Senior Chicago MC Rhymefest added his voice to the words surrounding Eminem’s past, echoing the criticism in a recent interview with Benzino.
On the My Opinion Podcast, Rhyme introduces a moment in his early days of combat rap, and he says he opened his eyes to the race and artistry of hip-hop. According to former Kanye West collaborators, he and Eminem were accidental in the 90s after accusing Detroit MC of racial threats against him.
When asked if he and Eminem had ever faced each other in the rap battle, Rhymfest replied: “In ’98, he fought Eminem in this game, called Scribble Jam.”
“It’s the biggest fight in the Midwest and one of the biggest rap fights in the country,” he added.
According to Rhymefest, this is the first time he has been called racial slander by white people.
He said, “He said, ‘I’ll let my razor split you until they have to sew you/n #### Turn my bread paper into a race issue.”
In the moment of reflection, Rhymefest explains how it forced him to think differently about the impact of racism in entertainment.
“I realized something about racism that day,” he said. “That’s why ‘family Guy’ works. It’s good only when it’s fun. It’s non-criminal only when it’s paint.”
He admits that Eminem’s skills are so sharp that the crowds let the bar slide.
“If you say S ###, that’s not paint, that’s going to be a problem,” he said. “But you’re so cold, brave, man, you did it, escape.”
Nevertheless, Rhymefest emphasizes that only one can be exempted from accountability.
“I had to dig deep, like you were white raps,” he said. “You had to dig deep, like what was that person?”
In his opinion, the encounter won the battle with him, but Eminem eventually won the war.
Rhymefest’s recollections after Benzino’s fresh remarks were followed by a public review of Eminem’s early lyrics and the industry’s cover-up efforts. In a recent interview, Benzino accused the music director of deliberately covering up the rapper’s racial offensive past in order to protect his career.
“Why did he be so afraid of interviewing with the black media for more than 20 years of his career?” Benzino asked. “He will reveal himself.”
Benzino points to the controversial early recordings that resurfaced a few years ago and asserts that Eminem has received some level of protection, which black artists rarely get. He recalls the tag claiming Eminem was only 16 years old and having a romantic relationship with a black girl when he spoke – although Benzino said the rapper was actually 21 years old.
According to Benzino, executives, including Jimmy Iovine, held closed-door meetings to manage the rebound.
“They walked into a room and said, ‘We have to solve this problem.’ Benzino believes that this defense is to soften the blow and portray Eminem as a misleading youth, rather than an adult man making racist remarks.
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