Talib Kweli had his breakthrough in 1997 with Mos Def, so his opinion on hip hop counts. Even when it is not entirely complimentary, it shows that he is paying attention.
The New York rapper hosts the “People’s Party With Talib Kweli” show on Uproxx, and his latest guest was Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Belly. Belly cites Eminem as one of his biggest influences, especially regarding his rhyme schemes and the impact on the culture, the ability to make things heard by the wider audience. It made Talib share his own opinion on Eminem and how his craft defines Em’s music:
The funny thing about Eminem is… I don’t know the names of bigger Eminem records, the ones he has with Rihanna and certain other records he has, but these records are played on the radio all the time… But what’s funny to me about Eminem is, it doesn’t matter how pop the record is (he has a lot of pop records with pop production, right?). It does not matter how pop the record is, he, as an MC, is always trying to impress MCs. So sometimes, I just be honest, it sounds out of place to me. Sometimes the record is so pop, and whatever the hook is – he’s just barring them out, and he’s going so hard! It’s like that EPMD record on the Nas’ joint. It was like, yo, okay, EPMD is rapping, Nas is rapping, everybody understood the assignment. Eminem’s like, “No, no, no. I have to outdo my verse form last year on the last feature you heard me from. So now I’m just gonna rap!” And I’m like, wow! I can’t imagine having that amount of pressure every time you’re getting in the fucking booth. You gotta come like that! You gotta do the voices, you gotta do… He’s always trying to outdo whatever he did the last time. But I guess that’s why he is who he is. It’s like the song don’t even matter. The chart position, or if it makes sense on that beat, that rhyme… His standard is: they gonna respect these bars, though. And that’s it.
Talib made his point with respect and understanding. Interestingly, the thing that makes him uneasy is the same trait many people name as one of Eminem’s most admirable qualities. Yes, Marshall always brings on the best game, the best verse, does the best he can. And this is why he is the greatest.
Watch the video below:
Full Interview:
