You can always distinguish an emcee from a rapper with one simple tell -- the way in which the bars themselves are discussed. Emcees are wholly appreciative of a verse's construction, of the flexibility with which syllables are strung together. For Royce Da 5'9", himself one of the culture's great technicians, those are the qualities that matter. Last night, the Detroit lyricist took a moment to reflect on his formative days, when he heard Eminem's "Infinite" for the first time.
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From the sound of it, Eminem's ridiculous wordplay and flow schemes left quite an impression on the young rapper. "1996," prefaces Nickle, in the caption. "C’mon bruh..... I had just graduated High school and this man was compound syllable connecting on this level." He also highlights the track's producer Denaun Porter, who spoke about working on Infinite with Eminem in our exclusive interview here. In fact, he went on to reveal that J. Cole's favorite Eminem track was "Infinite," proof that Slim's pre-fame classic goes appreciated by the game's top tier emcees.
On that note, Royce's complimentary post went on to draw agreement from another lyrical great, Rapsody. "Mannn," comments the Eve emcee, emphasizing her point with fire emojis. While it's no secret that Royce holds nothing but the utmost respect for his Bad Meets Evil group-mate, it's cool to see him breaking things down on a technical level, providing additional context to Eminem's elite capabilities behind the mic. Clearly, there are some who still value the thought that goes into complex penmanship -- look no further than the hilarious MuchDank edit he shared for good measure.