14 DAY TRIAL // Eminem has been around for many years and, as such, he’s probably used to controversy. The latest issue of Rolling Stone crowns the rapper King of Hip Hop based on figures comprising sales, airplay, and Billboard presence. Fans believe he didn’t deserve the title.
Though no one is disputing that he remains one of the most influential artists of our times, as well as one of the most popular, fans have taken to Twitter to debate whether he truly deserves to be crowned King of Hip Hop, MTV News informs.
As many see it, there’s no disputing his talent and / or his popularity. The fact that he can sell albums like few other fellow artists is also undisputed.
This is actually where the problem lies with Rolling Stone naming him King of Hip Hop, it is being said: in crowning him, the magazine paid way too much importance to sales instead of looking at something that is often times hard to measure, like influence.
“Although Rolling Stone is just one opinion, albeit a highly visible one, many fans are torn by the magazine’s nod to Eminem,” MTV writes.
“On one side, fans acknowledge the impact and ability of Eminem, while the others state that sales too heavily influenced the crowning. Over on Twitter, the debate about Em’s new title has been a heated one,” the publication says.
Some fans are thrilled by Eminem’s win, saying no one deserved the title more than he. Others are saying that Em was worthy of the crown back in 2003 but that, right now, it should have gone to Jay-Z instead.
“No. Dope as he is, he doesn't have one largely undisputed classic album. I think Rolling Stone judged on sales and influence tho,” one user tweets about Eminem.
“In 2003, yes. Today, Jay has the crown,” another chimes in, as cited by MTV.
However, Rolling Stone did use actual figures to come up with the proud owner of the crown of King of Hip Hop: besides album sales, it also considered Grammy wins, presence in the charts and airplay, as well as the number of fans.