Credit: Alamy

The D.O.C may have lost his voice in a car accident, but he has plenty to say about the hip hop world, and in particular, one rapper – Eminem.

The D.O.C is a lyricist in his own right, but has also ghostwritten for N.W.A Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre and Eazy-E. He’s a pillar of West Coast hip hop, and has always had a finger on the pulse of the next big talent in the game. 

Eminem first came on The D.O.C’s radar while he was at Dr. Dre’s house. Dre told him, “I got somebody I want you to hear” and played Eminem’s ‘I Just Don’t Give A Fuck’.

In an interview with HipHopDX in 2011, D.O.C told interviewers that he was immediately stunned. The reaction was instant and visceral: “I was like ‘Wow, this muthafucka is off the chain, Doc. You got you one”, he said.

He remembered thinking that Eminem’s talent was undeniable, that his persona impressed him, but more so that he brought a technical precision to the beat. He had a level of timing, control and vocal instrumentation that D.O.C had seen in himself and Dr. Dre when they first started rapping. He saw Eminem as having the mark of a true artist. “That’s what makes Eminem so great. Eminem… doesn’t miss a fuckin’ tick in the beat. He’s on every fuckin’ hit of the hi-hat”.

The impact of Eminem’s music hit even harder once Dr. Dre showed D.O.C a photo of the rapper. The skinny white dude from Detroit was not what D.O.C was expecting, and he told reporters that he said out loud “What?! Are you fuckin’ serious?! This muthfucka is great!”.

The feeling was certainly mutual. Eminem once sent a CD of D.O.C’s album No One Can Do It Better to the studio for D.O.C to sign. Although a small gesture, D.O.C saw it as a sign that the new generation of rappers understood his legacy in the industry.

D.O.C reflecting on his introduction to Eminem coincides with how he remembers the other young artists he supported. Snoop Dogg, for instance, would come to him for writing advice.

“[Snoop]’d write a rap and he’d come upstairs, and I’d say that ‘This part is good. This part ain’t good. Take these lines out. Try to replace them with stuff over here’”.

For D.O.C, it was all about helping young, unsure rappers build confidence and carry on the work he was doing. Everyday he pumped into Snoop the mentality that “If I can’t be the shit, n****, you’re gonna be the shit. If I can’t be that one, you’re gonna be that one.”

D.O.C’s commitment to the future of hip hop, and his (somewhat) humility in passing the torch is a testament to his skills and mentorship. He has undoubtedly contributed to the art of multiple rap masters, and at the same time, carved out his own acclaimed rap career.

Voice or not now, D.O.C’s influence will be heard through history. And people will probably respond with the same words D.O.C uttered while listening to Eminem for the first time: “Wow, this muthafucka is off the chain.”