Music 03 Jan 2010 09:27 pm
My Advice to Eminem
It is well-known that Marshall Mathers, or Eminem, is one of the most prolific rappers in recent memory. He was the top-selling artist (in all genres) of this past decade, elevating himself to the group of upper-tier rappers, which includes Jay-Z and Nas. However, despite all of his achievements over his musical career, there are always aspects that he can improve upon as a rapper. In my view, there is one aspect that stands out.
What Eminem can do, in my opinion, to climb the ladder of best rappers is to minimize the number of songs in which he raps in his nasal, high-pitched voice. This “Slim Shady voice” has produced some classic songs over his career, most notably “Without Me”, “My Name Is”, and “The Real Slim Shady”, but the list of such classics is limited. Considering that the majority of Eminem’s recent Relapse and Relapse: Refill albums is songs in that “Slim Shady voice”, I think that it is time for Eminem to switch back to his “serious voice”. I would not say this if the songs on these two albums stand out as some of Eminem’s best, but they are clearly in the mediocre-to-solid range at best.
It is important to note that it was the “serious voice” that elevated Eminem to that upper-tier group of rappers. Songs like “‘Till I Collapse” and “Lose Yourself” clearly stand out as some of his greatest songs. Even songs in his more recent albums, particularly “Beautiful” and “Be Careful What You Wish For”, in which he raps with a powerful, deep tone, are worthy to be up there as some of Eminem’s best. While his songs in a nasal, satiric voice may stay on a top 10 list for one or two weeks, it is the songs in a serious voice that stay relevant forever. That is why I implore him to uncover his true side soon and do what he does best.
Quite simply, if you are a rapper whose biggest weapons are the depth of your words and power of your voice, you should stick to what you do best. This is exactly what Eminem should do and build off of the success of his greatest (and more serious) songs.