“You’re all here to battle me,” rapped Eminem, his voice slicing through the air like a thunderclap on Rhythm + Flow. The room froze for a moment, the weight of his words sinking in. Contestants exchanged uneasy glances, realizing this wasn’t just a competition anymore—it was a face-off with the legend himself.

Rhythm + Flow season 2 episodes 5 to 7 were released on November 27. The initial four episodes introduced the rappers, as judges DJ Khaled, Ludacris, and Latto selected them to proceed in the competition. Episodes 5 to 7 saw them fighting in the various phases of the season, such as the Battles phase.

In the Battles phase, the contestants had to one-off each other in a face-to-face battle by fighting in verses. Right before the Battles round started though, they were given a surprise visit by none other than the rapping legend Eminem. After the contestants cheered and jumped upon seeing him, the star spoke. He said:

“So welcome to Detroit. I hope everyone is ready because you’re all here to battle me. I get to do written, and you guys have to freestyle. Sorry I just want to even the odds here”.

Here, by ‘written’, Eminem meant he would judge the contestants while they performed, alongside Latto, Mr. Porter, and Royce Da 5’9.

Eminem’s appearance on Rhythm + Flow season 2 episode 5

The rapper took to a Rhythm + Flow confessional to say that the participants came to Detroit to see him in St, Andrews Hall. He said that he had been to the venue too many times so it was nostalgic to him. He added:

“This is kind of my old stomping grounds. One of the spots I used to come to, uh, Friday nights for hip hop”.

He recalled that a scene in his movie, 8 Mile, was shot in the hall where the episode 5 battles were going to be held. He added that the place was like a second home to me. Explaining the significance of the Battles round, Eminem said:

“Battling is significant because that’s one of the quickest ways to get your name around town, right? Show up everywhere and battle whoever”.

He said battling helped him because it trained his brain to rap better. The rapper also said that he had seen “incredible” rappers fail at battling. Explaining what he would look for when he judged the battling round, he said that if he spotted contestants who were using compound syllables in their rap, he would look at them as technicians and would also look for stage presence and delivery.

How did Eminem judge the contestants on Rhythm + Flow season 2 episode 5

In the battle between Jay Taj and RHOME on Rhythm + Flow season 2 episode 5, Eminem thought the latter had the same rhyme scheme going which was an easy thing to do. While Jay Taj had more punchlines, he said he thought both of them were “dope” but eventually chose to go with Jay Taj.

Next up were Dre and K’Alley. Eminem said that when K’Alley started, he thought he was going to make it, but him forgetting his lines changed everything. He liked Dre’s performance and chose him to go further with the other judges.

Bunduke and Yoshi Vintage followed. Eminem told Yoshi that the fact that she chose to go first took a lot of courage. He pointed out lines in Bunduke’s rap, that he enjoyed. He also said that he thought both of them were fantastic and collectively all the judges thought to go with Yoshi.