Eminem has been oddly more interactive with the world in recent times. Perhaps it's the need for change or management demanding that he hop on TikTok but either way, he's giving fans a bit more insight into his otherwise private life.

At the wee hours of the morning, the rapper seemingly stumbled upon a video from No Life Shaq where the YouTuber DM'd several rappers requesting their pick for the greatest rapper of all time. Among the rappers that he DM'd is 6ix9ine, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, and more, as well as Eminem. No Life Shaq admitted that he didn't expect Eminem to respond, though he said that was the only rapper he was eager to hear a response from.

"I had to try with Em. I had to try with Em. Of course, Em not gonna respond," he said. "That one kinda hurt my heart a lil bit because I wanted Em to say himself."

Though he never got a response on Instagram, Eminem did issue a response on Twitter with a list of rappers he'd consider GOATs but suffice to say the inclusion of Redman twice probably confirms that his position on the Def Squad member hasn't changed. 

"For me, in no particular order... Toss up between wayne, pac, royce, jay, redman, treach, g. rap, biggie & king crook....," he wrote in one tweet. "Plus redman, LL, nas, joyner, kendrick, cole, andre, rakim, kane..."

Check out the tweets below. 

Though artists tend to stand by their work, it's not uncommon for them to re-evaluate their takes in hindsight. For KXNG Crooked, veteran rapper and member of the legendary quartet Slaughterhouse, his discography has become quite massive throughout the years. Seeing as he's become one of the more interactive rappers on Twitter, directly engaging with his fans about hip-hop history, his own career, and the art of rap in general, he ended up fielding an interesting question about the one song he'd like to delete from his memory banks.

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After being asked about a song that still haunts him to this day, Crook took things back to the Slaughterhouse Shady Records debut album Welcome To Our House.  "Slaughterhouse “Throw It Away," he admits. "I think the song’s title was trying to tell us something." Though he didn't elaborate much more than that, many fans were quick to point out how the track was ultimately a single, complete with a music video at that. Knowing what we know now, it stands to reason that Crook must have been outvoted on that particular front.

Regardless of how you feel about the dEnAun produced track, which also features a chorus from Swizz Beatz, it's still cool to see Crooked speaking openly on his musical journey. You have to admire a rapper willing to take a step back and reflect on the missteps, so much respect to Crook for answering the question in the first place. How do you feel about "Throw It Away" after all these years?

Real really does recognize real. On Wednesday (May 27th), Eminem had some very kind words to say about his longtime friend and former Shady Records artist, KXNG Crooked. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Marshall Mathers LP, Em conducted a listening party of the hip hop masterpiece as well as a live stream chat with fans, where he answered questions and talked music. At one point, he was asked which rapper he thought was the most underrated, to which he responded, “KXNG Crooked.”

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Crooked, who was formerly signed to Em’s label for a period of time as a member of Slaughterhouse, was thrilled to hear about Em’s gracious co-sign. “That means a lot coming from a Jedi man,” he told HipHopDX. “I’m grateful for his willingness to speak positive things about me in public because he doesn’t have to. I guess sometimes it takes a master to recognize another one. Thanks for showing me because I know to thank him now.”

Crooked went on to post screenshots of the articles on Instagram, writing “Thanks Marshall” in the caption.

Most recently, Em and Crooked collaborated on the track, “I Will,” off the former’s latest album, Music To Be Murdered By. The track also included verses from Crooked’s former fellow Slaughterhouse members, Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5’9.

Eminem fans were awestruck by a rare question-and-answer period hosted by the Detroit legend in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of The Marshall Mathers LP. Organizing a live-chat with his fans, Em came through and spoke about all things pertaining to his music, his favorite rappers today, his favorite sports, his writing habits, and more.

During the live-chat, Em was asked so many different questions from fans, including his favorite project out right now. He ended up giving some major love to his Music To Be Murdered By collaborator Young M.A, naming her new Red Flu project his most-played at the moment. When it came time to drop gems on his most underrated rapper of all-time, he gave a major co-sign to none other than KXNG Crooked. He also said that his dream collaboration would be Andre 3000. Please, let’s make that happen.

As for his favorite song of his own, Marshall says that “Fack” takes precedence over all others, deeming it a lyrical masterpiece. 

When asked about his writing technique, the legend says that he still writes his rhymes by hand, sometimes spending entire days with a pen by his side.

Finally, on the sports side of things, Eminem revealed that football and boxing are his all-time favorites.

What was your top revelation from the live-chat? Peep the recap here.

Two beasts on the mic have cooked up something special in the booth, and it’s shaping up to be something memorable. Slaughterhouse brothers Joell Ortiz and KXNG CROOKED recently announced that they were releasing a joint project titled H.A.R.D. and later dropped the lead single of the same name. The two rappers are celebrated in hip hop for their undeniable talent, so they’ve come together to craft a record that fans are already calling brilliant without even hearing it.

“’We met each other on a magazine cover.. It’s like God told us we had to be brothers..’ – @kxngcrooked,” Joell Ortiz wrote in a caption of an Instagram photo that showed the album’s Ronald Regan-inspired cover art. “Perfect way to set off our ‘H.A.R.D’ EP dropping 5/29 !!!! Pre-order link in bio. Yaowaaaa!!!” 

Production credits include looks from Erick Sermon, The HeatMakerz, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Boogeyman, Ill Mind, and Apollo Brown. The eight-track EP only lists two features from Blakk Soul and MRK SX. Check out the tracklist below and let us know if you’re keeping a keen eye out for this one.

Tracklist

1. H.A.R.D. ft. MRK SX
2. Get Ya Money
3. Candy Bump (LBC)
4. Catchin’ Bodies
5. Lose My Mind ft. Blakk Soul
6. Wolves (BKLYN)
7. Lovely
8. Memorial Day

One of the more interesting hip-hop developments to occur year is the budding creative partnership between Eminem and KXNG Crooked, with whom he recently collaborated with on Music To Be Murdered By highlight "I Will." While that marked their lone musical link-up, Em took a moment to chop it up with Crook on "Crook's Corner," an extensive interview that has since amassed over one million views. Since then, Crook has openly mused on the possibility of lacing a joint album with Slim, and while we're not getting that anytime soon, we will be getting another collaboration to tide us over.

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Taking to Twitter, Crook revealed that his group Family Bvsiness would be dropping off a new single called "Skip This Ad," produced by none other than Eminem. While clearly more recognized for his prowess behind the mic, Em has amassed a strong production repertoire throughout his career, the best of which you can check out right here. As of now, the single appears to be dropping on May 15th -- it's unclear as to whether a full-length album will follow.

Check out the announcement below, and stay tuned for that Horseshoe Gang slash Slim Shady link-up. Who knows -- at this rate we might actually see Crook and Eminem get serious about taking their creative partnership to the next level. But that's a thought for another day.

The eternal shelving of Slaughterhouse‘s sophomoric Shady album Glass House remains one of hip-hop’s great tragedies, especially given that it doesn’t appear likely we’ll ever get our hands on it. Especially not after the way Joe Budden and Eminemwent from collaborators to rivals, exchanging shots on records and podcasts alike. Yet, perhaps foolishly to be sure, fans have decided to remain hopeful that Slaughterhouse will rise again — even if it is by way of a years-old release.

Speaking on the My Expert Opinion podcast, Royce opened up about the status of the lost project, and what might need to occur before it stands a chance at releasing. As expected, Joe Budden plays a pivotal role in the saga, though Royce is clear to absolve him of all the blame. “There wasn’t always an issue between Joe and Shady,” he explains. “The issue with Joe and Shady now is just the way he voiced his opinion about Marshall’s album. Marshall didn’t like that. It wasn’t because he had an opinion about Marshall’s album, it was the way he publicly voiced it. I actually had a problem with that too. But me and Joe spoke about it.” 

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Though Budden did apologize to Royce for putting him in an awkward position, Em has yet to receive the same treatment — a point that Royce is quick to point out. Even prior to the whole Revival-Gate incident, however, the Glass House album was facing a fair number of challenges. “There were things behind the scenes going on that brought certain vibes into the studio as well,” continues Royce. “Two people had some disagreements and some business dealings separate. I’m not gonna say who those two people were. And that caused a little something and then everybody in the group decided to go do separate albums.”

As for now, the group remains signed to Shady Records, inactive though they may be. “[Jpe] wants to get it released from Shady because he doesn’t want to release it through them,” says Royce. “But he’s basically saying he’ll still play ball. You know, ownership is a big thing to Joe right now. He’s evolving. Just in terms of understanding the importance of equity. He looks at the brand as something we built, which we did, you know.” As to whether Slaughterhouse will ever be able to come together on the same page, Royce isn’t entirely ruling it out – provided everybody is fully on board to commit.

“If we are not gonna do the album then I don’t even want to have conversations unless I know that everybody’s down to rap,” he clarifies. “I don’t want to force anybody to rap, man. Joe’s having a good time doing what he’s doing, Crook is super successful. Joell Ortiz just got married. I mean, I’m just happy where everybody is, where we are as men. I’m happy about that.”

While the collaboration album seemed to have been unceremoniously snuffed out in 2017, due to an overwhelming supply and not nearly enough demand, KXNG Crooked has pitched an idea destined to have hip-hop heads salivating. Taking to Twitter to field a variety of fan questions, the elite Slaughterhouse lyricist took a moment to address one fan's request for a KXNG Crooked & Eminem collaboration album, molded in the same vein as Bad Meets Evil.

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Crook came through with a surprisingly optimistic response, writing that he would indeed do his part in making the partnership happen. "When social distancing is over let’s all go to Detroit and speak to him about this. I’m serious. Who’s with me?" he writes, thus sparking a new wave of hope in this dark and trying time.

Of course, it should be noted that the fate of Bad Meets Evil 2 is still uncertain, and it might be difficult for Eminem to balance a pair of partnerships at the same time. Yet Em has spoken nothing but highly of Crook's pen, all but gushing over the Slaughterhouse rapper's pedigree during their sit-down on Crook's Corner. Last we saw, Em and Crook were linking up on Music To Be Murdered By's "I Will," a miniature Slaughterhouse reunion, save for Joe Budden -- perhaps, if Em and Crook do link up for a joint album, they can bury the hatchet once and for all and coax Budden out of retirement.

The impact of Mac Miller‘s death continues to resonate throughout hip-hop fandom, especially considering the musical versatility of the late twenty-six-year-old rapper. Not only was he a melodically gifted songwriter and musician, as seen by his work on Swimming and the unfinished but still presentable Circles, but he could also get down with the lyricists on equal footing.

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Case in point, Mac held it down alongside Slaughterhouse‘s own Royce Da 5’9″ on “Dat Sound Good,” no easy feat. And while he never quite collaborated with Slaughterhouse in their entirety, he did manage to connect with KXNG Crooked and chop it up on a social level. The Crook’s Corner host slash legendary lyricist took to Instagram to highlight their link-up, tugging at the heartstrings with a throwback picture captioned “RIP.”

In light of the image surfacing, it makes you wonder how Miller might have fared trading bars with Crooked on wax. Though seldom included in round-ups of the game’s great lyricists, albums like Watching Movies With The Sound Off, Good AM, Faces, and Delusion Thomas proved that Mac had developed a complex and highly referential style that made him a completely unique figure in the rap game. History shows that he was capable of going bar for bar with the likes of ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Royce Da 5’9″, Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson, and many more. Rest in peace, Mac Miller, and thanks to KXNG Crooked for holding it down in his honor. 

For whatever reason, the fact that we almost got a Rakim and Dr. Dre album has been hitting harder these days — perhaps the legendary emcee has been feeling the same way. Today, Rakim linked up with KXNG Crooked for an extensive episode of Crook’s Corner, and it didn’t take long for the fabled project to come up. 

“Everybody want to know, how was your time on Aftermath, man?” asks Crook. “It was ill, man,” replies The God Emcee. “I learned a lot sitting with Dre and being around for that little bit of time. Being in Cali too. I lived in Cali for three years. Dre, still one of the best producers ever. I was about to do a deal with Dreamworks, and one of the people called Dre up [for some beats]. Long story short, Dre called me and was like, ‘If you’re about to sign, sign with me directly.” 

“Me and Dre spoke, and we had an idea of what we wanted to do,” he continues. “He knew there was big expectations on it, I knew there would be big expectations on it. I knew Dre would bring the best out of me. Dre knew he had to make some spectacular shit. I think what we didn’t realize is we were so different. Even our process. Dre already has his formula that worked with everything he did. I was growing from what I been through, trying to leave a lot of stereotypical things that people assumed about me and what I was doing behind.”

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“Everybody thought I was selling cocaine,” says Rakim. “They see you in the hood, dressed a certain way, and they think Ra selling drugs…It definitely affected me for a while, everybody thinking I’m a drug dealer. I don’t get down like that. I was trying to leave the negativity behind and make good music. Dre, that’s his ingredient. Of course he wanted me to talk about what I’ve been through, and I was over that. That was our misunderstanding. We couldn’t really get on the same page. I think if we could have balanced it out, we could have made an incredible album. Again man, Dre — I don’t know if he ever missed.”

“I think we knew what it could have been, but again he was dealing with some things in his camp and the stars didn’t align. That would have been a crazy album,” says Rakim. Crooked brings up “The Watcher 2,” sparking a wave of nostalgia in both parties. “I remember when I first started working with him he gave me a couple of his producers to work with til he moved some things out the way to get in the studio with me. I told him, I had no problem working with them, but how do you tell a person I’m saving my best shit for you, bruh? When I hear a Dre beat…I knew I had to step my game up.” 

While the fabled Dre and Rakim album never came to fruition, perhaps there is still hope. Rakim took a moment to address Dre directly, inviting the good Doctor to reconnect for a bucket list project. “Whatup baby!” says Ra, sending his message into the ether. “Let’s get back at it man. I don’t want to hang my mic up and look back like there’s some things I should have did or could have did and never did, and that’s one of them. I always wonder how that would have turned out. Blessings.”