Eminem reflects on crafting his first rap during childhood, driven by his admiration for LL Cool J.
In a conversation with D-Stroy and Paul Rosenberg on a unique Back to School episode of Shade 45, Eminem discussed how LL Cool J’s music significantly influenced his early interest in rapping.
Em said that LL taught him “everything to do with music,” sharing that his 1985 album “Radio” changed his life.
“When I was 11, that was the first album I had. I got that tape for Christmas, and it was the first full rap cassette I had. I would just play it front to back, front to back, front to back.”
Eminem reminisced about playing his album on a boombox, standing next to it, and performing the tracks for cars passing by. The Detroit rapper recalls when “I’m BAD” was released when he was 13, which inspired him to write his first rap, emulating the style of LL Cool J.
Eminem also mentioned that as an adult, he read LL Cool J’s memoir, likely 1997’s “I Make My Own Rules”, and realized they shared many of the same childhood struggles.
Inspired By Rakim And Kool G Rap
Later in the episode, Eminem reflected on his early experiences with multisyllabic rap, attributing inspiration to Rakim and Kool G Rap.
“I remember when I first heard multi-syllables, I didn’t really understand that they [were] connecting three and four and five syllables at one time,” Eminem said. “So I kinda didn’t hear it until I started hearing other rappers do it.”
Eminem, after developing a deeper interest, shared how he improved his craft. He explained that he would jot down words and rhyming phrases on paper, honing his skills until the links became clear.
He particularly admired Rakim for his delivery of multisyllabic lines. “He had that delivery and the voice,” the “My Name Is” rapper said.
“The way that he said shit was noticeably more complex, but I couldn’t figure out why it was noticeably more complex than anything that was out yet.”
“Kool G Rap was great at doing that too,” Eminem continued. “He’d rhyme inside the line, then come back with what they originally started rhyming with.”
