Eminem Has Named These 15 Rappers Among His Favorites

About This Gallery:

For this list, we’re focusing on rappers Eminem has praised over the years in interviews, podcasts, and even his own songs. There isn’t one definitive ranking because apparently even Slim Shady won’t make our jobs that easy but based on what he has said again and again, we can make a pretty solid guess about the MCs who sit closest to the top of his personal rap pantheon. | © Dave J. Hogan

1. JAY-Z

Eminem’s respect for JAY-Z is not hidden in some obscure footnote; he put “jay” directly in his “no particular order” list, and years earlier placed Jay right near the front of his personal MC roll call. That says a lot, because Em usually talks about rap greatness like a mechanic checking every bolt in the engine. Jay represents a different kind of difficulty: the writing is dense, but the delivery makes it sound expensive, relaxed, and almost casual. Eminem’s own style is more frantic and visibly technical, so the nod feels like one master of pressure admiring another master of control. | © John Phillips

2. 2Pac

Tupac is one of the rare rappers Eminem has praised in emotional terms, not just technical ones. He has called Pac an artist who “might be the greatest songwriter of all time,” then explained the connection even more plainly: “You feel ’Pac.” That is the whole entry right there. Eminem has spent his career turning pain, anger, embarrassment, humor, and damage into performance, so it makes sense that Pac’s directness hit him so hard. For Em, Tupac was not only about bars; he was proof that rap could sound like a diary, a protest, and a threat all at once. | © Columbia/Kobal

3. Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne appeared in Eminem’s favorites list as “wayne,” but Em gave him a much better compliment later when he talked about MCs who “rap to be the best rapper.” That is basically Eminem’s love language: competition, pressure, and the need to prove the pen still works. Wayne’s peak years were not just about hits; they were about mixtape stamina, absurd punchlines, sideways metaphors, and guest verses that treated every beat like rented property. Eminem clearly respects that engine. Both rappers built their mythology around the same stubborn idea: the verse is never just a verse, it is a title defense. | © Randy Miramontez/Dreamstime.com

4. The Notorious B.I.G.

Biggie made Eminem’s public favorites list as “biggie,” but the more interesting part is what that choice reveals about Em’s taste. Eminem often makes technical rapping sound like a high-wire act; Big made it sound like he was leaning back while everyone else was sweating. That smoothness is its own kind of flex: funny, cold, cinematic, rhythmically exact, and never too eager to show the math. Em placing Biggie among his greats proves he is not only listening for speed or syllable density. He also respects the rapper who can make elite writing feel like conversation from the most dangerous person in the room. | © Larry Busacca

5. Kendrick Lamar

Eminem has been unusually direct about Kendrick Lamar, calling him “very top tier of lyricists” and saying that status is not limited to one generation. He also said Kendrick is one of the younger rappers who can make him think, “I ain’t the best rapper right now,” which is a huge compliment coming from a man who treats rap like a permanent sparring match. Kendrick’s appeal to Eminem is easy to understand: the voices, the rhyme control, the storytelling, the album architecture, the refusal to coast. Em hears the craft under the chaos, and that is exactly the kind of thing he respects most. | © Arturo Holmes/MG23

6. Nas

Nas did not just land in Eminem’s favorites list; he also gave Em one of those terrifying young-rapper moments where admiration briefly turns into panic. Eminem has said Illmatic “had me in a slump,” and that he knew the album “front to back.” That is more revealing than a neat compliment, because it shows Nas did not merely impress him; he made him reconsider the level of writing required. Em specifically pointed to Nas moving in and out of rhyme schemes, the internal rhymes, the feeling that the verse kept shifting under your feet. For a technician like Eminem, that kind of writing is not background music. It is a warning. | © Matt Salacuse

7. André 3000

Eminem named André 3000 in his old personal MC roll call and later brought “andré” back into the wider favorites conversation, which matters because André is not a predictable battle-rap pick. He is slippery, strange, melodic, stylish, funny, and technically sharp without making the performance feel like homework. That is probably why Eminem’s admiration makes sense. André turns personality into technique, which is harder than just stacking syllables until the verse looks impressive on paper. Em respects rappers who sound impossible to replace, and André has always rapped like the song had to bend around him, not the other way around. | © Emma McIntyre

8. J. Cole

J. Cole’s place in Eminem’s modern respect list comes with one of Em’s most useful competitive quotes: “What the f--- did J. Cole just put out?” He was explaining that rappers like Cole force him to check the temperature of the room before claiming any throne for himself. That is not casual playlist praise; that is Eminem admitting another MC can make him go back to work. Cole’s strength is not costume-change reinvention or loud shock value. It is the pen, the patience, the self-contained seriousness, and the feeling that every verse is quietly trying to win an argument nobody else heard yet. | © David Peters

9. LL Cool J

LL Cool J gets one of Eminem’s most openly fanboyish comments, which is rare enough to feel historic on its own. Em called LL “one of my favourite rappers of all time, ever,” then admitted he once told him, “I’m a stan of you.” That is a wild full-circle image: one of the biggest rappers alive trying not to embarrass himself in front of the guy who made him feel like a kid again. LL’s influence is obvious, too. He showed that a rapper could be stylish, combative, romantic, commercial, and still dangerous when it was time to swing. Eminem clearly never forgot the blueprint. | © Frazer Harrison

10. Rakim

Rakim is one of the names where Eminem goes from fan to historian. He has said Rakim is “always on my list,” then explained that greatness is not only about doing something well, but about being first to do it. That is the key to the Rakim entry: Eminem hears him as an architect, not just an old-school legend people name because they are supposed to. Rakim’s calm delivery, internal rhymes, and surgical structure changed what technical rap could be. Em’s own delivery is far more explosive, but the obsession with rhyme architecture sits right in that same bloodline. | © Keith Hutter

11. Redman

Redman may be the most revealing name in Eminem’s favorites, because Em keeps returning to him. He named him in the public list, has kept him near the top of his personal canon, and later called Redman one of the “most consistently dope rappers.” That is exactly the kind of praise that fits Red: grimy, hilarious, elastic, strange, and technically nasty without ever sounding polished into boredom. You can hear why Eminem would love him. Redman has the same gift for making absurdity and skill live in the same bar, like the studio door got kicked open before anyone had time to act serious. | © Valerie Macon

12. Royce da 5’9”

Royce da 5’9” is not just a friend in Eminem’s world; he is one of the rappers who makes the booth feel dangerous. Eminem has said that Royce and Crooked are the kind of MCs who give him “anxiety” on a song, because he knows the verse coming back will not be predictable. That is a very specific kind of respect, and it explains why Bad Meets Evil works so well. Royce can stand next to Em without becoming decoration, which is not a small achievement. Their chemistry sounds less like nostalgia and more like two sharp pens daring each other to make one lazy move. | © Paras Griffin

13. Big Daddy Kane

Big Daddy Kane is one of the old-school names Eminem brings up when he talks about rap evolving from simple patterns into something more athletic and intricate. Em has said Kane “will always be on my list,” and he has praised the way Kane could make almost every word in a line snap into place. That is exactly the sort of thing Eminem notices, because his brain seems permanently tuned to syllables, pockets, and internal movement. Kane had elegance, speed, breath control, swagger, and battle precision before most later MCs had their poses figured out. Eminem hears the craft because Kane helped build it. | © NY1

14. Treach

Treach has one of the best Eminem quote trails of anyone here, because Em’s praise sounds almost shaken. He said Treach made him think, “I’ll never be that good,” and even admitted, “I wanted to be him.” That is not polite respect; that is a young rapper getting knocked sideways by someone else’s level. Eminem has also complained that Treach does not appear on enough all-time lists, which makes the admiration feel personal and protective. Treach’s mix of image, flow, aggression, and complicated rhyme patterns clearly hit Em at the exact moment he was trying to figure out what kind of rapper he could become. | © Pyramid Entertainment Group

15. Kool G Rap

Kool G Rap belongs here because Eminem has repeatedly treated him as one of the technicians who pushed rap into harder territory. In one interview, Em described being drawn to “compound-syllable rhyming” and named G Rap as one of the artists who pulled him in; in another, he said G Rap helped “drive some new” level of skill that outdid what came before. That is the kind of praise only a rap obsessive gives. G Rap was not just a name on a history test for Eminem. He was part of the machinery that taught him how far a rhyme scheme could stretch before it snapped. | © Mac Media