CLEVELAND - Eminem (nee Marshall Mathers) is my all-time favorite rap artist as well as the one I most relate to. His first CD was the first ever rap CD that I purchased. Recently, Vibe magazine voted him "the best rapper alive."I'm not sure I agree.
Don't get me wrong, the guy is utterly brilliant at what he does. He continues to inspire me in my musical endeavors. My problem with this vote is more or less centered around the fact that he has been silent for nearly four years.
That's an eternity.
Sure, he released a greatest hits album in 2005 and a compilation in '06 entitled, The Re-Up, but his last solo set was 2004's Encore, which acted as sort of a sequel to the mega brilliant, 2002's The Eminem Show. All told, he has released just one album in the past six years.
Vibe's contest pitted some of the industry's greatest stars against each other and had a final four of Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Andre 3000 and Em himself. The votes were made by fans as the final two, Em and Jay went head-to-head.
A surprising landslide for Eminem: 69% to 31% for Jay. Me personally, I would have picked Jay-Z because he has released 12 albums in the past 12 years. Since Eminem's last album, the hip-hop mogul has released two albums in spite of being retired for half of the past four years.
Impressive.
I just hope that Eminem's expected forth coming CD puts him right back in the saddle. I love my man Jay-Z and I think his brilliance and consistency trumps Em's brilliance.
But I sure do miss Marshall.
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