How do you measure the greatness of a rapper? By the size of their concert venue, by the sales, by their lyrical ability? How do you choose who has a better verse on “Renegade”? Math Hoffa has an opinion about this unstoppable rivalry.
He sat down for an interview in Vlad’s studio recently, and obviously, the conversation could not go without mentioning Eminem. And, specifically, this popular debate about who did better on “Renegade”. Math thinks that both did what they do best, and it’s unfair to give Eminem a clear win. Referring to Nas’s line on his brutal Jay-Z diss “Ether”, Math declared:
People make that argument because Nas said that. “Eminem murdered you on your own shit”. But realistically, the subject matter they are talking about, I can get it — the paparazzi effect and the critics that were coming after Eminem. But I can mentally walk through the hood while I’m listening to Jay-Z. So, it’s a song about subject matter. I don’t think it’s a murder thing. If it’s a track like we’re getting off, we are doing the braggadocious shit, “I’mma smoke you, niggas!”. If they got on something like that, then who wins?
Drawing upon the argument that it’s Nas’s opinion that granted Eminem a win, Math suggests a mental experiment:
If Tupac was still alive, whose verse would he like? When you listen to Nas and the way he structures his rhymes, that’s why he would say, “Eminem murdered you”. Because of the constant flowing that Em had, he just kept building compound and a rhyme. It connected beautifully if you are into that. Tupac did it occasionally, but he focused more on what he was saying and being direct in his message.
So, Math Hoffa implies that Tupac could have made a decision in favour of Jay-Z. But, muses Math, maybe we should not think in terms of rappers killing rappers on tracks but enjoy different styles and different types of connections to the audience that artists demonstrate. There is no reason to doubt Math Hoffa and his expert opinion, he has always been respectful towards Eminem and his craft. Can you get behind his take on the “Renegade” conversation?
