Wayne vs. Em

This second edition of "Favors" features two guys that I never thought would be on the same cut. Lil' Wayne and Eminem. Wayne had been practically begging in interviews for years about wanting to trade bars with the white kid, but everyone pretty much just accepted that a Weezy collabo was below Em's standards as Wayne was whoring himself out at the time to any artist whose label would cough up $75,000 for a feature, regardless of quality. Apparently, stuff changed.

2009
Drake - Forever (feat. Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, & Eminem)
Lil' Wayne - Drop the World (feat. Eminem)
2010
Eminem - No Love (feat. Lil' Wayne)

The first one was LeBron's fault. Isn't everything? Forming Voltron with Drake and Kanye, the newly minted quartet created the smash hit "Forever" for LBJ's More Than a Game movie. Everybody got free range on their verse to make their stand as the emcee who would deserve bragging rights over the other, though all were pretty much guaranteed to dominate the airwaves concurrently as much as they pleased. Eminem was easily the biggest winner as he freed himself from his Encore and Relapse ruts for the first time by double-timing his flow and coming off as aggressive as ever. Beyond that, this track was pedestal for the next two Em/Wayne tracks to take place on their respective upcoming albums.

Even though everyone pretty much pretends that Wayne's Rebirth rock album was never even released at all, it did have its one saving grace in the form of "Drop the World". With its general epicness and glorified duality between the types of spitting going on between the world class rhymers, it was the one joint thrown into the album that wasn't a forced failure at a new age genre buster. And while this effort was the resounding street single that was playing as Wayne was being ushered into his resident jailhouse, he left the world one more smash collaboration that was kept secret for a little while longer. With Eminem finally back honed in on his true sound, the album Recovery quickly formed. Guess who the sole guest rapper allowed to borrow a verse from Em's stream of consciousness was. Weezy on the Just Blaze banger "No Love" (which hilariously samples Haddaway's "What is Love").

... and do the John Wall.