Twitter lit on fire after Melle Mel said that Eminem's only considered a top five rapper because he's white. “Obviously, he’s a capable rapper. If we was talkin’ about sales, he sold more than everybody, if you talkin’ about rhyme style, okay, he got a rhyme style. But he’s white! He’s white!” said Mel. “So now, if Eminem was just another n***a like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list? When a n***a that can rhyme just as good as him is [No.] 35? That had records and all that. He’s 35. He’s white.”
After Mel made these comments, people took to social media to vehemently disagree or dig at Marshall even further. Also, some took the Furious Five member's lead on what things might look like if other rappers were white. “And the point is this: if I was white, n***a, I’d be greater than [Elvis Presley]. N***a be like, ‘Melle Mel is greater than Elvis. Melle Mel is the greatest white man that has ever lived. He came up with a culture, he was a part of a culture that changed the whole world. That is a great ass white man right there.’ But I’m not white. I’m one of the n***as.”
Twitter Reacts To Melle Mel Saying Eminem Is Only Top 5 Because He's White
“So, you know, anybody can be as mad as they want," he continued. "They can feel how they wanna feel. If you don’t think that race plays a part in the equation in how great he is—I heard one of the dudes that’s down with him, [Royce Da 5’9”], I heard he’s just as good as Eminem. Why ain’t he as big as Eminem? Because he’s Black! None of that s**t [is] hard to figure out!”
Regardless of your take on Mel's assessment, it does open an age-old interesting conversation on how race is a factor in these conversations. As one of the most successful artists in a Black-rooted art form, the "Lose Yourself" star is not in an easy position. However, one thing that Twitter reacts confirmed in this situation is that it's not as black-and-white as some might assume. Check out Twitter's reactions to Melle Mel's view of Eminem and return to HNHH for the latest on hip-hop's legends.