50 cent

afsdaWhenever Eminem first started getting a lot of radio airplay – late ‘90s or so – I had a friend called ‘Earfytones.’ He wore browns, dark greens, grey and the like, but nothing brighter than that under any circumstance. Unfortunate for Earfy, or not, he bore a vague resemblance, physically and vocally, to Mr. Mathers. We thought that was pretty funny. And it was. But during that time, these were the only thoughts of Eminem penetrating the thick skulls of myself and my meager cohort. Instead, rap wise, what we focused upon were Lyricist Lounge and Company Flow. Of course, both that compilation and El-P have had an enormous impact on rap – in an underground sense at least. But this was the time that my opinion of Detroit’s shadiest character was cemented. Read more