Earl Sweatshirt and Eminem have a checkered past that dates back to the Revival. Both Earl and Tyler were pretty outspoken in their denunciation of Eminem's poppier output. Even though the remarks may have been intended as "biting criticism," Eminem did not take kindly to hearing his name called by rappers in a, shall we say, abdicated position.
His defensive position would suggest that Eminem believes he has done enough in the early portion of his career to be above criticism the rest of the way. But in Eminem's defense, he did bring Earl and Tyler on tour with him in the past, beyond the fact Eminem laid the foundation for a morose trend of rap suffused by the generations that followed.
But needless to say, Earl and Eminem are still at odds with one another, in the passive form. In a recent interview with Vulture, Earl let his tongue slip yet again, and Eminem wasn't the only person on the receive a little consternation. For what it's worth, the interview did "tee him up."
The interviewer mentioned Eminem and Kanye West by name as examples of "older" rappers who'd undergone embarrassing Internet moments this year, knowing full well Earl was capable of a biting remark, on his best day.
"You can tell who really just started using the internet," Earl responded, paused for a moment before heaping praise on other hip-hop figures such as J Dilla. There are worst fates in this World than being a tad bit "out of touch."
Check out the full transcript here.