It seems Eminem is being called out for his lack of comprehension when it comes to the new generation of young up-and-comers in the rap game. "By who?", you might ask. Justin Bieber no less. Yes, Bieber took to Instagram today to voice his opinion on the 46-year-old rapper, stating that he liked Eminem's music, but not the way he addresses newer rappers. On a screenshot of 'The Ringer', from Eminem's latest project, 'Kamikaze', Bieber posted a message reading "I just like Ems flow but don't like that he's dissing new rappers I like the new generation of rap he just doesn't understand it [sic]."
'The Ringer' is widely viewed as a diss track to the new generation of rappers in general, and mentions Em's latest nemesis Machine Gun Kelly, as well as 21 Savage, Iggy Azalea, Lil Yachty, Lil Pump and Lil Xan. So the question begs, is Bieber right? Is Eminem a confused, lost soul in this new generation of hip-hop?
Eminem has a history of calling people out, and seemingly being a hard man to get along with in general, as diss track victims Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Joe Budden, Ja Rule and of course his ex-wife Kim Scott all know by now. His exceptional writing skills, his lyrical ability and his delivery are almost all second to none and there is absolutely no taking away from the fact that Eminem is arguably one of the greatest rappers to ever live. He grew up and came through the battle rap scene, even sneaking into neighbouring schools for lunchtime freestyle rap battles as a teenager, so it comes as no surprise that diss tracks are one of his strong suits. As such, there seems to be an air of 'undefeatable' around Em nowadays. There has come a point where it seems like everybody has become paranoid in regards to the rapper, and that a general rule of thumb should be that you just 'don't talk ill' on Em.
Granted, Eminem may be the 'king of rap', but the way he handles this title is in an almost dictator-like fashion - not allowing criticism from those that may critique or threaten his reign. At 46 years of age, Em is not getting any younger and this strange attitude he has developed to the younger generation is conveying a very 'grumpy old man' character to the world. A man who can't accept that music and styles change.
When 'Kamikaze' first dropped, Lil Pump himself even responded to Eminem in the rapper's Instagram comment section, saying "Thank you I deserved that". Now whilst he's probably not the greatest example, as there is absolutely no way Pump could challenge Eminem in a lyrical feud, or a battle for the throne of hip-hop, it's clear that Pump is acknowledging the criticism because he not only respects Em, but I can guarantee there is an air of fear and realisation there that there's no point trying to criticise the way Em has acted about the younger generation, because he'll almost undoubtedly fire back with another diss track.
I completely agree with the general consensus that Pump isn't a great artist, and that yes, he really does need to focus on trying to convey more of a positive image of himself, but that doesn't mean that we can't allow him to at least enjoy the position that he's managed to get himself into. If I was 18-years-old and had the fame and bank account that Lil Pump has, I'm certain I'd probably lose my head a bit too.
The current crop of new hip-hop artists are going through a phase, which I touched upon in my ON THE RISE feature on Icy Narco. A lot of this phase consists of loud, brash, 'Florida bass' style instrumentals, with fairly lacklustre lyrics, and more of a focus on the party lifestyle, and music that can really create hype in a room, no matter how big the venue. Granted, there are some exceptions to this bandwagon, such as Denzel Curry, YBN Cordae, Joey Bada$$ and perhaps Ski Mask the Slump God to an extent. Some of these names, Denzel and Ski in particular, manage to bridge the gap in a way though, using heavy instrumentals filled with bass, whilst still utilising fairly intricate or impressive flows, and displaying at least a commendable amount of lyricism. Hip-hop is no longer defined just by the 'gangsta rap' era of Ice Cube and Eazy-E, or the 'hard-hitting rhymes from the heart' style of Nas and 2Pac.
So for the most part, I do agree with Justin Bieber in this case. I wouldn't say that Eminem doesn't understand the new generation entirely, as it's obvious that Eminem has been where a lot of these youngsters are. Music, especially hip-hop, has changed a lot in the past 20 years but a lot of the methods for making it into the industry remain the same - start small and make a few tracks, maybe put a mixtape together, try and get someones attention and hope that you get noticed (through SoundCloud and Twitter in the new generation's case), and then build from there. It's for this reason that I feel Eminem needs to start embracing the new age style of hip-hop more. I'm not saying he needs to endorse the likes of Lil Xan or Bhad Bhabie, but it's clear that a lot of these kids, Can and Pump especially, have been overwhelmed by their sudden catapult into the spotlight of fame and fortune, and perhaps Em needs to act as somewhat of a guidance - a real example for these kinds of artists. Not be the sheltered, grumpy old man, with a 'cornered animal' attitude that he's managed to make himself seem like in the last year or so.