Eminem is one of the most celebrated rappers of all time, a lyrical juggernaut whose name has become synonymous with elite wordplay and technical rap brilliance. But before Slim Shady became a household name, he had doubts—crippling ones. And according to him, it was Treach from Naughty by Nature who shook his confidence the most.
In a reflective interview with The New York Times, Eminem revealed that while studying the craft of rap in his early days, he immersed himself in the music of legends like Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and Lord Finesse. He studied rhyme patterns, cadence, and syllabic complexity, trying to build the tools of a future great. But everything changed when he heard Treach.
“Then Treach from Naughty by Nature came along, and he was doing all that too,” Em said. “He was cool, too — his image and everything. I wanted to be him.”
That admiration quickly turned into despair. When Naughty by Nature released their debut album, Eminem felt the bar had been set impossibly high. “That whole summer, I couldn’t write a rap,” he admitted. “I thought, ‘I’ll never be that good; I should just quit.’ I was so depressed.”
Eminem’s longtime friend Proof also saw Treach as the best rapper, adding fuel to Em’s insecurities. The same thing happened again in 1994 when Nas dropped his iconic Illmatic. “That album had me in a slump, too,” Em recalled. “I know the album front to back.”
Despite the doubt, Eminem didn’t quit. He pressed forward, sharpened his pen, and eventually rose to become one of hip-hop’s most technically gifted and commercially successful artists of all time.
It’s hard to imagine now, but even legends have their breaking points—and sometimes, the very people who inspire us almost convince us we’re not good enough.
