S. Samuel
With a new album destined to topple the sales chart next week, Eminem has even more reasons to smile as fellow rap veteran Ice Cube has showered him with accolades.
The former N.W.A. standout publicly applauded Em’s dicey “Rap God” anthem and how much homage he paid on it this week.
“Em has always showed love and showed respect to NWA, and when you do that you go a long way,” Cube said while in Boston on a promo tour for his new Kevin Hart movie Ride Along. “If I did a song [like that], I’d be shouting out people like Ice T, Chuck D, Melle Mel, the ones that came before me who were spitting that truth. Those were the ones that inspired me. It’s just showing love and respect, and that’s why he’s been on top for the longest.” (XXL Mag)
Recently, Atlanta’s Waka Flocka Flame spoke on Slim Shady paying homage more than offending with a reference to him on “Rap God.”
“How [did he diss me]? [Eminem] said, he asked people if you think it’s a game. ‘I’ma go hard as Waka Flocka and Flame you.’ He’s basically giving me a compliment. I appreciate it. You know what I’m saying? For a legend to look at you like you going hard. ‘Keep going,’ that’s basically what he said. ‘You going hard. I respect everything you doing. Keep going.’ I ain’t look at it as no beef. I know Eminem wouldn’t diss me. I played it and I’m like he clearly gave me a shout out. It’s just people don’t wanna see your rise.” (Montreality)
Despite the superior title, Midwest rap veteran Tech N9ne recently applauded Em for putting his all into the buzzing record.
“Yes, I heard ‘Rap God.’ Everybody want to know what I think. I think he’s rapping his a** off. That’s what I think. You know what I’m saying,” Tech said in an interview. “Somebody said it makes me want to hit the pad harder. I’m like, ‘I always hit the pad hard.’ So, yeah, nothing makes me [want to go harder] much anymore. But that? I was smiling, so it was a good thing. I listened to it twice.” (The NE Hip Hop)
A few weeks back, Slaughterhouse’s Joe Budden noted how hard Em went on “Rap God.”
Thus far, Em has dropped a few singles for the lyrical nerds, including the most recent “Rap God.” “I think this [album] is for rap fans,” Joe Budden explained. “I think that he’s been inspired as of late and I know he’s been working really hard. I know he has an overabundance of records to choose from and they’re all rap. You can tell that even from the records released like ‘Berzerk’– a real old school Beastie Boys kinda feel, and ‘Rap God’ — where he’s just rapping for six minutes straight.” “He even dyed his hair back to blond, so he’s going back to an earlier time, and I think fans will look forward to that.” (MTV)
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Check out “Rap God”:
