Eminem shares who his biggest current influences in rap are now

Eminem has opened up about which musicians have influenced him the most throughout his career.

The rapper - real name Marshall Mathers - is critically acclaimed as one of the best rappers of all time, but even the greatest rappers in the world have their own heroes.

Eminem has since revealed who he's looked up to the most and who has inspired his music to evolve - and keep evolving - into what it has.

Taking over XXL for the magazine's 25th anniversary, Eminem explained how the 'strangest and probably the greatest thing that's happened to [him] over these past 25 years in a professional sense was getting to meet all [his] heroes'.

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He continued: "All the MCs who inspired me coming up. It took me a long time to get over meeting Dre. When he walked into the room at Interscope, I was like, What the f***in f***k? This is really happening?

"And then getting to meet people like Treach, Redman, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Masta Ace, Rakim. I wouldn't be here without all of them. That's where I got my whole inspiration from."

Eminem detailed how he would 'study' the way Kool G Rao would put '10 words into two lines and it would rhyme, and they would fall right into each other'.

He added how he still gets 'really f***in weird and freaked out inside' when he talks to LL Cool J too.

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The musician resolved: "I listened to it, studied it, but also loved it, loved the music. Rappers like D.O.C., Tupac Shakur and Biggie. Those were all my influences. I would never be anywhere near where I am today if it wasn't for them."

However, reflecting on his role in modern day hip-hop, Eminem noted he is inspired and urged to be the 'best rapper' through listening to musicians such as J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Joyner Lucas and Big Sean.

Eminem said: "I'm thinking, Oh, these dudes ain't playing. I don't want to get swept away in that shuffle. I still want to let everybody know who the f**k I am.

"Like I said, 'They rap to be the best rappers.' I’ll hear some s**t by them, and I’ll be like, Yo, I ain’t the best rapper right now. I need to f**kin’ get up, get back on my s**t."

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Despite having previously said he doubts he'll release any more music over the age of 50, Eminem explained how he wants to 'do things that nobody from this point on can ever top' and rap 'on a level that no one else could get to' so he 'look[s] for the younger generation to push [him]'.

"I don't have to make albums. I don't have to do anything at this point. It's about wanting to, and that's never changed for me no matter what level the fame's gotten to. I still love to rap. It's always been the most important thing to me. I still have fun writing.

"I have fun watching the rappers I just mentioned, and being like, OK, let me see if I can do something that inside I think I can top that.

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"And every time the best rappers drop an album, it changes the landscape of the f**kin' game. At least it does for me, and I'm like, I need to be able to rap like that. Because if I don't do that, someone's going to come behind me, probably in the next couple of years, and wash me," he explained.

Eminem resolved what he's 'always loved about rap' is that it's constantly 'evolving' and how 'to succeed you need to be constantly aware of that and keep up with it'.

Topics: Eminem, Music, Celebrity

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.