Did Eminem have the best verse on forever? Who had the best verse on forever? Well, you will know the answer as you read this article. There’s an old adage that goes, “If Eminem is in your song, it’s no longer your song.” Eminem doesn’t care who you are; he will always try to outperform you on your own songs, as he did to Jay Z on ‘Renegade,’ 50 Cent on ‘Patiently Waiting‘, and Yelawolf on ‘Best Friend,‘ to name a few. The same happened with Kanye in Forever.
It’s been 11 years since the legendary collaboration “Forever” between Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. The 2009 Boi-1da produced hit “Forever” music is always fans’ favourite collab from these artists. At the 2009 American Music Awards, Eminem sang his verse of the song. At the 52nd Grammy Awards, Drake performed the song alongside Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Travis Barker.
“Forever” was an instant smash upon its debut, a natural heir in terms of reputation to songs like “Swagger Like Us.” Given the rappers’ history, robust rivalry had to be expected; however, each artist brings their A-Game, and no one looks silly as a consequence. Things are up to the then-newcomer, a fresh-faced Drake, who is still selling his unique style of Young Money punchline delivery, to kick it off.
“Last name ever, first name greatest.”If you’re stuck on how to finish the couplet, Drake’s beginning bars are fantastic. It’s a fitting introduction to the star-studded track, and, more importantly, to young Drake’s verse. The image he portrays with the injured ankle/nothing to play with bar is vivid and perfect for the song, which appears on the soundtrack to LeBron James’ documentary “More Than a Game.”
In early September 2009, the music video was shot at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Florida. However, owing to schedule issues and an inability to be in Miami, Eminem’s role in the video was shot in Detroit. Hype Williams filmed and directed the music video. It debuted on BET’s musical show 106 & Park on September 22, 2009. In the music video’s first scene, LeBron James is seen in the back seat of a Maybach. There are excerpts and photographs from James’ documentary, More Than a Game, as well as of him as a boy playing basketball, sprinkled throughout the film. In Eminem’s verse of the video, The Alchemist, Trick-Trick, Mr. Porter, and Slaughterhouse all make cameo cameos behind him while he raps. Birdman appears in the video for Lil Wayne’s verse, sitting next to him in the club’s VIP area. The music video was made at the same time as the video for “Money to Blow.”
While Lil Wayne and Kanye West already wrote their verses for the single, Eminem submitted his verse on Drake’s “Forever”. Both Kanye West and Lil Wayne have to rewrite their whole verse.
Did Kanye West rewrite his verse in forever? Kanye West on the rewrote, says, “When I heard Eminem’s verse on the Drake sh*t, I went back and rewrote my sh*t for two days, I canceled appointments to rewrite! I f**kin’ care.”
While Eminem says, “Everybody approached the beat differently. Kanye was crazy, too, and Wayne. I just saw the beat differently than anybody else did; for some reason, I felt like the beat was a double-time beat, so I rapped faster.”
Now, on to the main topic of this post. The passage in dispute is this one. The tempo changes up at the start of this stanza, taking on a more ominous tone that fits Eminem’s aggressive rhyming style. The first line’s modest stadium-filling flex barely goes unnoticed. It’s fantastic. The audience is going crazy — macadamia nuts? That sentence does not sit well with me. But what about the flow? What’s in the first seven bars? Very cool.
Boi-1da created the music, which was first utilised by Kardinal Offishall and Rock City in early 2008 as “Bring It Back.” Kardinal didn’t utilise the song on his album, therefore it was re-sold to Drake, who released it as “I Want This Forever” in late 2008, featuring Lil Wayne and Kidd Kidd.
“You dealin’ with a few true villains/Who stand inside of a booth, truth-spillin’/And spit true feelings until our tooth-fillings/Come flyin’ up outta of our mouths — now, rewind it/.”
Mr Mathers, you have a lot of truth there. Em then goes into some filler bars about getting revenge at someone and smacking the flavour out of their mouth with…base that shakes the place? That’s strange. Em, however, leverages the pop culture icon Hannibal Lecter to construct a picture of himself as the cannibalistic, bulldozing hip hop beast that he is, in a similar pattern to his flow earlier in the verse, where he appears to slack then come back swinging for the fences.
Kanye was told he couldn’t rap because he hadn’t “experienced that life” by the rap gatekeepers. Following it up with Grammy flexes for the exact same thing they warned him against? Haaard! Bringing it back to him, though, with him longing for his grandmother’s return, is depressing. It’s a good set-up for Kanye’s verse’s finale. He begged for fame and money, and now that they’ve arrived, along with all the baggage that comes with them, he wants to return them. It’s impossible to live forever.
On September 3, 2009, “Forever” debuted at number 58 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the United States, peaked at #2. For the week ending September 15, 2009, the song became the most downloaded tune. The song debuted at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 24, making it Drake’s biggest debut on the chart at the time and his second top-ten hit. It also debuted at number one on the rap songs list, becoming Drake’s second number one on that chart. It was Eminem’s ninth straight top 40 single. As of April 2013, the song had sold 3,265,000 digital downloads in the United States, making it Drake’s first 3 million-seller.
“Forever” didn’t make the UK Singles Chart’s Top 40, although it did reach number 43 thanks to high downloads. The song dropped out of the UK Singles Chart after that, but on January 10, 2010, “Forever” rose seven places to number 42, its highest peak to date. “Forever” debuted on the Irish Singles Chart, where it is now ranked 41st.
In an interview, Lil Wayne also revealed that he was scared to collaborate with Eminem for “Drop the World”. “I was scared, actually, when I called Eminem for a song,” he revealed. “That is a monster. He must have the same thing I have with words. Like, we can’t get them out of our heads. Every meaning, every aspect of them. Things that rhyme, we hear it. I already know the gift and the curse that he has. And I love to hear the way he puts it together.”
He continued, “When I was on The Tonight Show, I was playing Pictionary. And my thing was Harry Potter. So I drew a pot, and they got that. I drew a man with a face, and I put a bunch of hair around him. They were like, ‘Wait, he’s hairy.’ I’m, like, Harry Potter. We plan our words. At all times.”
Check out Kanye West’s audio clip on the verse rewrote:
