Eminem’s “Rap God” leaked yesterday, and the song is aptly titled. Besides being incredibly impressive from a technical standoint, the song is a cornucopia of references to hip-hop.
The last line—”Why be a king when you can be a god”—is a nod to Kendrick Lamar’s “stop the presses” verse from Big Sean’s “Control.” You know, the verse that has launched a thousand rap-response ships since coming out this summer. Kendrick, as you maybe have read, because literally every single person on the planet with an Internet connection has been talking about nothing else over the past couple months, called himself the “King of New York.” And much discussion (and controversy!) has followed. Who is the current King of Rap? Em’s sign-off is a friendly upping of the ante. And it proves, once again, what a die-hard rap nerd this kid from Detroit (who is no longer a kid) remains.
Other evidence is abundant here. Shouts to Rakim, Tupac, Phaorah Monch, Heavy D. Hints at classics like “Supersonic,” “Chunky But Funky” and “The Show.” And probably a whole bunch of stuff that we haven’t picked up on yet.
Here are the first 10 rap references that jumped out at us. Join us as we begin Breaking Down the Rap References in Eminem’s “Rap God.”
“Six minutes, Slim Shady, you’re on.”
The track opens with a scratched sample of this Eminem line from “Remember Me” from The Marshall Mathers LP. In this case, it’s a reference to the song’s length, which just cruises past six minutes. In its original appearance on MMLP, it was a callback to Slick Rick’s line from “The Show” with Doug E. Fresh.
“Now who thinks their arms are long enough to slapbox, slapbox?”
A play on the Broadway Musical “Your Arms Too Short To Box With God,” Em’s reference here has a deep history in hip-hop, having been referenced by everyone from Black Star to Xzibit.
RapGenius suggests it’s a reference to 1989’s Big Daddy Kane track “Mortal Combat,” which includes that line in its lyrics. It’s more likely, though, that’s it’s an explicit reference to Lakim Shabazz’s “Your Arms Too Short To Box With God,” since Eminem drops Shabazz’s name later on in the song.
Lakim Shabazz was a co-founder of the Flavor Unit crew, a group centered around Mark the 45 King (who would go on to produce “Hard Knock Life” for Jay Z). “Your Arms Too Short To Box With God,” though, was produced by Louis “Louie Louie” Vega (not to be confused with similarly-named house DJ Little Louis Vega).
“Packin’ a Mac in the Back of the Ac.”
This one is a reference to a Big Pun skit called “Pakinamac” from Capital Punishment.
“‘Cause I use it as a vehicle to bust a rhyme/Now I lead a new school full of students.”
This is a play on Busta Rhymes being a member of the hip-hop group Leaders of the New School early in his career.
“…Off of planking, tell me what the fuck are you thinking?”
Following up on the previous line’s reference to Waka Flocka (“’til I walk a flock of flames”) he quotes from Waka Flocka’s “Hard In the Paint.”
“…Lookin’ boy.”
In a series of lines questioning a target’s sexuality, Em snatches the Hotstylz “Lookin’ Boy” flow, as the track switches to a snap beat.
“I still rap like I’m on my Pharoahe Monch grind.”
A reference to one of hip-hop’s most lyrically intricate underground luminaries, Pharaohe Monch. In another part of the song, he also mentioned influences Rakim, Lakim Shabazz, 2Pac, and the individual members of N.W.A.
“To just come and shoot ya, like when Fabolous made Ray J mad.”
Not a reference to rap, but a reference to a rapper: Fabolous clowned Ray J for performing at the piano at Floyd Mayweather’s house. This later led to an altercation in Las Vegas between the two recording artists.
Nah but Floyd saying we havin a concert in my living room & the camera cuts to Ray J singing "One Wish" on the piano had me in tears!!
— Fabolous (@myfabolouslife) September 17, 2011
“Sama lamaa duma lamaa.”
In the previous line he sets up this gibberish reference by describing his lyrics as coming at you as “Supersonic” speed. Then he underlines it with a “JJ Fad!” punch-in. It’s a reference to ’80s electro-rap group JJ Fad, whose debut was produced by DJ Yella, Arabian Prince, and Dr. Dre. The “sama lamaa duma lamaa” gibberish section is a lift from the “Supersonic (Remix).”
“Bumping Heavy D and the Boys, still chunky, but funky.”
A reference to Heavy D’s song of the same name.
