Slaughterhouse Rapper Crooked I revealed how Eminem’s Encore Impacted perception of him.
Crooked has witnessed everything. He was a significant figure in Death Row Records’ final incarnation, and when he realized the big label system couldn’t deliver what he needed, he launched his “Hip Hop Weekly” series, which helped usher Hip Hop into the Digital Age. The story could have ended with him being labeled a “blog rapper,” or it could have ended when gunshots were fired in his direction during a casual contact with a fan in 2009. Crooked I is still alive and well, releasing music on his own terms as a solo artist and as a member of Slaughterhouse.
In the interview on the question, “This fall, we’re going to be coming up on the 10-year anniversary of Eminem’s Encore. Just as a fan, what do you remember about when that dropped?” Crooked I said “Ten years of Encore? Wow. I mean, the thing about Em’, man. What I remember most when Encore dropped was that he still had his potency. It’s like, “Alright, you’re gonna get famous, sell a bazillion records, and you gonna fall off with the flow. You ain’t gonna still be hitting that hard.” But he does. I don’t know what that is because some dudes who came out after him couldn’t keep the flow up as consistently as he has. Like, what is it? Is it just the competitive nature in an emcee that you have to have so you don’t fall off lyrically? That’s what I was surprised by. I was like, “After all this enormous success, what is this album gonna sound like?” It still was creative, and it was still lyrically potent. It was still Em. And, to this day, he’ll walk in and throw a notebook on the table and I’m like, “What you doin’ with that?” and he’s like “I’ve got some rhymes in there, dog. I was just thinking of some sh*t.” And it’s like, “What?” Then, these young motherf**kers want to go in there, party for 14 hours, make a half of a song and sh*t in 14 hours, and they think it’s all great like they’re on top of the world…as if they gonna be the next Eminem like that.”
Later the interviewer said, “The sword is still sharp” mentioning Eminem, Crooked I responds, “The sword is still sharp. And that’s why I’m laughin’ when I see that somebody wants to battle Eminem. What the f**k? Get the f**k out of here with that dream. First of all, how the f**k would Em’ come from Mars to battle you? He’s a f**king alien. What the f**k is he gonna come down to Earth to battle your a** for? What does he gain from that? What, just thrashing you in public? You mothaf**kas don’t listen to this man’s wordplay? Get the f**k outta here. The sword is still sharp.”
Check out the Crooked I interview with the Vlad Tv a few months back where he said New Rappers Still Can’t Top Eminem below.
