Regardless of how much you consume his newer records these days, you have to give Eminem his props for still pushing the limit.
And in light of him celebrating his 46th birthday today (October 17) and still being more lyrical than younger and hungrier artists, here are 46 songs that prove why he’ll always come up in Top 5 dead or alive discussion.
HipHopDX wishes Eminem 46 more years of macabre music! Enjoy this trip down memory lane.
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“8 Mile”
“You never seen, heard, smelled or met a real MC who’s incredible, upon the same pedestal as me”
Confident bars.
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”Fall”
“Detractors, I might have to fuck Pitchfork with a corkscrew/Just what the doctor ordered/Revenge is the best medicine/Increase the dose, from least to most.”
Em came out swinging on his Kamikaze album and “Fall” is the perfect example of Em getting back at anyone who crossed him — including critics, Grammys and Joe Budden.
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”Berzerk”
“Just like I did with addiction I’m ’bout to kick it/Like a magician, critics I turn to crickets.”
Addressing the sobriety, one bar at a time.
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”Renegade”
“See, I’m a poet to some, a regular modern-day Shakespeare/Jesus Christ, the king of these Latter-day Saints here/To shatter the picture in which of that as they paint me as/A monger of hate, satanist, scatter-brained atheist”
Originally a Bad Meets Evil collaboration, “Renegade” ended up in the hands of JAY-Z and resulted in one of the most acclaimed collaborations in rap history.
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”Without Me”
“Well if you want Shady, then this is what I’ll give ya/A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor/Some vodka that will jumpstart my heart quicker/Then a shot when I get shocked at the hospital/By the doctor when I’m not cooperating.”
Pre-sobriety, Em had no problem comparing himself to various substances he once used.
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“We All Die One Day”
“Cause we gon’ bring it to anybody who want it/You want it you gon’ get it/Name ’em we gon’ hit ’em/Chew ’em up and spit ’em out/Too much venom/And if you roll with ’em, we gon’ fuck you up with ’em”
That’s a mouthful.
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”Guilty Conscience”
“You gonna take advice from somebody who slapped Dee Barnes?/What’s wrong? Didn’t think I’d remember?”
One of Em’s more controversial lines, the rap goliath is referencing Dre’s infamous 1991 assault on Pump It Up! host Dee Barnes.
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”Amityville”
“That’s why we don’t call it Detroit, we call it Amityville/You can get capped after just having a cavity filled”
The dark recesses of Eminem’s mind turned the Motor City into the new Amityville Horror on his diamond-selling Marshall Mathers LP.
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”White America”
“Who would’ve thought, standin’ in this mirror, bleachin’ my hair/With some peroxide/reachin’ for a t-shirt to wear/That I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this?/How could I predict my words would have an impact like this?”
The moment you come to grips with an undeniable influence on young, white, suburban rap fans.
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”Stay Wide Awake”
“Soon as my flow starts I compose art like the ghost of Mozart/Even though they all say that they’re real, I know that most aren’t”
The Criminal Minds equalivant to rap music.
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”Dead Wrong”
“There’s several different levels to devil worshippin’/Horse’s heads, human sacrifices, cannibalism/Candles and exorcism — animals, havin’ sex with ’em/Camels, mammals and rabbits, but I don’t get into that, I kicked the habit”
A million Hail Mary’s — and head nods.
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”Killshot”
“I’d rather be 80-year-old me than 20-year-old you/’Til I’m hitting old-aged still can fill a whole page with a 10-year-old’s rage/Got more fans than you in your own city, lil’ kiddy.”
Em obliterated Machine Gun Kelly in response to MGK’s “Rap Devil” diss track. Killshot indeed.
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”Medicine Ball”
“I’ll pee on Rihanna, see man, I do what I wanna/Spray perfume in the sauna room/Crazy Gluing Madonna to the La-Z-Boy sofa/Fold her in two, then sit on her”
The world is mine!
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”Detroit Vs. Everybody”
“But Jesus, I can see just why people quit callin’ me to do features and them cyphers on BET/’Cause ifI wasn’t me I probably wouldn’t want to play with me neither, shit”
Eminem put on his city when he declared it’s “Detroit Vs. Everybody” with Royce Da 5’9, Danny Brown, Big Sean, Dej Loaf and Trick Trick.
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”Any Man”
“I’m Slim, the Shady is really a fake alias/To save me with in case I get chased by space aliens/A brainiac with a cranium packed full of more uranium than a maniac Saudi Arabian”
Eminem was beginning his ascent to mainstream fame in 1999, but he got one last chance to showcase his underground roots on “Any Man” from Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing 2 compilation.
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”My Name Is”
“My brain’s dead weight, I’m tryin’ to get my head straight/But I can’t figure out which Spice Girl I want to impregnate.”
Inebriated Shady reminds his fans what his name is by claiming he wants to knock up a pop star.
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”Fight Music”
“You Liberace’s, Versace’s, and you Nazis watch me/’Cause you figured you got me in this hot seat”
Lyricists never let you see them sweat.
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”Bad Influence”
“I’m meaner in action than Roscoe beating James Todd Senior/Across the back with vacuum cleaner attachments”
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Slim Shady showed he’s a diehard LL Cool J fan, dropping this reference on his contribution to the End Of Days soundtrack.
”Till I Collapse”
“Women are caught in webs, spin ’em and hock venom/Adrenaline shots of penicillin could not get the illin’ to stop/Amoxicillins just not real enough”
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Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” managed to chart without every being released as a single, which is understandable with Nate Dogg on the hook.
”We As Americans”
“Fuck money! I don’t rap for dead presidents/I’d rather see the President dead/It’s never been said, but I set precedents”
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Trump isn’t the first commander-in-chief to feel Slim Shady’s wrath.
”Cleanin Out My Closet”
“Picket signs for my wicked rhymes, look at the times/Sick as the mind of the motherfucking kid that’s behind/All this commotion emotions run deep as ocean’s exploding.”
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Slim Shady is more sensitive than he appears.
”Nuttin To Do”
“I came in the diner with skateboarders and placed orders/Ate hors d’œuvres and hit the waiter with plate warmers”
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Bad Meets Evil’s other pre-2000 single is another lyrical onslaught with Em taking the lead on this one.
”Murder Murder”
“Left the keys in the van/With a gat in each hand/Went up in Eastland and shot a policeman”
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Wordplay like this will get you life in prison.
”Scary Movies”
“I’m free-falling feet first out of a damn tree/To stampede your chest ’til you can’t breathe”
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Before fans got an actual Bad Meets Evil EP in 2011, Eminem and Royce Da 5’9 listeners had to cherish their stray singles, such as “Scary Movies.”
”Brainless”
“I walk around like a space cadet/Place your bets/Who’s likely to become a serial killer?/Case of Tourettes … fuck-fuck-fuck!/Can’t take the stress”
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They do indeed prescribe medicine for that.
”The Real Slim Shady”
“Will Smith don’t gotta cuss in his raps to sell records/Well, I do, so fuck him and fuck you too!/You think I give a damn about a Grammy?/Half of you critics can’t even stomach me, let alone stand me.”
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Em flexes his sense of humor by telling off The Fresh Prince.
”Kamikaze”
“Which is why I identify with the guy/Who I was invented by, Dre’s Frankenstein/Energized like a nine volt/Ice cold like Snake Eyes, twice in a row on a dice roll”
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The probability of dopeness is high.
”The Way I Am”
“I’m so sick and tired of being admired/That I wish that I would just die or get fired/And dropped from my label, let’s stop with the fables.”
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By 2000, the pressure of fame was clearly starting to get to Em — but it heightened his flow.
”Rock Bottom”
“Cause it’s cool to be the player, but it sucks to be the fan/When all you need is bucks to be the man, plus a luxury sedan”
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Before Eminem became one of the biggest stars in Hip Hop, he was fighting and clawing like every other rapper to make a name for himself.
”Like Toy Soldiers”
“I’m supposed to be the soldier who never blows his composure/Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders/I ain’t never supposed to show it/My crew ain’t supposed to know it”
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Heavy is the head…
”What The Beat”
“Cause I ain’t crazy, I say shit that’s crazy to crazy people/To make ’em believe I’m crazy so they can relate to me/And maybe believe in Shady so they can be evil, baby”
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Before DJ Khaled was stuffing his albums with rap’s biggest names, DJ Clue was assembling a who’s who in Hip Hop — including Em — for The Professional album series.
”Must Be The Ganja”
“Faced with a dilemma/I can be Dalai Lama and be calm or bring drama/A step beyond of Jeffrey Dahmer”
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Bipolar bars.
”I’m Back”
“I murder a rhyme one word at a time/You never heard of a mind as perverted as mine/You better get rid of that nine it ain’t gonna help/What good is it gonna do against a man that strangles himself?”
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Em suggests there’s nothing you can do to him that he isn’t already doing to himself.
”Just Don’t Give A Fuck”
“I’m nicer than Pete, but I’m on a search to crush a Milkbone/I’m Everlastin’, I melt Vanilla Ice like silicone”
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Eminem’s debut single was the perfect introduction to his brash attitude and included some notable shots at other white rappers.
”Bitch Please II”
“Give me the mic, let me recite ’til Timothy White/Pickets outside the Interscope offices every night”
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Eminem creating a sequel to Snoop Dogg’s “Bitch Please” might’ve seemed odd at first thought, but it worked well.
”My 1st Single”
“One for the money, two for the fuckin’ show/Ready, get set, let’s go/Here comes the buckin’ bronco/Stompin’ and stampedin’ up the damn street like them buffalo/Soldiers, I told ya I’m ’bout to blow/So look out below, Geronimo”
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Dizzying foolishness.
”Forgot About Dre”
“So what do you say to somebody you hate/Or anyone tryin’ to bring trouble your way?/Wanna resolve things in a bloodier way?/Just study a tape of N.W.A”
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Taken from Dr. Dre’s 2001 album, the entire song vividly shows off Em’s twisted mind.
”Off The Wall”
“Beware of this rap terrorist with a therapist/With a hair up his ass like a rabbit crawled in his pants/Got a habit of holding Tylenol in his hands/’Til it melts in his fucking palms and dissolves in his glands”
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Eminem and Redman’s first team-up oddly took place on The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps soundtrack, but their Erick Sermon-produced collaboration was still potent despite being attached to a family-friendly film.
”The Anthem”
“This place is my house/I might as well erase my face with white out/‘Cause y’all can’t see me like Ma$e’s eyebrows”
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Sway and King Tech recruited Eminem for 1999’s This Or That album, throwing him on a posse cut featuring the Hip Hop version of an all-star lineup.
”3 a.m.”
“I’m just a hooligan who’s used to using hallucinogens/Causing’ illusions again/Brain contusions again/Cutting and bruising the skin/Razors, scissors, and pins”
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What’s sharper? The objects or his rhyme scheme?
”Greatest”
“God forbid I forget, go and jump out the window/Somebody better child-proof it cause if I lose it, we can rewind to some old Ja Rule shit and I can remind motherfuckers how I do shit”
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No, not the old Ja Rule shit!
”Kill You”
“I invented violence, you vile venomous volatile vicious vain Vicodin, vrin vrin vrin!/Texas Chainsaw, left his brains all dangling from his neck while his head barely hangs on”
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Although horrorcore had been part of Hip Hop for quite some time, no one provided it with as big a platform as Slim Shady.
“Who Knew”
“I’m like, guidance?!/Ain’t they got the same moms and dads who got mad when I asked if they liked violence?”
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Slim Shady is not the scapegoat.
”Lose Yourself”
“Snap back to reality, ope there goes gravity, ope/There goes Rabbit, he choked, he’s so mad but he won’t/Give up that easy, no, he won’t have it, he knows.”
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As the theme song for Em’s 8 Mile film, “Lose Yourself” showcases Em’s penchant for witty wordplay (duh).
”Rap God”
“But for me to rap like a computer must be in my genes/I got a laptop in my back pocket/My pen’ll go off when I half-cock it/Got a fat knot from that rap profit.”
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Rival deities need not apply.
”Stan”
“Dear Mister ‘I’m Too Good To Call Or Write My Fans’/This will be the last package I ever send your ass/It’s been six months and still no word, I don’t deserve it?”
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Easily one of Shady’s strongest conceptual tracks, “Stan” created a whole new word for the dictionary with this one.
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