Bob Dylan praises Eminem and Wu-Tang Clan in new interview

Dylan praised the fellow musicians’ ‘feeling for words and language’

Bob Dylan has revealed that he enjoys listening to Eminem and the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.

In a new interview, the singer opened up about his favourite artists and explained that he usually discovers new music “mostly by accident”.

Dylan, 81, told The Wall Street Journal that he “is a fan of” Eminem and Wu-Tang Clan and praised them both for their “feeling for words and language”.

He also said that he likes listening to “anybody whose vision parallels mine”.

This is not the first time Dylan has discussed Eminem. In 2001, he admitted to Time that he didn’t know that much about the rapper, but said: “I almost feel like if anything is controversial, the guy’s gotta be doing something right.”

In the same interview, 21 years ago, Dylan claimed that he hated most modern music and said that the radio makes “hideous sounds”.

The “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” singer also listed Jack White, Alex Turner, Royal Blood, Celeste, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and Leonard Cohen as musicians he has been listening to recently.

“The Oasis Brothers, I like them both,” Dylan added. “Julian Casablanca, the Klaxons, Grace Potter. I’ve seen Metallica twice.

“Zac Deputy, I’ve discovered him lately. He’s a one-man show like Ed Sheeran, but he sits down when he plays.”

In addition to discussing his current music favourites, Dylan opened up about his varied listening habits.

“I listen to CDs, satellite radio and streaming,” he said. “I do love the sound of old vinyl though, especially on a tube record player from back in the day.”

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The “powerful and miraculous” sound of his tube record players, which the musician bought in an antique store in Oregon 30 years ago, takes him back “to the days when life was different and unpredictable”, he said.

Bob Dylan and Eminem (Images from Getty)

In November, Dylan made a rare public statement to apologise for selling copies of his memoir that were advertised as being “hand-signed”, when they actually featured digital autographs.

It was revealed that signatures in copies of the singer’s book were actually created using an autopen, a machine used to store digital replicas of signatures.

Copies, priced at $599 (£420) each, were sold to fans, with the publisher including certificates of authenticity with each order.

The singer went on to reveal that he struggles with vertigo, making book signing sessions difficult.

“However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years,” he said.

“So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done ‘all the time’ in the art and literary world,” he explained.