Transcript
Eminem is the rapper’s rapper. Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time for multiple reasons. He is melodic, so he focuses a lot on melody. His cadence is unlike any other. Eminem focuses also on diction and enunciation. As fast as Eminem can rap, the amount of words that he can rap, he is very clear, which is very hard to do when you’re saying so much.
Another thing that makes Eminem’s style distinctive is he can make words that don’t traditionally rhyme, rhyme together because he focuses on the vowels. By focusing on vowels, you can turn an owl, like the bird, into an hour, and you can make those two words rhyme if you’re focusing on the vowels. Vowels are very important. This is a little technique that a lot of people don’t know, but Eminem has really studied the craft and he also studies language. And when you study language and how words mesh together, it can help you as a rapper.
I think one other key part that makes Eminem’s rap style distinctive is he has a very great handle on vocabulary. His vocabulary is vast, so he can make something that’s really complex, break it down in the most simplest way possible. But then he has a lot more, I call it sound painting. He has a lot more paint because he has so much colors because he knows so much words and he understands the meanings of those words. So he can pull so many words together that it’s just impressive.
So, he has melody, he has word play, he has vocabulary, he can make words that don’t necessarily rhyme together rhyme. And Eminem also is very much about sensationalism, so it’s about shock and awe, and saying things that nobody else has ever said.
And I would say the last and final thing that makes Eminem’s style distinctive is he is authentic to himself. Being a Caucasian rapper in a style or art form traditionally dominated by African Americans, he doesn’t try to be like them. He speaks to his culture. He speaks to something that is his background. He’s from a trailer park. He’s not from the inner city or Brooklyn, so he’s not going to try to be other than he is.
And that’s one key element that all rappers, especially Eminem, has, is being authentic to who you are and the life that you grew up and talk about those things. So, he’s going to talk about his mother, his baby’s mother, and he’s super creative and so he makes those stories interesting. But, ultimately, he’s being authentic to himself. So, all those things makes Eminem’s style distinctive.
