Eminem may be a businessman and industry dynamo in his own right, but he has never missed an opportunity to stress that he is first and foremost an artist dedicated to perfecting his craft.
During a recent interview that he did with French music outlet Skyrock, Em reiterated his passion for rapping and declared that the fire that has kept him striving to one-up himself and to keep pace with the evolution of the genre for more than two decades, remains lit. In fact, the hip-hop great says that he quite literally can have it no other way.
“Rap music is really; I don’t know anything else, you know? So I don’t know what I’m going to do when I can’t rap anymore. I’ll probably f**king jump out a window or something,” said Eminem. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I always try to stay inspired, and I’m always listening to what’s new. In my own competitive spirit, I always wanna be in that mix and at least in that conversation.”
It is well documented that Eminem has always strived to be part of the continuum of excellence that hip-hop purists uphold when speaking on the lineage of greats to have come along since the mid-1980’s. As he has in the past, Em continues to give it up for artists like Rakim, Kool-G-Rap, Master Ace, and others who paved the way for him. And while he acknowledges that many of today’s young artists haven’t cultivated the same connection with the music’s roots, and therefore identify with hip-hop in an entirely different manner than he does, he still encourages those finding their way through the scene to go back and check for the contributions of the genre’s pioneers.