NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
Why does it always have to go down like this? Why do cats continue to poke the bear where Eminem is concerned? No matter what he does, his name is brought up in all kinds of controversy. Lately, it’s been regarding his status in Hip Hop.
While this is nothing new, within the last few years, many have gone as far as to question his place in the top 5-10 debate and some have even gone as far as questioning his skills.
The debate regarding the best ever will always be between the likes of Rakim, Jay Z, Biggie, Nas, and some will even throw in Tupac. But Hip-Hop fans, especially those of darker skin tones, seem to leave Eminem out of that debate. And their reasons are downright crazy.
“He threads a bunch of words together quickly and it seems as if he saying something nice but he’s just rhyming meet with feet and greet.” Ummm, yeah ok.
Anyway, the latest person to try Eminem was Hip-Hop pioneer, Melle Mel. According to Mel, the reason Em is as big as he is, is due to his complexion. Ok, what if white Americans flocked to the stores and purchased Em’s albums? What does that have to do with his skills on the mic?
Mel, like a few others, is seeing the person in front of the mic and not the words the person is saying. Eminem is not to be taken lightly at all. Em has gone toe-to-toe with some of the best to ever do it and has left each song almost unscathed. And then, those same MCs we hold in high regard are the same ones saying how dope Eminem is. But Melle Mel, like Game, and Lord Jamar, continue to ignore the praise being thrown at Em and they do their best to get their name buzzing by attacking him in the media.
Eminem is a battle MC. That’s how he came up in the game. He lives for these moments. However, these older MCs who consider themselves legends in Hip Hop are forgetting one thing– Eminem himself, is a legend as well.
When Mel said what he said, he had every right to speak his mind. But Em is not one of these fresh off the block, new to the scene, start-struck type of rappers. He respects the history of Hip Hop and those that paved the way. But does that mean he shouldn’t respond?
Melle Mel had to learn the hard way. He spoke ill of Em, Em responded, Mel responded, and that should be the final status. This was not about Eminem disrespecting Hip Hop or a legend. This was him defending himself as he always has since he came into the game.
Why do rappers continue to poke the bear here? Em is not the guy you want to go back and forth with. It’s the same with Jay, Nas, and others who took the baton and ran with it. Em is no different. It’s his skin color. As a pioneer of Hip Hop, shouldn’t cats like Melle Mel be happy? Go to any Hip Hop concert in any city or country and you will see white people in the stands going verse-to-verse with as much passion as the blacks.
They have always been there but Em brought them closer to the culture. Does it matter if cats in the hood are blasting his music in their cars or on the corners? Ask any of them who can get the best of Em on a track and see what their answers are. He’s a lyricist and a showman. I mean, if we want to get funky with it, wasn’t Mel out here wearing tight leather pants back in his day?
Maybe one day cats will realize that you should just let sleeping giants sleep. Maybe Em fell for the hook by responding to Mel in the first place. However, when an OG calls you out, you better respond and that’s what Em did.
While Mel has since deleted, apologized, and backtracked his earlier statement regarding Eminem, the damage was already done. We can’t take away Mel’s place in Hip Hop history but these older cats better recognize that Eminem deserves his spot there as well.
