Isn’t a sad day when you can’t state your opinion? You have to selective, foreseeing the possible consequences or backlash for what you post or tweet. It’s a sad state of affairs that we put so much emotion into everything that a simple critique is taken as a personal diss that requires a response that has nothing to do with what was said, but a comeback about how your AVI looks or your intelligence. What has our discourse become?
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of Eminem but I don’t hate him. For at least a year I thought Eminem was the dopest artist out. I’ve heard all of his classic albums and I’m one of the rare people you’ll run into that actually enjoys his Recovery album. I even still listen to “Not Afraid” and “No Love”! However, I hold on to the opinion that everything post Recovery (“Rap God” and “Beserk” on) has been trash based on Eminem standards. It just doesn’t seem as if he has the same motivation as he once did. In his prime, the wordplay that Eminem possessed was far above other rappers. He wasn’t lyrical but the way that he flipped bars and used metaphors and double entendres was something that we could talk about in a college class. Yet, as time went on, he turned more pop and he lost the rawness that his previous rhymes possessed.
He knows this! If you listen to Kamikaze, his surprise album that dropped this morning, you’d hear this! Eminem is past his prime on this album. Now, he’s mad that we want more from one of the games greatest rappers. In his career, Eminem always picked on people that were never on his level. He dissed Will Smith, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Nick Cannon and other pop stars who couldn’t go bar-for-bar with him. His skills were far ahead of the Benzino’s and Ja Rule’s of Murder Inc. fame. He never gave credence to real challengers like Cannabis and even admitted that he was gonna diss Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West over jealousy. It seems as if history repeats itself.
Now he’s dissing mumble rappers, DJ Akademiks and Charlamagne Tha God. He even had bars for Joe Budden, who has said multiple times that he’s retired from rap. Joe even said he wouldn’t come out of retirement if Jay-Z wanted him to do a verse on his album! What points is Em winning for doing this? Granted, Kamikaze isn’t a bad album but these cheap disses and gimmicks is beneath Eminem. We’re really dissing people for valid critiques of albums you even think aren’t your best?
Eminem isn’t even the biggest problem. It’s his “Stans”, who literally are the embodiment of his hit song “Stan” who hang onto everything that Em does like he’s above reproach and doesn’t need critique. This new album isn’t bad but he does sound like Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards. Jordan could still dunk but he wasn’t throwing down windmills in 2003 like he did in 1993. He still had skills but his movements were slower. His minutes per game decreased. He couldn’t go that aggressively on defense. He was a shell of what we once viewed him as. If that isn’t the best comparison for what Eminem has become I don’t know what is.
So, I take to Twitter to share my opinion on this after listening to the album myself. I posted the Tweet below.
It’s sad how much Eminem has lost it! He’s like Michael Hordan when he came back to the Wizard status! He even sounds out of breath while he’s rapping! Joe Budden should come out of retirement for this one but he won’t! 😂😂😂
— Randall Barnes (@AuthorRandallB) August 31, 2018
The responses that followed said nothing of my critique. People were automatically triggered by what I said. They decided to harp on the autocorrect mistake of my iPhone putting “Hordan” instead of “Jordan” instead of giving me a real critique. They insulted my intelligence and swore I was a mumble rap listener. I’m literally listening to Big K.R.I.T right now as I write this! They’re far off!
You’re tripping mate lmao the bars were probably too difficult for you that the whole punchline went over your head but that’s cool, Marshall makes music for intellectuals only.
— Kamikaze’s bitch. (@havanagetaway) August 31, 2018
— TTabb (@ttabb92) August 31, 2018
— MamaVet ✊🏾 IDidntVoteForThatIdiot (@mrsfixit84) August 31, 2018
Looks like it’s all gone over ya head dawg😂😂
— Thomas Rodriguez (@14159265_tom) August 31, 2018
Go listen to some more 6ix9ine hoe ass Nigga
— U mad? (@yeaumad) August 31, 2018
You’re stupid as shit. You clearly didn’t listen, or you’re mad your boyfriend lil yachty got dissed.
— クインラン ヘンダーソン (@yaboyQuinlan) August 31, 2018
Then the attacks got personal. They insulted how I looked and I even was called a “nigger”.
just see yourself in mirror😂😂you fat bitch ass fucking nigger
— Aryan (@Aryanzzxxcc) August 31, 2018
Really? All I did was give a musical critique and that got you triggered enough for you to give a racial slur? This is where we’ve gone in our discourse. This is why our artists aren’t allowed to get better. Their fans, or stans, shield them from any criticism and make you out to be crazy for speaking your mind. I’m not gonna respond to these ignorant individuals outside of this because I’ve have too many ties that I’m not gonna let unravel because of petty Twitter but just know I stand on my opinion.
Eminem is out of his prime! He needs to go back to what made him great or hang it up completely.
