Chris Castellani's Top 5 Eminem Verses

Yeah, I love Eminem. I think that’s probably a cliché, considering where I come from, but Eminem is the music I grew up on. I’m that guy who defends him even to this day. In my opinion, his prime lasted way longer than most people give them credit for. At his peak, he was perhaps the most influential artist of his generation. The kiddos out there probably don’t understand how famous he was for a solid decade there. And when Eminem was on fire, noone knew how to spit a verse quite like this guy does. I could probably list the top 100 Eminem verses, even though I only go with five. I guarantee that I will get many comments claiming I left out this song or that song. I get it; the guy has a lot of bangers. But as someone who used to print out Eminem lyrics so he could remember them for later, these five stand out to me the most.

Number 5- "'Till I Collapse" (2nd verse)

I originally had Eminem's opening verse from "When The Music Stops" at the number five spot, but while I was on my run this morning, I was bumping"  'Till I Collapse" and knew that I just had to go with his second verse here. All three of these verses are absolute dynamite. "Till I Collapse" is a S-tier Eminem song, but his second verse really makes this thing. It's Eminem at his most bitter but also his most clever. His running down a list of his favorite rappers while simultaneously hurling a giant middle finger at the industry that is afraid to acknowledge him as one of the greatest is peak Eminem. This is just a fireball of a song, man. I'm stunned that this was never released as a single. It speaks to how sharp the lyrics in production are on the song that it was never technically released as a single, and yet it remains one of Eminem's most popular tracks, with his second verse, being far away, the best. 

Number 4- "Forgot About Dre"

I originally had this at number three. Eminem almost always steals the show when he is featured in another artist's song. That's the case here. One of the best things about Eminem is that he can be incredibly playful with his lyrics. He has an extraordinary but unique sense of humor and plays to his strengths with this verse. It's a good juxtaposition because Dr. Dre's two verses on this song feel very personal and even bitter to a certain extent, while Eminem's just out there having a good time. I feel such a novice commenting on the stuff, but Eminem's flow in this verse is so natural. This was years before that weird era where he kept mixing in different accents and different cadences. It's a perfectly put-together verse.

Number 3- "Patiently Waiting"

Get Rich Or Die Tryin' is a fucking excellent rap album. I listened to this shit for the first time when I was eight years old and even knew it slapped. It's aged remarkably well. It's one of those few albums I consistently go back to. There are a lot of great songs, with "Patiently Waiting" being arguably the best. I like to think that Eminem has a shoebox full of verses written down in a notebook somewhere that he only brings out when another artist wants to feature him on a song, because it seems like he always steps up his game. This was one of those verses Eminem could've easily just phoned it in. It was just after The Eminem show and after "8 Mile" came out. He was doing 50 Cent a favor by being featured on this album. 50 Cent was on his way to becoming a household name, while Eminem was probably the most prominent musical artist in the world at that point. 50 kills his verse, but Eminem remains the king. 

Number 2- "Lose Yourself" (1st verse)

"Iconic" is the first word that comes to mind. As much as I love Eminem's music, he has had issues with the production of his songs being somewhat subpar. That is not the case with "Lose Yourself," which is the definitive Eminem track. The beat is instantly recognizable, as are the lyrics. Everyone focuses on the "Mom's spaghetti" line, but the entire verse hits you like a punch in the gut. You can make a powerful argument that this belongs at number one. This is probably the definitive Eminem verse if we're just talking about iconic status. It's one of those instances in which the height of an artist's popularity coincided with when he was writing his best music. This was before the "His old stuff was way better" narrative. I can't call it my favorite verse, but it's damn close.

Number 1- "Renegade" (1st verse)

Listening to Eminem's verses on "Renegade" is like watching Tom Brady outduel Peyton Manning for the umpteenth time. Both Eminem and Jay-Z are iconic recording artists, and The Blueprint is one of the most acclaimed, successful rap albums of all time, but on this song, Eminem owned Jay-Z. I have to put this number one because it's responsible for being used as fuel in a rap beef. In Nas's diss track "Ether," he said, "Eminem murdered you on your own shit" when referencing this song. I love Jay-Z, but Nas speaks the truth here. There are rumors that this song is why Eminem and Jay-Z have rarely collaborated over the last two decades, though they have performed in concert since this song was released. Much like some great athletes, Eminem is at his best when he is at his angriest, and there's no more significant evidence of that than with "Renegade." This feels like a song written when Marshall was having a bad day. He's a freight train on these verses that you do not want to step in front of. The first verse is probably better than the second one that he has on this song, but we're splitting hairs at this point. It's him communicating in the most unique way possible. He's never been one to hold back, but he let it fly on "Renegade." It's my favorite Eminem verse.