Double Trouble - Eminem and Royce the 5'9"

Nothing quite like good ol' fashion bar sharing between two MCs. I have written before about the roots of this type of exchange and how good it can sound when done well.

There are a few artists that still get down like that here and there, although they don't do the harmonize rhyming old schoolers did.

Bad Meets Evil by Royce the 5'9" and Eminem has a few examples of this type of back and forth. One of my favorite tracks is A Kiss.

If you can get past the gratuitous misogyny and violence you'll see the that these two displayed real chemistry with their flow. They also managed to slip in lots of over-the-top humor on this solid beat.

"What happened to the type of spit that used to help a fellow out?"

I plan on doing a series of posts on simple, straightforward songs. Narratives that aim to raise awareness, educate or teach a lesson. I am determined to name these series of posts after an old DOOM line but I can't remember it for the life of me! Something like, "What happened to the spit that help a brother out?"edit: my buddy found the line for me. It was from Vaudeville Villain.

Anyway, just listend to K- Solo's Your Mom is in my Business. Not his best work, Fugitive and Drums of Death were better overall songs, but this song has an important place.

This well crafted narrative is focused, clean and to the point. Cutesy world play would almost get in the way of the authors message. I love these old songs where rappers feel compelled to wrap it up with a moral or lesson.

"See, I know you girls, I know you girls, I know you girls, I know you girls
Mothers love you, and they're concerned
But if you don't solve your own problems, then how can you learn?
And guys, if you're in a relationship like this
Don't be afraid to tell your girlfriend tell your moms to mind her business"

There was always time space for songs like this years ago. Part of what made the era golden...diversity.

Delivery - Public Enemy

As a high schooler Chuck D's voice always struck me as what a mans voice should sound like. Set aside for a minute what he stood for and represented-just his voice. Deep. Rich. Bellowing. Commanding.

Then you have they way he delivered his lyrical content. He made hearing him absolutely unavoidable. You could not casually listen to Public Enemy. The Bomb Squads bassliness force you to bob your head and their samples came at you from all angles. And just when you thought things couldn't get more confusing, in comes the Rhyme Animal to grab you by your neck and spit in your ear.

From there he uses run-up-on-you delivery to drag you from track to track by said jugular. His delivery is like an angry, poetic sports broadcaster. At first his flow may strike you as one dimensional, however that is not completely true. Its true that in him, you can hear elements of MC's that came before him- playing around with intonation, lowering and raising his voice as needed. It also true that many of his contemporaries had left that Melle Mel-ish style behind. I should also note that when P.E. made their debut, Chuck was already older than most his peers entering the game.

I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention the contributions of Flavor Flav. Some may remember him as simply a hype man but if Flav had 7 words to deliver during a song he would spit those individual words with the passsion and intention. No two cents have ever been more impactful.


I decided to go with the the 3rd verse of the 4 verse Rebel Without a Pause from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back. It captures the essence of all the parties that contribute that epic delivery of Chucks. X's scratching. Bombs Squads terrifying track. Flav's two cents. Perfect.

One of a kind.