I was listening to some old school Em on the way home yesterday, and I figured I'd talk about what his best & worst features are (and by "features," I'm including songs by him with feature appearances as well as those where he was the feature). I'll start with the best ones, in reverse order:
5. "What's the Difference" - Dr. Dre, Xzibit & Eminem
An unsung hit on a classic album featuring one of Dre's greatest beats. Em serves as a wild card compared to the steady, heavy paces that Dre & X show off on this track.
4. "Don't Approach Me" - Xzibit & Eminem
I actually think Em & X make a good pairing for a rap track, and I'm disappointed we haven't gotten more of it over the years. Em's second verse is specifically impeccable here imo:
3. "Forgot About Dre" - Dr. Dre & Eminem
This thread would be a farce if I didn't include the song with one of the most memorable hooks of all time.
2. "Til I Collpase" - Eminem & Nate Dogg
This might be a controversial take, but I find The Eminem Show to be Em's best work, as he managed to merge his controversial style with more palatable in-the-pocket flows that feature enough emotion to make it all stick, and this track is the best example of that. Nate's vocals are both smooth & powerful, and match very well with Em's intensity.
1. "Renegade" - Jay-Z & Eminem
A pairing of two of the best to ever do it, and I'm blessed to be in a timeline where this song exists. This song actually is the foundation of a lot of deep rap lore. Firstly, it basically sets up the expectation that Em will outrap anyone he's on a feature with. Secondly, this song serves as one of the jabs Nas throws at Jay in his diss track "Ether." But, it's not like Jay was a slouch on this track; he's very on point here, as he is for basically the entirety of The Blueprint. But Em's flow & production here are so great, it just outshines him & is arguably the best track on the album.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
And now... for the garbage.
5. "No Favors" - Big Sean & Eminem
Ngl, I'm not the biggest fan of the Punished Eminem arc, also known as the Awfully Hot Coffee Pot era. There's been some highlights, but there's been a ton of duds. This is one of them. And it's a shame, because Sean actually comes pretty solid on this track. Imo, the goal for any Em feature should be for everyone other than Em to not try too hard to match lyrical wits (unless you're Busta) & simply shine in your best way. Sean does that here.
Em, tho? He starts off colder than expected with a pretty hammy "If she was flavor, I won't save her." It's just kinda awkward. And then he says...
"I saw dem eyes like an ass-raper..."
In true "If I just fucked this model, and she just bleached her asshole..." fashion, this bar singlehandedly ruins this track, and makes the rest of the verse unbearable. The trying way too hard to attack Trump stuff doesn't help either. What a waste of a good beat & verse from Sean.
4. "Walk on Water" - Eminem & Beyonce
A sorry-ass track from a sorry-ass album. I liked Em better when he wasn't trying to remind everyone of his past glory & instead chased new ones. The facepalm he makes on the album cover is a perfect representation of this album's quality, and this song might be the worst track on it. Trying to recapture the hype of an unlikely crossover that he had with "Love the Way You Lie" & "The Monster" with Beyonce is an L. Especially on this sappy ass track. And the ending might be the cringiest shit I've ever heard.
3. "Smack That" - Akon & Eminem
This might seem like a weird inclusion, but this is one of those tracks from the Post-Encore era where Em was a bit more... aimless in his work, thanks to drug addictions affecting his career. With that said... Em is just really boring here. This feels like a verse that, if you just read the lyrics, wouldn't sound like an Eminem verse at all. Thankfully, Em's contribution can mostly be ignored by the catchiness from the rest of the track.
2. [INSERT ANY SKYLAR GREY FEATURE HERE]
Literally pick one. They're all cringey Call of Duty commercial trash. It's fuckin wack that this feature occurs multiple times across multiple albums, including his most recent one. Anytime I see her name, it's an instant skip.
1. "Touchdown" - TI & Eminem
The worst track on the worst TI album. I... don't know if Em was high when he recorded this verse, but for all the shit he gives himself for the accent he had on Relapse, no one talks about the country bumpkin accent he had on this track. This is also an Eminem beat, and... this shit sounds like something that would come up if you typed in "Jazzy Pha type beat" on YouTube. Again, this is from the Post-Encore era where the opioids he's taking have him half-asleep on most of his tracks. I'm kinda surprised no one talks about how bad this song is. Then again... it's a forgettable track on a mostly forgettable album (Pro tip: Split personality disorders are no laughing matter, and certainly aren't the kind of thing you center an entire album around, TI).
Dishonorable Mentions:
5. "What's the Difference" - Dr. Dre, Xzibit & Eminem
An unsung hit on a classic album featuring one of Dre's greatest beats. Em serves as a wild card compared to the steady, heavy paces that Dre & X show off on this track.
4. "Don't Approach Me" - Xzibit & Eminem
I actually think Em & X make a good pairing for a rap track, and I'm disappointed we haven't gotten more of it over the years. Em's second verse is specifically impeccable here imo:
3. "Forgot About Dre" - Dr. Dre & Eminem
This thread would be a farce if I didn't include the song with one of the most memorable hooks of all time.
2. "Til I Collpase" - Eminem & Nate Dogg
This might be a controversial take, but I find The Eminem Show to be Em's best work, as he managed to merge his controversial style with more palatable in-the-pocket flows that feature enough emotion to make it all stick, and this track is the best example of that. Nate's vocals are both smooth & powerful, and match very well with Em's intensity.
1. "Renegade" - Jay-Z & Eminem
A pairing of two of the best to ever do it, and I'm blessed to be in a timeline where this song exists. This song actually is the foundation of a lot of deep rap lore. Firstly, it basically sets up the expectation that Em will outrap anyone he's on a feature with. Secondly, this song serves as one of the jabs Nas throws at Jay in his diss track "Ether." But, it's not like Jay was a slouch on this track; he's very on point here, as he is for basically the entirety of The Blueprint. But Em's flow & production here are so great, it just outshines him & is arguably the best track on the album.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- "Remember Me" - Eminem, Sticky Fingaz & RBX
- "EPMD 2" - Nas, EPMD & Eminem (Em's flow is something I can only describe as... illegal.)
- "Homicide" - Logic & Eminem
- "The Monster" - Eminem & Rihanna
- "Business" - Eminem & Dr. Dre
- "Unaccommodating" - Eminem & Young MA
- "Forever" - Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem
- "Crack a Bottle" - Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent
- "Patiently Waiting" - 50 Cent & Eminem
- "Warrior Part 2" - Lloyd Banks, Eminem, 50 Cent & Nate Dogg
- "Welcome to D-Block" - Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, Styles P & Eminem
- "Calm Down" - Busta Rhymes & Eminem (A rare moment where Em is outshined.)
- "Don't Front" - Eminem & Buckshot (You know what would be cool? An Em album with DJ Premier or 9th Wonder production. This song makes me wish for that.)
And now... for the garbage.
5. "No Favors" - Big Sean & Eminem
Ngl, I'm not the biggest fan of the Punished Eminem arc, also known as the Awfully Hot Coffee Pot era. There's been some highlights, but there's been a ton of duds. This is one of them. And it's a shame, because Sean actually comes pretty solid on this track. Imo, the goal for any Em feature should be for everyone other than Em to not try too hard to match lyrical wits (unless you're Busta) & simply shine in your best way. Sean does that here.
Em, tho? He starts off colder than expected with a pretty hammy "If she was flavor, I won't save her." It's just kinda awkward. And then he says...
"I saw dem eyes like an ass-raper..."
In true "If I just fucked this model, and she just bleached her asshole..." fashion, this bar singlehandedly ruins this track, and makes the rest of the verse unbearable. The trying way too hard to attack Trump stuff doesn't help either. What a waste of a good beat & verse from Sean.
4. "Walk on Water" - Eminem & Beyonce
A sorry-ass track from a sorry-ass album. I liked Em better when he wasn't trying to remind everyone of his past glory & instead chased new ones. The facepalm he makes on the album cover is a perfect representation of this album's quality, and this song might be the worst track on it. Trying to recapture the hype of an unlikely crossover that he had with "Love the Way You Lie" & "The Monster" with Beyonce is an L. Especially on this sappy ass track. And the ending might be the cringiest shit I've ever heard.
... Thank you for reminding me that you wrote "Stan." I'ma delete this album from my memory & listen to that instead.
3. "Smack That" - Akon & Eminem
This might seem like a weird inclusion, but this is one of those tracks from the Post-Encore era where Em was a bit more... aimless in his work, thanks to drug addictions affecting his career. With that said... Em is just really boring here. This feels like a verse that, if you just read the lyrics, wouldn't sound like an Eminem verse at all. Thankfully, Em's contribution can mostly be ignored by the catchiness from the rest of the track.
2. [INSERT ANY SKYLAR GREY FEATURE HERE]
Literally pick one. They're all cringey Call of Duty commercial trash. It's fuckin wack that this feature occurs multiple times across multiple albums, including his most recent one. Anytime I see her name, it's an instant skip.
1. "Touchdown" - TI & Eminem
The worst track on the worst TI album. I... don't know if Em was high when he recorded this verse, but for all the shit he gives himself for the accent he had on Relapse, no one talks about the country bumpkin accent he had on this track. This is also an Eminem beat, and... this shit sounds like something that would come up if you typed in "Jazzy Pha type beat" on YouTube. Again, this is from the Post-Encore era where the opioids he's taking have him half-asleep on most of his tracks. I'm kinda surprised no one talks about how bad this song is. Then again... it's a forgettable track on a mostly forgettable album (Pro tip: Split personality disorders are no laughing matter, and certainly aren't the kind of thing you center an entire album around, TI).
Dishonorable Mentions:
- "Medicine Man" - Dr. Dre, Anderson .Paak, Candice Pillay & Eminem
("I'll even make the bitches I rape cum!" - A 43 year-old man, at the time.)
- "I Need A Doctor" - Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey (Cringey af, but no worse than any other Skylar Grey feature tbh.)
- "Dead Wrong" - The Notorious B.I.G. & Eminem (No one really talks about some of the more sus verses to come from Biggie. It's not "you look so good, I'll suck on your daddy's dick" levels of "nah," but these two are up there.)
- "All She Wrote" - TI & Eminem (It's better than "Touchdown." I just don't think these two are a good match; their energies are just too different.)
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