Eminem Reveals Kendrick Lamar & J. Cole Motivate Him To Be “The Best Rapper”

Eminem may be pushing 50 years old, but he still aspires to be “the best rapper” making music today and looks to his peers to inspire him to continue to be great.

While the Detroit native already has a legendary career after more than 25 years in the rap game, he admitted he looks to the newer generations of rappers for motivation.

“My role in today’s hip-hop is to always try to be the best rapper,” Eminem explained during an interview with XXL. According to Em, “that’s it. That’s how I want to feel inside. That’s what I want to feel. And I can’t do that until I listen to what the f### J. Cole just put out. What the f### did Kendrick just put out?”

Em revealed that hearing music from the likes of Kendrick and Cole makes him “get back on my s###,” and step his game up. But it’s not about numbers, or career highlights, but rather the drive to be the best.

“At this point, a lot of the big achievements that could come in your career have happened for me already,” Eminem stated. “So I don’t hyper-focus on numbers and being on charts. What I hyper-focus on is people like Kendrick Lamar, Joyner Lucas, J. Cole and Big Sean, and watching them and how the f### they’re doing their s###. Because they’re also focused on being the best rappers.”

Eminem Craves The Freedom Of His Early Career

Eminem also explained his writing process has changed since the beginning of his career and he now craves the “freedom” he once had.

“All of a sudden, you’ve made a song about every single thing you can f###### possibly think of. So I start getting in my head. If I had a choice between being the best rapper or making the best albums, I’d rather be the best rapper.”

Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg revealed he had to “make sure I was gonna represent” when he linked with Eminem on “From the D 2 the LBC,” in June. “You challenged me, Marshall,” Snoop Dogg admitted. “You put me back in my karate school days where I used to be a young emcee and loved the challenge of having to try a new style, a new cadence.”