Eminem's "Rap God" leaked yesterday, and the song is aptly titled. Besides being incredibly impressive from a technical standoint, the song is a cornucopia of references to hip-hop.
The last line—"Why be a king when you can be a god"—is a nod to Kendrick Lamar's "stop the presses" verse from Big Sean's "Control." You know, the verse that has launched a thousand rap-response ships since coming out this summer. Kendrick, as you maybe have read, because literally every single person on the planet with an Internet connection has been talking about nothing else over the past couple months, called himself the "King of New York." And much discussion (and controversy!) has followed. Who is the current King of Rap? Em's sign-off is a friendly upping of the ante. And it proves, once again, what a die-hard rap nerd this kid from Detroit (who is no longer a kid) remains.
Other evidence is abundant here. Shouts to Rakim, Tupac, Phaorah Monch, Heavy D. Hints at classics like "Supersonic," "Chunky But Funky" and "The Show." And probably a whole bunch of stuff that we haven't picked up on yet.
Here are the first 10 rap references that jumped out at us. Join us as we begin Breaking Down the Rap References in Eminem's "Rap God."
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"Six minutes, Slim Shady, you're on."
"Now who thinks their arms are long enough to slapbox, slapbox?"
"Packin' a Mac in the Back of the Ac."
"'Cause I use it as a vehicle to bust a rhyme/Now I lead a new school full of students."
"...Off of planking, tell me what the fuck are you thinking?"
"...Lookin' boy."
"I still rap like I'm on my Pharoahe Monch grind."
"To just come and shoot ya, like when Fabolous made Ray J mad."
Not a reference to rap, but a reference to a rapper: Fabolous clowned Ray J for performing at the piano at Floyd Mayweather's house. This later led to an altercation in Las Vegas between the two recording artists.
Nah but Floyd saying we havin a concert in my living room & the camera cuts to Ray J singing "One Wish" on the piano had me in tears!!
— Fabolous (@myfabolouslife) September 17, 2011