Eminem’s legacy in battle rap has been cemented. After making his name in the battle circuit before crafting one of the most successful careers in hip-hop history, Eminem established his respect for battle culture with 8 Mile, a semi-autobiographical film which focused on the rapper’s growth through battle rap. But Eminem didn’t stop there.
Recently, Eminem and Shady put together their first battle event, Total Slaughter. The event, which took place over the weekend, featured the most anticipated battle of the year, one between battle legend Hollow Da Don and Slaughterhouse’s Joe Budden, a Shady Records emcee who has established a critically acclaimed career off the battle arena.
Total Slaughter does more than create something new. The league also looks to expand on what the battle community has already formed. For example, some of the culture’s biggest names, including Arsonal, Daylyt, Big T and T-Rex, were part of Total Slaughter following their stint on the reality show the led up to the event. Of course, the event also featured the long-awaited rematch between battle icons Loaded Lux and Murda Mook.
Given Eminem’s past, present and future in battle rap, it’s fitting that we look back at the rapper’s journey through the culture. After all, battling helped Eminem make a name for himself in the industry, a household name that has permeated popular culture for about 15 years and counting.
So here are some of Eminem’s performances from his days as a freestyle battle emcee. The footage shows a diamond in the rough, one that would eventually have an album go diamond. You can see a lot of what makes him great today in these relics from the past, a hunger and tenacity that is still part of his signature sound. You can hear his clever wordplay and ferocious delivery. You can see how battling helped sharpen the skills that would eventually catapult him to the top of the charts. Here are the best Eminem rap battles from before the emcee became a household name.
This footage, between Eminem and his fellow D-12 member Kuniva, looks like a real life version of a scene from 8 Mile. In the clip, a freshly buzzed Eminem tells his future partner-in-rhyme that he looks as if he’s seen a ghost. That line has the crowd go insane as Eminem celebrates a victory. Proof is the host, and he celebrates the win. “That’s my mothafuckin’ dog,” he says. It’s amazing to see a battle like this because it features three key D-12 figures in action, long before the D-12 dream became a reality.
“Not to brag, I don’t mean to boast / Look, my face is pale, but you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
This clip features several Eminem battle verses, which are detailed in each paragraph below.
First battle: It may no longer be the case in an era of written a capella battles, but there was a time when a rehearsed rap was taboo. To kick this battle off Eminem makes note of this. “I’ma tell you this for your own benefit,” he raps. “Your shit was dope as hell, especially when you wrote 90 percent of it / What you need to do is practice on your freestyles before you come up missing like Snoop Dogg’s police files.” He later combats accusations that you would “sweat to God” that his “shit was written, but it wasn’t.” He may have been telling the truth or stretching it, but that didn’t matter. The damage to his opponent had been done.
Second battle: It’s interesting to see Eminem’s response to facing a woman in this battle. “I never battled no female before,” he says. Nevertheless, he releases fury against the woman he faces. “You want to be a dope emcee,” he raps. “Don’t be mad and start taking your period out on me.” Years later, Eminem would go on to face much criticism for his lyrics about women. Some would eventually refer to the Michigan rapper as a misogynist. But in this battle, Eminem appeared to win the crowd over with that line.
Third battle: This technique is still widely used, but in the freestyle era, it was always impressive to audiences if a rapper referenced what the opponent was wearing. In this match-up, Eminem, sporting a black hat and hoodie with jeans, dissed his opponents gear with ease. “I’ve heard you rap before,” he rhymed. You ain’t about shit / This whole battle is mismatched like your outfit.”
Fourth battle: In 2013, Daylyt pretended to fall asleep while Math Hoffa, who he was battling, rapped against him. Eminem had his own version of showing his opponent he was not impressed in his early days as a battle emcee. “Stop babblin’,” he rapped. “You’re so fuckin’ wack, I’ma walk away while you’re battlin’.”
Fifth battle: Battle rappers in 2014 don’t need to worry about beat selection. In the era that Eminem came up on, the beats were provided on the spot. Many times, rappers wouldn’t agree with the beat that was picked. Eminem may or may not have planned this ahead of time, but he used to this type of scenario to his advantage in this battle. “I’m ‘bout to make this mic short circuit,” he rapped. “This beat is wack as fuck. This shit fits you perfect.”
Today, battle rappers get chastised for not memorizing their writtens. When Eminem battled, emcees would get clowned for having writtens memorized. In both eras, it’s looked down upon to use the same lines in more than one battle. In this bout, Eminem used lines he’d previously rhymed. Nevertheless, a new crowd roared in approval of his multi-syllabic disses here, helping listeners see how charismatic Eminem was ever before meeting Dr. Dre.
In Eminem’s battle era, punchlines would work even if they didn’t totally make sense. In this battle, Eminem calls his opponent a “fake ass Marky Mark with dark hair.” Marky Mark, otherwise known as Mark Wahlberg, already has dark hair, so that really doesn’t make complete sense, but it doesn’t stop a cheer or two from erupting from the crowd. It’s also interesting to note how little attention it seems the crowd is paying this battle. Eminem would go on to rock stadiums after this, but this crowd was snoring through this one.
Think about Eminem’s career and then think about Rhymefest’s. It might seem lopsided. But one day, before any records were really sold, Rhymefest and Eminem battled and none of those accolades mattered or existed. In this battle, Eminem appeared to be less stellar than in other performances. And Rhymefest came extra-prepared, receiving the largest audience support between the two. Yeah, their careers have taken different paths, but in this battle, it’s hard to not give a nod to ‘Fest. Eminem does well, but ‘Fest goes off. Em may have technically won by moving on to the finals, but ‘Fest shows he can hang with the best of ‘em here. In battles, there are good days and bad days. This wasn’t Em’s best day in the office.
Eminem may be one of the most prominent rappers to ever spit, but that doesn’t mean he’s an undefeated champ in hip-hop. On this day, Eminem lost a battle in the finals and he had to watch Juice earn a trophy in front of him. Juice, a legend in the battle circuit, took home the W rather easily. Much like his bout with Rhymefest at the event, this simply wasn’t Em’s best performance day.
Eminem’s race came up often in battles. Sometimes, this was used to his disadvantage and sometimes, he’d find a way to use it as a weapon. In this battle, Eminem used race to gain one of the biggest cheers. “Tell all your boys that you got beat by a honky,” Eminem raps. Even his opponent laughs, smiles, nods and shakes his hand for that one. Eminem wins the tie-breaker by free styling about the tie-breaker (rhyming fly paper and skyscraper with tie-breaker) and by telling his opponent to join the ARMY because the shirt he had on said ARMY on it. Freestyles won crowds over (much like really well-done freestyle rebuttals do now).
