Genius, the website that specialises on lyrics and offers insights from artists and scientists on how rhymes work, invited Professor Adam Bradley, director of Race and Popular Culture at the University of Colorado Boulder, to analyse Eminem’s verses.
Prof. Bradley praised the range of Eminem’s poetic devices and skills from the variety of rhyming schemes to his use of mosaic rhyme to his astonishing vocabulary. He states:
Eminem is not bounded by the rules of rap in the songs. He’s not bounded by the 16 bar verse, he is
not bounded by the end of where the bar should come to a close and resolve itself. He pushes his language past his constraints. […] And what it does is it satisfies the mind’s lust for rhyme. We all, whether we know it or not, our minds want rhyme. He delivers that but also gives us a variety, and that is ultimately the thing that captures our attention when it comes to his rhymes.
The video released by Genius also contains interview footage where Eminem responds to the mention that he reads dictionaries with the statement that he just wants to be able to pull the best word from his vocabulary when he needs it.
Watch the full video below:
