It’s been almost a month since the world lost one of its most beloved figures. Basketball fans and others are still in a state of shock and mourning at the death of Kobe Bryant.
Rap legend, Big Daddy Kane, recently spoke on the Cherie’s World podcast this past week and said that he considers Kobe one of the all-time greats.
Elsewhere in the interview, the interviewer said that he considers Jay-Z the Michael Jordan of Rap, and considers BDK the Dr. J of rap. So when the interviewer asked Kane who he thought the Kobe Bryant of rap is, he said “Eminem.”
When speaking to HipHopDX, BDK had a chance to expand on his statement. He stated that there was a generation that came after Jay-Z, Biggie, Tupac, and Nas and assumes that Eminem, Fabulous, and Ludacris were the elite rappers from that next era. Out of them, Eminem could be considered the Kobe Bryant based on his overall rapping ability.
“That era would be the era after JAY-Z, Nas, Biggie, Tupac, so that would be, I assume, Eminem, Jadakiss, Fabolous and Ludacris, maybe. So I guess those would be the elites you would consider the next Kobe ’cause that’s the next era. It would be one of them. I guess lyrically, my favorites would be Em, Jada and Fabolous. I don’t really know where he [the interviewer] was going with it — like are you saying as far as what I do? ‘Cause for me it was more than lyrical. So if you basing it just on lyrics, I would probably go with Em. If you’re basing it on the next Kane, then I would probably go with Fabolous.”
Big Daddy Kane isn’t too wrong for calling Eminem the Kobe Bryant of rap, as they both have put up remarkable numbers and are considered legends in their fields. Kobe played in the NBA for 20 years, made 18 all-star teams, won 5 NBA championships and 2 Finals MVP’s and was league MVP in 2008. He also beat Michael Jordan’s scoring record in 2014. He even won an Academy Award in 2018.
On the other hand, Eminem is one of the best selling artists of all time. He has sold 180 million records worldwide, won 15 Grammy Awards and 1 Academy Award, and has received 28 RIAA certifications as a solo artist. The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, the 8 Mile single “Lose Yourself”, Recovery‘s “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, and 2010’s “Not Afraid” are all certified Diamond.
