A Closer Look at Eminem's Lyricism

As anyone who is a fan of Eminem can attest, this guy's lyrical ability is insane. From his freestyles to his diss songs to whatever it may be, you can count on his lyrics to blow you out of the water. Pair them up with some of Dr. Dre's powerful beats, and you have yourself a classic. I've taken the liberty of amassing some of Slim Shady's greatest collection of lyrics, from his earliest days up until the upcoming release of his latest album, Relapse.

Here's a short list of various verses from Eminem which speak for themselves on how much skill he has as a rapper/lyricist.

I'm the one man on the planet that'll drive off of the Grand Canyon
Hop out of my Grand AM and land handstandin'
Any man planning to battle me will get snatched out of his clothes so fast
it'll look like an invisible man standin'
I'm headed for hell
I'd rather be dead or in jail
Bill Clinton, hit this, and you better inhale
Because any MC choosing to go against me is gettin taken advantage of, like Monica Lewinsky
I came home in a frenzy, pushing my ten speed
screaming to my aunt Peg, with three spokes sticking out of my pant leg
F*ck a headache, gimme a migraine,
damnit I like pain, and you should be anywhere that a mic ain't
You rap knowin you whack
You act up and I'm throwing you down a flight of steps
Then I'm throwing back up em'
If they dont like this track, f*ck em'
The rap struck em harder than getting hit by a Mack truck and then backed up on

DAMN. That is all I have to say about that. That was a FREESTYLE. As in, off the top of his head. That's crazy.

Here's another one, this was a diss song called Till I Collapse, where he was replying to the rapper Ja Rule's insults toward his own daughter. He went crazy here.

Soon as a verse starts I eat it at MC's heart
what is he thinking? I'ma not to go against me, smart.
And its absurd how people hang on every word.
I'll probably never get the props I feel I ever deserve
But I'll never be served my spot is forever reserved
If I ever leave earth that would be the death of me first.
Cause in my heart of hearts I know nothing could ever be worse.
That's why I'm clever when I put together every verse
My thoughts are sporadic, I act like I'm an addict
I rap like I'm addicted to smack like I'm Kim Mathers.
But I don't want to go forth and back in constant battles
The fact is I would rather sit back and bump some rappers.
So this is like a full blown attack I'm launching at them
The track is on some battling raps who want some static
Cause I don't really think that the fact that I'm Slim matters
A plaque of platinum status is whack if I'm not the baddest.

Look at this guy's diversity, he can go from hilarious anecdotes about how he chased his highschool teacher around the class with a stapler, to these serious tracks which assassinate rappers. There's a lot more, I just can't think of any right now.