Dude he is Eminem.
His day's of underground battling are well and truly gone.
He was the best it's what took him to the top, deny it all you want.
The dude never won a major rap battle, hell he never even got to the final rounds of one. They didn't take him to the top, his record deal took him to the top. I don't have anything against that, just pointing out the facts.
Was going to say that. He was known as one of the fiercest underground rappers and Proof, Dre, Snoop etc. all saw that which is why they all loved him and praise him.
I'm sure he'd still know how to diss one's mama and so on and so forth, but he just does it through his rap now.
And as for:
Kanye, Lil Wayne, Redman etc. all have collaborations with him and they are some of the best hip-hop artists right now.
Again, by whom is he known as "one of the fiercest underground rappers"? I've never seen him in the final rounds of a major rap battle. Dre and Snoop are studio rappers, they take their time writing their lyrics then kick them over a well produced beat. That is where their talent lies.
You're grossly mistaken in thinking that's what rap battles are all about, check some out and you'd be surprised.
Kayne and Lil' Wayne get less props than Eminem. I don't think anybody in the hip hop industry takes either of them seriously. Selling records doesn't equate to being the best because if it did, everyone would be bowing down to MC Hammer (of 'U can't touch this' fame) and calling him the best.
So he's crap because he's mainstream and doesn't battle anymore? Okay, i get it. To be a good rapper in your opinion, no matter what your potential you should just hold your career in the underground.
Whatever. It's clear you don't like him, but you are just sounding like a broken record now.
Also, seen no props given for his 10 Grammy nominations. Tremendous achievement for a brilliant album.
No, he's not crap, just massively overrated. To be a good rapper, you gotta do what rappers do - flow, rhyme, delivery, literary techniques, battle, freestyle, provoke thought and emotions, etc. - generally speaking you've got to be an MC, microphone controller. There are plenty of amazing rappers in the big time who go platinum (Talib Kweli, Mos Def, K'Naan, KRS-One, Notorious B.I.G, Run DMC, Lupe Fiasco, etc). I could go on but you get the point.
I actually loved Eminem's older sh*t (late 90s was pretty bare for hip hop so it was a real breath of fresh air) and am very hot and cold in regards to his newer sh*t, so it's not that I don't like him, I just think he gets way too much props from people and far too many are too quick to class him as the greatest/best of all time. Had no idea about his 10 Grammy achievements (not something I follow, I'm sure you could understand why I wouldn't know about it), it is a good effort but I'd laugh if he actually rocked up on the night seeing as he's openly dissed the grammy awards before.