During Eminem’s five-year absence, the critically-acclaimed rapper listened to many MCs, but none surprised him more than Lil Wayne.

“I did feel like hip-hop was kinda going through a drought,” Em told “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” on Tuesday. “At the same time I felt there were certain artists that were out over the past few years that really got better.”

Among those was Lil Wayne. “When he first came out, you could see the potential and you could kinda see where it was gonna go,” said Slim Shady. “Lil Wayne got dope out of nowhere. It just happened really fast. Within the last couple of years, artists like him and Kanye kinda crept up. From [Wayne’s] first album to the progress that he’s made to now.”

Aside from Weezy and Kanye, Eminem was also impressed by T.I., whose Paper Trail album was among his favorites of 2008. “I had a few studio sessions with [T.I.]. We did a couple records together and I was just like, wow. With this last album that he put out, he did it.”