 1^st verse)

A generation ago what would’ve had better odds, a black man becoming president or a white rapper winning an Oscar? Well thank God, both came true in the 2000’s. “Lose Yourself” has become the rapper’s most well-known song, and has been on numerous “Best Songs Ever” lists from several publications. It is an underdog song at heart, with rise-from-nothing attitude that only a song like “Til I Collapse” can compete with in getting the adrenaline pumping. It’s a nearly flawless song- that piano at the beginning, the guitar lick throughout, and the thumping beat under those raw and poetic verses. 8 Mile was a huge risk for Eminem in 2002, playing a version of himself on big screen, a tale of underground battle rapping by a troubled young man. Eminem pulled it off though, winning praise from movie critics and fans alike, as the movie became a huge box office hit. The soundtrack went platinum, and “Lose Yourself” became the movie’s signature track, earning grammy nominations and that Oscar in the process. Every verse is great here, especially one and three, but of course the 1^st verse is the one we picked here. If you had one shot, or one opportunity…

Best bars: His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy/There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti/He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready/To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting/What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud/He opens his mouth but the words won’t come out/He’s choking, how? Everybody’s joking now/The clock’s run out, time’s up, over- blaow!

1. Jay-Z featuring Eminem- Renegade (2001, The Blueprint, Both Em verses)

It’s not the most popular Eminem verse. Although well-known, though it was never a single, and it’s not even on an Eminem album. But “Renegade” is the song, among hip hop critics and purists, that finally got Eminem accepted as great, and possibly all-time great. In 2001, Jay-Z was the king of hip hop. With 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. gone, Jay-Z held the throne. Although Nas had as much talent as Hova, and today is held in the same breath with him, Nas never held the stature or pop culture popularity as Jigga. Jay-Z was untouchable on the mic. Several albums into his career, there wasn’t anybody even on the radar. And then “Renegade” happened. Following a solid Jay-Z verse, Eminem goes in with reckless abandon, then does it again after another Hov 16. Despite having sold millions and millions of copies of his first two albums by 2001, Eminem had a ton to prove. It was as if he used his motto he would later use in “Lose Yourself”, to seize everything he ever wanted in this one moment, he would capture it. Eminem had the money, he had the fame, he had the fans. What he didn’t quite have was the total attention and respect from inner hip hop circles, people who ranked the best. No one dared say Eminem was an all-time talent, and his verse on “Renegade” turned that notion upside down and took it’s lunch money. Nas would later rap on his Jay-Z verse “Ether” that Em “murdered him on his own shit”. 12 years later, Jay-Z is still one of the all-time greats, and Eminem has joined him, and in part, in started with “Renegade”.

Best bars: Maybe it’s hatred I spew, maybe it’s food for the spirit/Maybe it’s beautiful music I made for you to just cherish/But I’m debated, disputed, hated and viewed in America/As a motherfuckin’ drug addict, like you didn’t experiment/That’s when you start to stare at who’s in the mirror/And see yourself as a kid again, and you get embarrassed

Honorable Mentions:

Eminem- My Name Is (1999, Slim Shady LP, 1^st verse), Missy Elliott feat. Eminem- Busa Rhyme (1999, Em’s verse), Notorious B.I.G. feat. Eminem- Dead Wrong (1999, Born Again, Em’s verse), Madd Rapper feat. Eminem- Stir Crazy (1999, Em’s 1^st verse), Eminem- Kill You (2000, Marshall Mathers LP, 1^st verse), Eminem- The Real Slim Shady (2000, The Marshall Mathers LP, 1^st verse), Eminem- I’m Back (2000, Marshall Mathers LP, 3^rd verse), Eminem- Rabbit Run (2002, 8 Mile Soundtrack), Eminem- White America (2002, The Eminem Show, 1^st verse), Eminem- Sing for the Moment (2002, The Eminem Show, 3^rd verse), Eminem- Mosh (2004, Encore, 3^rd verse), Eminem- Like Toy Soldiers (2004, Encore, 2^nd verse), Eminem feat. Obie Trice, 50 Cent- Spend Some Time (2004, Encore, Em’s verse), Eminem- When I’m Gone (2005, Curtain Call: The Hits, 3^rd verse), Lil Wayne feat. Eminem- Drop the World (2009, Em’s verse), Eminem- Going Thru Changes (2010, Recovery, 3^rd verse), Eminem- 25 to Life (2010, Recovery, 2^nd verse), Eminem- Almost Famous (2010, Recovery, 1^st verse), T.I. feat. Eminem- All She Wrote (2010, Em’s 1^st verse), B.O.B. feat. Eminem- Airplanes Part 2 (2010, Em’s verse), Rihanna feat. Eminem- Love the Way You Lie Part 2 (2011, Em’s verse)