Being one of the greatest rappers of all time means having all-time feature verses on your resume. Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kendrick Lamar—all of them are known for completely hijacking another artist’s song to turn an ordinary song into something truly blockbuster. Eminem is no exception, tagging in on songs for the sake of competition to prove who’s the best.
We selected three instances where the Detroit MC absolutely stole the show on a song. Moreover, they’re all times where he’s on records with other rappers that are in the discussion for the greatest of all time.
Three Times Eminem Absolutely Killed a Guest Verse
“Forever”
The energy shifted drastically when Em joined Drake, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne on “Forever”. Perhaps it’s the breakneck pace at which he rapped, but even the simplest rhyme schemes feel contagious with how frequently he changed tempos.
Additionally, it helps that the other rappers on the song didn’t give their A game. Lil Wayne gives a par-for-the-course verse in a year where he was basically giving them out for free. Drake rapped in a lot of dad puns, and Kanye West was mostly just hilarious, saying “Super bad chicks givin’ me McLovin”. Eminem essentially had an open canvas for him to challenge their bombastic Boi-1da production.
“Renegade”
Less of a complete hijacking and more of a constant tug-of-war between two all-time rappers. Ultimately, it’s a matter of preference when picking between Jay-Z and Slim Shady. Where Hov zeroes in on the mindset it took for him to thrive, Eminem grapples with the perception and controversy around his name. Sure, he’ll rock the boat like usual, but ultimately, he looks at hypocrisy as the smoking gun for the media’s disdain.
“But there’s a huge interference, they’re sayin’ you shouldn’t hear it/Maybe it’s hatred I spew, maybe it’s food for the spirit/Maybe it’s beautiful music I made for you to just cherish/But I’m debated, disputed, hated and viewed in America/As a motherf**kin’ drug addict, like you didn’t experiment?” Em raps.
“Don’t Push Me”
Just because they’re good friends and he signed 50 Cent doesn’t mean that Eminem was going to take it easy on him. He spends the verse hopscotching through the blunt force of the drums, scoffing at anyone questioning his legitimacy as a rapper. He’s not just some poser, and he’s definitely not someone that kids can just emulate. Cosplaying is fun and games until someone actually dies behind it.
“Man these teenie boppers see me on these magazine covers/In these beanies and these rags living fantasies, frontin’ (C’mon)/Like it’s all fun and games ’til they shoot ’em up bang/And you see your brains hang and you see we ain’t playing,” Eminem snarls.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV/Paramount Global
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