"His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already: mom's spaghetti."
- Eminem

Anyone who calls themselves a hip hop fan can recite the rest of this verse like it's the Pledge of Allegiance, myself included. With eight studio albums since his debut in 1996 and countless chart-toppers under his belt, Eminem has already been heralded as a juggernaut of a genre only around as old as he is and is respected as one of the most technically sophisticated rappers to ever grab a microphone. This incredible level of praise is justifiable, but it reaches a point of actually not being credible when you see the ridiculous height of the pedestal on which some people place Marshall Mathers.

Eminem's song "Stan," tells the story of an obsessed Eminem fan who mimics the sensational violence of the rapper's lyrics in real life after his fan mail gets ignored. The song is one of few that transcended its original form and entered the hip hop lexicon, a Stan being a devoted follower of any artist. However, self-proclaimed Stans of Eminem tend to mirror the obsession of the original Stan, knowing the artist's discography inside and out and reciting his verses as if they were verses of scripture.

A distinct characteristic exists throughout the majority of hardcore Eminem fans: the immediate rejection of "mainstream" hip hop for being unbearably ignorant and the immediate disdain of anyone that is a fan of it. They will proudly proclaim that they refuse to listen to anything on the radio, bemoan the lack of consciousness in modern rap music and quickly change their opinion of you should you dare like any song that urges you to turn up.

The problem is that in their dismissal of mainstream hip hop fans as close-minded, they overlook their own close-mindedness. When they place Eminem on that ridiculously high pedestal, they also place themselves on one and see themselves at a higher level of taste than mere radio listeners. It does make sense, keeping in mind that Eminem is, in fact, a very technically advanced rapper. The fault in Eminem Stans lies in their belief that technicality is the sole factor in making a hip hop song good.

Now more than ever, especially in the last couple of years with the advent of trap music and the aesthetic values it holds, what makes a good rap song does not boil down simply to the cleverness of lyrics. Fans of music coming out of Atlanta nowadays aren't looking for intricately crafted lyrics as they hit their dabs.

What modern rap lacks in lyrical content it makes up for in flow and danceability and none of those characteristics should be held in higher regard than any other. Believe it or not, an ignorant party song can hold the same amount of quality as a hip hop song as a carefully thought-out song.

Simply put, of course, comparing rappers like Young Thug and Future to rappers like Eminem is comparing apples to oranges. Fans like these just need to learn that apples can taste just as good as oranges, but for obviously different reasons.