In the latest episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli,” Kweli sits down with iconic rapper, writer, producer, and original member of the legendary Juice Crew: MASTA ACE, where the two talked about many things, including Eminem.
Talib Kweli: Now, Eminem…One of the best emcees, most famous, most well-known, he has talked about spending the whole summer listening to the “SlaughtaHouse” album, it’s interesting cause if you a rap fan you can clearly hear your influence on Eminem’s cadence, metaphor-wise, flow-wise. How is that make you feel?
Masta Ace: It’s absolutely an honor. To me, I don’t hear myself in him cause the stuff he was doing he was on another stratosphere with the wordplay. So, when people say they hear similarities, I’m like ‘I was not rhyming like that! That’s another level!’ The respect goes both ways. The first time I met him, he told me that, when “SlaughtaHouse” came out, he was broke, he was hanging out with his boys, D12. And they were just driving around in Detroit, playing “SlaughtaHouse” joint. And I was like ‘WOW.’ I would have never thought that. Never in the million years thought that, so it was an honor. Definitely a big honor.
Eminem has cited Masta Ace as one of his biggest influences when growing up. The two even jumped on a 2000 track together, titled “Hellbound” which also features J-Black, from Game Over compilation album.
In the latest episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli,” Jasmin Leigh and Talib Kweli sit down with Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer: BELLY. During one hour long interview, the three talked about Belly’s love for Eminem.
Jasmin Leigh: You studied Eminem while growing up. He was one of your favorite rappers. Can you let me know why Em was so vital to your career?
Belly: I loved rap already at that point. I just feel like Eminem elevated certain things like rhyme schemes. The first time certain things like that were heard by the masses. Him rhyming three and four words in one bar.
Talib Kweli: Yeah. He was a part of the scene but he brought it to mainstream.
Belly: There were lot of these guys doing double and triple and compound rhymes and all that but he really was the first one who really kinda made it pop. I feel like when Eminem came it was just like different thing at that time. To me it felt so different. That’s why I doven and really tried to study what he was doing.
Jasmin Leigh: I know Eminem is on your bucket list to do a song with but I was wondering are you wanting to do a song with more like serious-straight-bar-Eminem or more of an entertainment side of Eminem?
Belly: I think it depends on what the studio night’s feeling. If we in the studio and we feel saucy and we wanna do some funny….
Talib Kweli: I think what’s funny about that question is that, funny thing about Eminem is…I don’t know the names of bigger Eminem records he has like Rihanna and certain other records he has but these records are played in the radio all the time but what’s funny to me about Eminem is, it does not matter how pop the record is, he has lots of pop records with pop production right? It does not matter how pop the record is, he, as an emcee, always trying to impress emcees. I just be honest, sometimes, it sounds out of place to me [laughs]. Sometimes the record is so pop but he’s still going so hard! It’s like that EPMD record on the Nas’ joint. It was like, okay, EPMD is rapping, Nas is rapping, everybody understood the assignment but Eminem was like ‘No, no, no! I have to outdo my verse form last year on last feature you heard me from so now I’m just gonna rap!’ And I’m like WOW! I can’t imagine having that amount of pressure every time you getting in the f**kin’ booth. You gotta come like that! You gotta do all that voices…. He always trying to outdo whatever he did the last time. But I guess that’s why he is who he is. It like the song does not even matter. The chart position does not even matter. He does not even care if those bars make sense on that beat, to do that rhyme cause his standard is: THEY GONNA RESPECT THESE BARS, THOUGH.”
Belly: Yeah, it’s crazy. His standard is OVER HERE. Every time he’s trying to beat that, it’s tough man. That’s really my approach too. He really does like that.
