I've been on both sides of the Eminem debate. I've exhorted him as a champion against the rap doldrums. I've also disowned him for (gasp) selling out and becoming boring. So I feel particularly well suited to discuss the new, official, Bad Meets Evil EP. And what do I think? Well, it's complicated.
There's no denying that Eminem is one of the most technically perfect rappers, not just of his era, but of all time. His flow, breath control, and rhyming ability is rightfully legendary. There's also no denying that he hasn't been able to recapture the wonky and more than a bit crazy magic from the turn of the millennium. So we're left with a rapper who can rap as well as anyone, ever. We're also left with a guy who's become Generic Fast Rapper 2.0.
Royce Da 5'9" is a different beast entirely. He's interesting if only because he's so antagonistic. While Eminem is loved and revered almost universally in the rap game, Royce still has haters. That provides emotion that, while shallow, isn't as forced as Em's. Still, Royce hasn't made a good album since Death Is Certain, and in the meantime, he's been pigeonholed, perhaps deservedly so, as a mixtape rapper, someone who can spit hot fiya, but apparently can't make a cohesive album.
So what we have on this EP is two supremely skilled rappers, who make machine-gun rap to blast your eardrums with. We also have two seemingly past their prime legends, who can't put the songs together to make a cohesive record. They do machine-gun rap exceptionally well though. This is well worth it for those of us who dreamed of a Bad Meets Evil full length. If you've never wanted to smoke til you look like a Vietnamese person, but you're a fan of quickfire rap, you should also check this out.
3.5 out of 5
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