Eminem is known for his lyrical genius, but in a recent statement the celebrated rapper admitted his penmanship will never rival that of Tupac, who he believes is the greatest songwriter of all time.
During his recent “Music To Be Quarantined By” set on his Shade45 SiriusXM Channel, Eminem spoke of his admiration for the late rapper and explained why his lyricism was so exceptional.
As he prepared to play “If I Die Tonight” from Pac’s 1995 album Me Against The World, Shady said “Okay, this next song is from an artist that I feel like might be the greatest songwriter of all time. Debate what you want about MC skills and all that because he had that, too. This is one of them songs by Tupac that, to me, was like, he was showing you I can write heartfelt shit and I can write lyrical, crazy shit, too.”
Em then rapped a couple lines from the song, “‘They say pussy and paper is poetry, power and pistols / Plotting on murdering muthafuckas ‘fore they get you.’ Like, the play on the ‘p’ words and all that shit and how he was doing it was so crazy, mixed with the feel that Tupac could give you, which is constantly why I feel like he was saying, ‘Can you feel me?’ because you felt Pac. You feel ’Pac. If you listen to him, you’re gonna feel him.”
Listen to Eminem break down his love for Pac below.