You're gonna laugh when I tell you this, man, but I'm starting to enjoy Eminem.
But, Eminem... No, I've loved rap for a long time, especially when it got out of its first period and became this gangsta rap, ya know this heavy rap thing? That's when I started to fall in love with it. I loved the lyrics. I loved the beat.
That's something - you laugh about Eminem... It's funny, man, because I didn't like him when he first came out, ya know. It seemed like a big joke. But I think the guy's for real, and I like his lyrics!
I decided to see how my voice sounds on different type of records. So I did Eminem and the Biggie, Florence and the Machine, and Muse covers. A couple of them just came from some jam sessions between me and my sister in her bedroom at my father's house in San Diego.
I feel like the albums I grew up listening to - for example, Eminem, Lauryn Hill, Christina Aguilera - they all spoke about real stuff that was happening in their life and everyone else's life.
If I was a white rapper, the bar for me would be Eminem. Of course his white skin helped him excel to heights that a lot of other rappers couldn't, but he still was talented. People gravitated towards him because of his skills. He stood the test of time.
My thoughts on Eminem have always been that he is one of the greatest lyricists ever. I've never been a fan because I can't relate to a lot of his world views and experiences, but I acknowledge that he's one of the greatest MCs.