Though Eminem and Snoop Dogg have officially squashed whatever tension may have been affecting them, that hasn't stopped many from discussing what might have been on a speculative level. Even Method Man, himself a legendary lyricist and veteran of the Wu-Tang Clan, had plenty of thoughts on the feud-that-almost-was. Meth recently sat down on Math Hoffa's My Expert Opinion podcast, their first reunion since their bar-heavy rap battle last August, and the pair took a moment to analyze what might have initially driven Eminem and Snoop to a boiling point.
Snoop Dogg's Comments">Matthew Eisman/Getty Images
While he initially appears apathetic about the topic, citing that it ultimately has no impact on his own life and family, Method Man does open up about his own perspective. "In a room with just us in it, when we boys, we say shit like that to each other," explains Meth. "I don't fuck with your shit. And it's not taken in any way. But when it's in a public forum, it takes on a whole different light...I can sit here and tell my best friend Joey, shut the fuck up Joey. When it's just me and him, he won't take it no type of way. But when we in a room full of motherfuckas, now it takes on a whole other light."
"I think Em should have looked at it as boys being boys," continues Meth. "He don't like your music, so? He ain't say he don't fuck with you. He just said he don't play that shit. For Eminem, who's revered not just by white kids but black people, cause we know he respects the genre...If people want to draw lines in the sand, that shit was already there. There's such Eminem Stans, the n***a could say the wackest bar and they'd be like oh my god, did you hear what Eminem just said?" He laughs. "Same thing with Snoop. I'm pretty sure Em heard verses from Snoop where he was like 'that shit was garbage.' He could tell Snoop that, but Em is the type of person who would only tell Snoop that in a safe space because he understands the ramifications of making that public."
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
"Snoop on the other hand, he's not even a rapper no more," continues Meth. "He's beyond superstar. Everything he does is public forum, you gotta take it with a grain of salt. One time I said Snoop was the worst rapper/actor I ever seen. Next time I seen Snoop, it wasn't nothing! The n***a could have given two fucks cause he got the check already!" He also notes that Eminem doesn't necessarily have "thick skin," a conclusion made evident by his records. "If anybody say anything sideways about him, he went apeshit on them to the point where he ruined careers," explains Meth. "But we love that shit because that's where the culture came from."
"Everyone Em ever dissed on record, he hated their asses, but he don't have that energy with Snoop," he says. "So it hurt him, as opposed to igniting him."
Check out the lengthy conversation below, and should you find yourself in need of a refresher, head over to our Eminem & Snoop Dogg: A Complete History right here.