Eminem has frequently shown love to hip hop’s forefathers, as they inspired him to become the legendary rapper he is today. He mentioned over 100 different hip hop artists in his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, where he expressed gratitude for the hip hop artists he grew up listening to. While Eminem may pay homage to his favorites, he has been at odds with many notable figures in hip hop. He recently beefed with Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Known for foundational hip hop classics like “The Message,” Melle Mel was one of the many “heroes” that Eminem mentioned in his speech. Today, we are breaking down the short-lived beef between Eminem and Melle Mel.
How The Beef Started
Earlier this year, The Art of Dialogue interviewed Melle Mel, who took issue with Eminem's placement at No. 5 on Billboard’s list of the 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time. Mel, who appeared on the same list at No. 48, claimed Eminem’s placement was based on his race. He expressed, “If Eminem was another n**** like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list?” Melle Mel continued to discredit Eminem’s placement, saying, “If you was talking about sales, he’s sold more than anybody. If you were talking about rhyme style, okay he got a rhyme style. But he’s white!”
A contentious opinion, this is not the first time that members of the hip hop community have attributed Eminem’s commercial success to his race. Eminem once acknowledged these views in his 2002 song “White America.” He rapped, “If I was Black, I would’ve sold half.” Nonetheless, he still replied to Melle Mel in true Slim Shady fashion on a song.
Eminem Fires Back At Melle Mel
Earlier this month, Eminem teamed up with his latest Shady Records signee, Ez Mil, on “The Realest.” His guest verse consisted of multiple lyrics directly responding to Melle Mel’s comments. He raps, “Guess I've really no right to complain much hip hop has been good to me / But when they say that I'm only top five 'cause I'm white why would I be stunned.” Eminem continued by addressing the sentiments that being a white rapper automatically puts him in the Top 5: “My skin color's still working against me 'cause second I should be to none / Being white ain't why they put me at five it's why they can't put me at one.” Eminem even shouts out Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, joking about Melle Mel’s alleged steroid addiction.
Melle Mel Responds, Hip Hop Reacts
Just a few days later, Melle Mel responded to Eminem’s verse on “The Realest,” with a diss track of his own. Titled “Melle Mel’s Response to Eminem’s Latest Diss,” the hip hop pioneer defended his original claims. The song, which is less than two minutes long, consists of lines aimed at Eminem: “The Top 5 is cap, you the piss that’s on the floor in the elevator of rap.” Listeners clowned Mel's response, despite his courage to reply to a rapper known for lethal disses. Many took to Twitter to make fun of the response, joking about his simplistic rhyming. One user wrote, "Melle Mel counted to 8 while dissing Eminem.” Since they exchanged disses, it appears that they have mostly settled the beef.
Melle Mel Apologizes To Eminem
After responding to Eminem with a diss track, Melle Mel walked back his original comments last weekend and admitted that his response “fell short.” In light of celebrating hip hop’s 50th anniversary during a performance at Yankee Stadium in New York, he shared a statement on social media to show his change of heart.
Melle Mel both apologized to Eminem and complimented his contributions to hip hop. He also showed gratitude for being mentioned in the rapper’s Hall of Fame induction speech. While Eminem has not yet publicly acknowledged Melle Mel’s public apology, it appears that they squashed their beef just in time for hip hop’s 50th anniversary.
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