Michael 'Eyedea' Larsen was Perhaps More Talented Than Eminem
"I Can Only Build If I Tear the Walls Down; Even If it Breaks Me I Won't Let it Make Me Frown. I'm Falling but No Matter How Hard I Hit the Ground; I'll Still Smile"
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death, but as reported by MTV, "Larsen was reportedly in good spirits on Friday night when he hung out at Minneapolis' First Avenue & 7th Street Entry to watch a show featuring Abilities and L.A. rapper Pigeon John."
Michael "Eyedea" Larsen was famous in underground, but never hit Eminem levels. "I mean to me, when you're famous you can sort of have fun again because "Who gives a f*ck?" Win or lose. That's when I won't lose because I won't care so much that I'll be my dopest every time," said Larsen.
What's the difference between a mainstream artist and an indie artist? One has tons of money due to a lucky break. If you listen to enough indie artists, you know that many of them are just as talented, or more so, than the mainstream artists you hear on the radio. White rapper Eminem is gifted, but so was white underground rapper Eyedea.
"You gotta take a stand!" "If you're not against them you're with them!"
Signs read "Support the troops bring em' home!" "No more innocent victims!"
But when a homeless veteran asks for spare change you're too busy protesting to even listen.
Michael "Eyedea" Larsen, who has also performed as a solo artist, didn't just rap for rap sake. He told stories of addiction, pseudo friendships, loss and more that you'd be wise to listen to. He began as a battle emcee, talented enough to win prizes, such as ranking top at Blaze Battle, a battle of underground hip hop emcees that was televised on HBO. Eyedea's first album released was First Born, in 2001, with DJ Abilities on Rhymesayers Entertainment
Sources:
Gil Kaufman, Michael 'Eyedea' Larsen Dead At 28, MTV
Eyedea and Abilities at Rhymesayers Entertainment
Eyedea at Wikipedia
Eyedea interview by Hugo Lunny at MV Remix
Eyedea's Mysterious Death Shocks Many, All Voices
Published by Jolie du Pre - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment
Jolie du Pre is a full-time freelance writer, a published author and editor and a Featured Celebrity News Contributor. Contact her at joliedupre@gmail.com. View profile
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16 Comments
Post a Commentof course Eyedea is more talented than Eminem. All Eminem can come up with is how to dispose of his ex! Eyedea has the most profound lyrics i've ever heard and had more dignity to elaborate on himself rather than those who have screwed him over. I commend and respect Eyedea, I can only give pity to Eminem. . .
Lyrically... Em and Eyedea are on a similar level. I identify with both of them being a white boy from the midwest. I will say that Eyedea was a better battle rapper. As far as Bentley to Camaro... Eyedea was also more than just hip hop. He got into hip hop after being a metal head.
Thanks for the comments. Again, I want to reiterate that the reason I mentioned the race of the rappers is for people who don't know anything about Eyedea to get somewhat of a visual. Eyedea was a gifted rapper. Eminem is a gifted rapper. One of the commenters makes a good point, to tear one down to beef up another is so tiresome. Not every underground rapper is fabulous just because he or she is underground. The elitist attitude of some underground fans does get annoying. I respect an underground fan who is not afraid to give a mainstream artist a prop if a prop is due.
It's sad that he's dead. And I wish his family the best. However, you cannot compare him to Eminem. That's like comparing a camaro to a Bentley... please tell me no one believes he was near as good as Eminem... c'mon people.
Oh I get it, they're both white and they rap. They're practically separated at birth.
too the Guest and Stubbie : I just wish the wonderful underground would get the respect that mainstream artists get...u can't say who is greater becuase the mainstream artist got the break, is played on the radio at least 10 times a day on a single station, you hear them constantly, so of course, their music will eventually get stuck to you in some way...underground artists do not have that exposure, but as you put it Jolie, can be just as good as the mainstream or better...for example, Houston's underground is soooo diverse, but u only hear a certian type of rap on our so-called interactive hip-hop station...alas...it's the battle of the business....peace to Eyeadea, I may not have known him or his music, but understand the work of the underground. MUCH REPECT
Very sad Eyedea is gone! Fantastic article Jolie =0)
i hate when idiots like you (and i mean the people who posted comments, not the writer) give props to an artist by diminishing the credentials of another artist...Eminem is and will always be DOPE AS HELL...if Eyedea was dope let just let him be dope and big up his skill level(although from what i've heard he was only an average MC at best, even though his subject matter was dope)...Underground heads who think they are elitest are wick wick wack...I know because i used to be one...Company flow is a perfect example...their delivery was horrible, their raps didn't even ryhme half the time and people though they were brilliant bc of their theoretical bullshyt...underground heads that can't give props to mainstream when its clearly due are insecure losers who think they can only differentiate themselves from the pack by who they know and what they like...FAIL!
Gabe, thanks for your comment. You make some good points. My incorporating the race of the rappers in the article was meant to help those who have never heard of Eyedea get a visual of him. Because, like it or not, as crass as Stubbie's comment below is, a lot of the masses *don't* know who Eyedea was. I write for everybody, not just people who know all about underground rap and indie artists.
I don't think the comparison to Eminem is appropriate since Eyedea was far superior when it came to freestyling, although Eminem was quite good at one time. Their content was too different, sure there aren't any mainstream artists with really similar content to Eyedea and Eminem may have been the closest, Eminem tends to wallow in self pity whereas Eyedea analyze that which is outside of himself and how it relates to himself.
If the comparison to Eminem is simply because Eyedea is white, then that is just moronic. You might as well compare Gift of Gab to Lil Wayne because they're both black. I don't think any mainstream artist can be properly compared to Eyedea, as comparing artists is quite hard in general.
I will always think of Eyedea as the #1 MC for me because he wrote about what I like, philosophy, and primarily existentialist questions, which is my passion.