Eminem Used to Think Kendrick Lamar Had a Ghostwriter

As the self-described "Bruce Lee of loose leaf," Eminem has more reverence for the craft of rapping than your average MC. Probably much more. So it's not too surprising that he would want to verify the legitimacy of up and coming lyricists in the rap world. Back in 2013, Kendrick Lamar was still one of those up-and-comers, and according to Ed Sheeran, Em' wanted to see if the Compton prodigy was the real deal.

"Eminem heard that Kendrick Lamar was the best rapper and he invited him to the studio to get him on a song," Sheeran explained in a recent interview above at around the 8:00 point. "He arrived and Kendrick came with all his mates and Eminem said, 'I just want you in the studio, just you on your own and then my engineer is gonna come in and then record you doing it, but your mates aren’t allowed in'."

K. Dot had arrived to Em's studio to record his verse for "Love Game," a collaboration he did for the Detroit MC's album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. "Everyone came in to listen to it and Eminem said that he did it to test Kendrick because he thought he had a ghostwriter." It's safe to say that Em' walked away from that encounter satisfied.

Kendrick has been killing the game for a pretty long time now, and Eminem isn't the only hip-hop legend who's showed him respect in recent years. Recently, Nas listed the To Pimp a Butterfly rapper as one of his five favorite new school rappers. Not bad.

Ed Sheeran revealed details of his upcoming ÷ (pronounced divide) album. The 16-track LP is coming out March 3.

÷ (pronounced divide) tracklist:
1. Eraser
2. Castle On The Hill
3. Dive
4. Shape Of You
5. Perfect
6. Galway Girl
7. Happier
8. New Man
9. Hearts Don’t Break Around Here
10. What Do I Know?
11. How Would You Feel (Paean)
12. Supermarket Flowers
DELUXE EDITION
13. Barcelona
14. Bibia Be Ye Ye
15. Nancy Mulligan
16. Save Myself

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