Nov 11, 2017

most can agree that he doesnt make good sounding music anymore, and that is sad and true...but there is no rapper that can paint pictures as flawless as he can, we take his words for granted and we dont think of the depth he goes to showcase his point, the beginning of Walk on water

Why are expectations so high? Is it the bar I set?
My arms, I stretch, but I can’t reach
A far cry from it, or it's in my grasp, but as
Soon as I grab, squeeze
I lose my grip like the flyin' trapeze

if i had to bet, i bet you no other rapper can say the same in this poetic way, most rappers would say one way or another that they cant meet expectations, that if we assume they would be that honest and self aware, but how did Eminem do it? lets connect the first line and the last

first he says he set a bar so high. he tries his best to stretch his arm, but he cant..he coulda stopped there..but he went on to say that he does sometimes grab it for a minute, but as soon as he strength his hold, he loses it...but lets talk about the trapeze word, that one word links the entire metaphor together , he started by setting a bar, like the one you have when you trapeze, then he stretch his arm...well you get the idea

the depth he goes for is simply insane, lets go to another line in the song
It's the curse of the standard
That the first of the Mathers discs set
Always in search of the verse that I haven't spit yet
Will this step just be another misstep
To tarnish whatever the legacy, love or respect

the word "discs" felt unneeded in the second line, and i bet most rappers would not have used it and just said "mathers set" but then when you realize it perfect the rhymes of the entire verse it blows my mind, it feel very simple but i only see eminem doing this, lets see

discs set
spit yet
misstep
respect


we take him for granted because, and i know this feels very stanish, he is bigger than hip hop, im sure @WPG knows rappers that can paint pictures this good, but in mainstream i fail to find one rapper that can be this poetic, its sad he cant make sonically good music anymore, hopefully he will soon, but let me remind you that this man once wrote these words
Tryin' to recapture that lightning trapped in a bottle
Twice, the magic that started
It all, tragic portrait of an artist
Tortured, trapped in his own drawings
Tap into thoughts blacker and darker
Than anything imaginable; here goes a wild stab in the dark

it is very hard to compare him with someone who raps the same old hood with good and what have you, he is in a mucher more complex place

 

Nov 11, 2017

also i would like to say, Eminem cant write about random stuff..he cant...he has to have a topic he believes in to rap, otherwise we will get rain man and just lose it

 

Nov 11, 2017

my man

 

Nov 11, 2017

If you give this man a subject to rap about, he will take you on a rollercoaster ride.

 

Nov 11, 2017

This and his k--- For You verse were some of the most beautiful lyrics he has ever written. It is such a shame that the delivery makes his lyrics go from 10/10 to 6/10 at best. Im not hating on this song I actually love it. When Em is gone we will all look back on this song and wont help but break down

 

Nov 11, 2017

Another classic example even in a song I dont personally like too much (My Dad gones crazy from TES)

'' My songs can make you cry,
Take you by surprise
and at the same time
can make you dry your eyes
with the same rhyme ''

Not the only words fit so perfectly together in the flow, but the truth behind the metaphors and analogies he portrays.
Em bars could single-handily make you cry, think and then motivate you back in the days.

 

Nov 11, 2017

The whole third verse is full of powerful imagery. I was thinking the exact same thing, the pictures he paints are vivid and detailed.

As yesterday fades and the Dresden home
Is burnt to the ground, and all that's left of my house is lawn
The crowds are gone
And it's time to wash out the blonde
Sales decline, the curtains drawn
They're closin' the set, I'm still pokin' my head from out behind
And everyone who has doubt, remind
Now take your best rhyme, outdo it, now do it a thousand times

Fans who followed his career for a while can really appreciate these lines. "all that's left of my house is lawn" and "time to wash out the blonde" is simple and powerful. You can really picture him "poking his head out" in a desperate attempt to see if anyone is still interested in him and reaching for any relevance he can get.

And as I grow outta sight, outta mind, I might go outta mine
'Cause how do I ever let this mic go without a fight
When I made a f---in' tightrope outta twine?

Making a tightrope out of twine is another great picture.

This has to be the most poetic song he's ever done. I always said Eminem is not really poetic, he's usually very straightforward with his lyrics. But this song is full of great poetic motives and pictures. The first verse is so beautiful. The whole song is so beautiful.

 

Nov 11, 2017

Let's all stop and think about his genius. Yes, his flow is f----- and the majority aren't for it anymore. However, that's his only hindrance. Imagine if he had a smooth flow on Walk On Water. Like Rap Game or Love Me. Maybe The Reunion. That song would be f---ing classic. His writing ability is top notch....it honestly is depressing as a Stan to know he has the tools but for some reason unknown isn't using all of them currently.

 

Nov 11, 2017

By the way, the whole song is like a 5 minute calm version of the second part of Bad Guy.

 

Nov 11, 2017

He also continues the first metaphor in the third verse by using the "tightrope outta twine" line.

Not many people can continue a metaphor 4mins later in a song without it sounding forced and obvious.

 

Nov 11, 2017

 

Nov 11, 2017

@Koolo your title is a double entendre because Eminem is literally good at drawing

 

Nov 11, 2017

At this point everyone knows he doesnt need to make a hit as a single. Its f---ing eminem and beyonce they could make s--- noises the whole time and still chart. To me this is just setting the tone for the entire album and that if he goes out hes going out swinging. How exactly is he supposed to flow over this beat?? This a perfect intro. Reminds me of the ending of Shot for me when Drake goes accapella. I remember @Koolo saying along time ago and everyone agreeing that wed like to see something real like that out of em at the time. So now when hes real everyone hates it but if he made another s--- track like not afraid or the monster people would hate that too. he made a point with the track and Im way more excited for album because it wasnt another s--- pop "hit". Hes trying to make real s--- again and im pumped.

 

Nov 11, 2017

@Koolo i wouldn’t say he can’t make good music just yet. This is his first song since 2015, and in 2015 kings never died came out, and that song to me is 10/10 with that being said I have faith in this album

 

Nov 11, 2017

I think that's why I initially liked walk on water.. The imagery that the writing evokes is good, and hes still very skilled as far as that goes, like these lines

The crowds are gone
And it's time to wash out the blonde
The curtains drawn, but im still poking my head from out behind

Those lines are really good imo. But the more I played the song the worse it became for me. Like, he made a song complaining about the reception his music gets these days and that same song is getting generally bad reception. Why not just make better music?

 

Nov 11, 2017

Koolo the essayer

 

Nov 14, 2017

For all the s--- I give him about his flow recently and his inability to craft a great song, there's no denying he has moments of great writing. His final verse of Bad Guy is probably the best example.

However, there's a few bars on ShadyXV of all records that I really like that touches on what you're talking about @Koolo, on the song Fine Line

Till I, sit in the dark and I reflect
And my reflection shows what it's like here
Cause this vanity, surrounded by all these lights, yeah
It's like a nightmare
I said, this vanity surrounded by these lights is a nightmare
And I don't like how I see myself, so I open the Bible to Isaiah

I don't know how he does it, but whenever I hear the lines "Cause this vanity, surrounded by all these lights, yeah, It's like a nightmare" I can just see him on stage with a spotlight on him, with thousands of people taking pictures of him with flash photography and him being incredibly vain. Then when he goes onto repeat it almost verbatim "I said, this vanity surrounded by these lights is a nightmare
And I don't like how I see myself, so I open the Bible to Isaiah" I can just see him sitting alone in a room in front of a vanity with the lightbulb around it completely isolated with a bible on the desk in front of him.

I remember those lines really struck me as well written and really conveyed the tone of the whole song really well.

It's so frustrating that he has the ability to write and deliver these amazing bars but that he would rather focus on rhyming every syllable and goes on to follow up poetry like that with lines like "staying fiester than a triceratoos" in his stop start flow.

WTF