Longtime fans of Eminem and Shady Records in general likely remember the early-millennium feud with Murder Inc, Benzino, and even Suge Knight's revised and repurposed Death Row Records. In fact, when Murder Inc found common ground and joined forces with Suge, the threat level surrounding the already volatile feud seemed to explode. It reached the point where Eminem was traveling with a bulletproof vest, as unexpected violence ran the risk of popping off at every turn.
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In 2003, the year that marked the height of the feud, Eminem found himself connecting with the Samoan hip-hop crew Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E, with whom he and B-Real joined for the song "911." An unexpected collaboration on paper, many fans were puzzled as to how Em and the Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E crossed paths to begin with. The answer was clarified back in October, when Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E's nephew Monsta Gunjah explained that Paul Rosenberg had reached out to his uncles, in the hopes that The Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E could provide security to Slim, who was in the midst of being "extorted by some Crips." In exchange, Eminem repaid the favor by honoring their request for a feature, producing the track as well.
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As it happens, HipHopDX actually addressed the track during an extensive interview with B-Real, and the Cypress Hill legend provided a bit of insight into how his own contribution to "911" came to be. "I didn’t hear too much about that because I never got involved with any of that stuff with Em,” B-Real told DX, speaking specifically about the track's dramatic origin story. "They just called me to be on this record and Boo-Yaa, they’ve always been family to us. Ganxsta Ridd was one of my big time homies. They were always with us in the early days."
“And I didn’t think of the politics, he was just somebody I wanted to get down with because I love Em," he continues. "He’s one of my favorite top three, and so I had a chance to work with him there, along with my family. It was a no brainer to me, and yeah, you know the politics I heard about it later, but Boo-Ya washed that shit out for them....If [Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E] got behind you and they said, ‘Hey, he’s with us,’ you don’t fuck with him. Nobody fucks with those guys. But yeah, I was just glad to get on it, and me and Em talked about it some time later, and it was just a cool experience."
For more from B-Real, be sure to check out the entire interview courtesy of HipHopDX right here. In the meantime, catch up on "911," the lone collaboration between Eminem, B-Real, and The Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E below.