Words by Matthew Mundy

Eminem

As the old adage goes, it’s been a long, strange trip for one Marshall Mathers. From his days hustling in the bowels of Detroit to his most recent bout with pneumonia and – apparently – a burgeoning weight problem, we’ve had a front row seat to the ongoing travails of his life. At times uplifting, frightening, incredible and depressing, it has certainly been a trip. Thus far, I would argue that the highlight of this trip was right after The Eminem Show and “8 Mile” had been released. At the same time, he became embroiled in a long-running, creatively lucrative beef with Benzino and churned out the very best verses in his remarkable catalog.

Leaving chronology aside, here are the highlights from that period of time. There were a ton of them, so I had to leave some out. First we’ve got ‘Invasion,” which is pound-for-pound is Eminem’s best flow on any song. Listen to it – in 2:09 he absolutely devastates the beat, showcasing a flow so awe-inspiringly mercurial that I still find myself involuntarily holding my breath throughout most of the song, only to gasp for air at the end – it’s a feat and a half.

Then we’ve got “The Sauce,” in which he painstakingly details the shady business dealings of The Source and his relationship with the magazine, rhyming entire lines together while eviscerating Benzino and Dave Mays. The fury with which he spits is palpable, threatening to overwhelm his voice at any moment. It’s stunning.

The crown jewel, though, is undoubtedly “Nail In The Coffin.” From the sing-songy start to his hilarious monologue at the end, it’s a tour-de-force of a song, and for my money one of the best beef songs ever. It’s a ruthless disembowelment of Benzino, and it’s so devastating that it’s almost impossible not to cringe at some points. He levels the dude. When he spits – like, literally spits – ‘You’re broke as fuck, you suck, you’re a fucking joke,’ I don’t know what to say. It’s pitiless, vicious, bordering on sadistic. It’s also, technically speaking, superlative.

In addition to this holy trinity, he had a few other verses that bear note. His verse on “We All Die One Day” is a beast. His guest spots on Obie Trice’s Cheers – especially “Lady” and “Outro” – are remarkable. His verse on “I’m Gone” on Kayslay’s The Streetsweeper Vol. 2 is stunning as well.

At this point in time Em was untouchable. From his dizzying internal rhyme schemes to his breathtaking ability to rhyme entire lines together, he was doing shit that nobody else in hip-hop was even thinking of. He was so far ahead of the curve it was ludicrous, and it was a testament to the courage of his labelmates that they would even show up on the same songs on him. He torched them. This, of course, made Encore all the more upsetting, when he decided to forgo his superhuman flow for, amongst other things, fart sounds. Things haven’t been much better since.

Regardless of where he’s at now, we did have those few months and it was one of the best stretches we, as hip-hop fans, have ever had the privilege of seeing. Will he come back? I don’t know. Smart money’s on no. The demons that have haunted Em throughout his career seem to have prevailed, at least for the time being. But we can hope.

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