Em, for me, started falling off between Encore and Relapse, so debatably before Cole was even making mixtapes. Em's still an undeniably good rapper and I don't think J. Cole measures up to him (yet) historically. Anything Encore and before trumps any project from J imo. That being said, post-Encore, I've liked J. Cole more.

Old me would say Em

New me says J. Cole even though I was totally on that fuck J. Cole Lil Pump wave.

J.Cole is certainly dope, without a shadow of doubt. However, Em out shines him in every area, imo. Personally I never seen/felt as if Em fell off. As an artist he needs to try different music, if the man repeated the same shit from Slim Shady LP and Marshal Mathers EP, people would have tired of him, saying he just makes the same shot over and over. Also, at his level, he’s constantly compared to himself and what’s he’s done before similar to Nas and his Illmaculate Album.

This is what I've been thinking for a long time! I actually really like Recovery as an album. Although I understand it won't be to everyone's tastes, I think it showed Eminem had a diversity of skills, and was capable of putting out sentimental, pop-oriented smash hits or honest examinations of his mental health as well as the kind of stuff he'd previously been doing. Relapse has some weird shit but if you're in the right mood its actually a banger for the most part, and Deja Vu is one of Em's best tracks imo. MMLP2 is one of the most technically proficient albums of rap ever produced, and although most of it isn't to my taste my friend loves it. Revival gets shat on a lot, I actually think there are quite a few good tracks on it but overall I agree it was a bit of a step down for Em (but still a pretty high-quality album overall). I absolutely fucking love Kamikaze and so far Music To Be Murdered By, and I think they've definitely revitalised his career and shown off yet another completely different type of music Em is capable of making. And that's not even talking about Bad Meets Evil or any of his features.

Inclined to agree. I mean as an artist he was trying different stuff, no painter paints the same painting over and over. For me Kamikaze was fire and this new album, so far, is fire too.

Em' all day holmes, also 100% agree with @STOY & @2FUEL 's points.

Em - 3
J. Cole - 3

What's your choice @Barzxxka

Gimme Em.

Body of work wise, Em has too much. Cole younger tho so who knows later down the road.

1/

Em - 4
J. Cole - 3

Thanks for the feedback @RULE

Not entirely sure I agree. Plenty (if not most tbh) of artists sustained within their niche. A lot of them are revered as classics bc they didn't try to chase trends to stay relevant—they defined relevance. Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Nas... it goes on. When did any of those dudes switch up to the extent Eminem did? I don't think any (imo). He noticeably got more pop which is just such a stark contrast to where he came from. Even current rappers like Future, 21, 69, Lil Pump are all making themselves through their niche sounds. The only great artist that comes to mind that consistently switched it up to me was Kanye—even then he has a distinctness to him that defined following eras. I think if Eminem kept it Slim Shady, there is no way people get tired of him.

I could be wrong, I mean it is all tastes at the end of the day, but that's just what I hear.