Dr. Umar Johnson, a controversial activist who has received criticism for his opinions on homosexuality, interracial marriage and antisemitism, has doubled down on his recent comments where he claimed that calling Eminem one of the greatest rappers of all time was “white supremacy.”
After being roundly criticized for his remarks, Dr. Umar went on Instagram Live on Wednesday (December 27) and defended his opinions.
“When I look at the responses from America’s Caucasian community over this issue of Eminem being the G.O.A.T. of Hip Hop — and let me say this: I have nothing personal against Eminem,” he said.
“My comments had nothing to do with Mr. Marshall Mathers personally. And I want Mr. Marshall Mathers to understand that Dr. Umar Ifatunde harbors no personal ill will towards you. You are a talented musician, lyricist, producer. You seem like you are an okay guy.”
He continued: “So my comments are not personal; they apply to any non-African. This is about business — the business of protecting the integrity of African culture.
“But from a cultural integrity perspective, haven’t they stolen enough from us? Haven’t they appropriated enough from us? Haven’t they robbed, stole, killed, enslaved, lynched, miseducated, mass incarcerated, politically dominated us enough?”
“The fact that you got Black people arguing for a white man to be considered the greatest of all time in an African artform speaks to how psychologically ill we are as a race of people,” he concluded.
Previously appearing on The Joe Budden Podcast, Dr. Umar Johnson took issue with rap fans’ reverence of Eminem, who remains the highest-selling rapper of all time.
“No non-African can ever be the best of anything African. It is an insult to the ancestors, it is an insult to the race and it is an insult to every Black person,” he declared.
“We gotta stop naming non-African people as being the best of any aspect of our cultural power because it is an insult … I can acknowledge Eminem’s talent. But for you to put him at the top, that’s white supremacy.”
He added: “I don’t see Eminem building no schools and hospitals. I don’t see DJ Khaled building no schools and hospitals.”
Melle Mel has also previously criticized Eminem’s standing in Hip Hop after he was named one of the five greatest rappers of all time by Billboard.
“Obviously he’s a capable rapper. If you was talking about sales, he’s sold more than everybody. If you were talking about rhyme style, okay he got a rhyme style. But he’s white. He’s white!” the Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five pioneer said.
“So now if Eminem was another n-gga like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list when a n-gga that could rhyme just as good as him is 35? That had records and all that? He’s 35. He’s white.”
He continued: “If you don’t think that race plays a part in the equation of how great he is — I heard one of the dudes that’s down with him, Royce Da 6’9″ [mislabelling Royce Da 5’9″] or one of those – I heard he’s just as good as Eminem.
“Why he ain’t as big as Eminem? Because he’s Black! Ain’t none of that shit hard to figure out. Eminem gets a top spot because he’s white.”
Who ?
Black people once again bringing race into everything lol typical.. so a white guy is better then 99.9% of black rappers and they can’t stand it.. again typical lol
99.9%? You bugging. Only a White or Wannabe White person would say some dumb sh** like that.
Eh, I’d agree. There’s gotta be well over 10,000 decent rappers out there. I’d say you’re just hating if you don’t put Em in top 100. And that is .1% of 10k. Em IMO is top 5 due to his early work, and I’m someone who talks crap about Em. He annoys me. But I can’t deny how great his first few albums were. Now I hate anything he touches.
Someone needs to talk about the white man for attention, yet wouldn’t survive a day in let’s say… Nigeria. Let’s complain about racism while being racist. What a clown.
This guy is an idiot, I am Mexican and if a black guy can make best tacos I ever had am I going to be crying wahh wahh wahh cuz he not mexican?? Haha bro get over it Eminem is a GOAT and I’m not even a big fan but I lyrical and word play nobody can top him.. black people as a race have to do better smh
Mexico is fcked up too, bruh. Worry about your own race. Ours ain’t your concern.
What a racist rant …. Your culture hasn’t had everything stolen from them so you cant understand or comprehend what the argument is about.
Mexicans haven’t had everything stolen from them? You’re uneducated. Mexicans carry SPANISH last names and they’re not from Spain, idiot. Just like blacks carry European names. Secondly, Mexicans ARE native Americans. They had the whole country of the U.S. taken from them. Listen man…I’m not a scholar, but for you to be an adult and not even have an adult and not even have an inkling of American history is embarrassing. Don’t throw your two cents into these discussions, you’ll make a fool of yourself. Go to school.
You sound stupid. There was no country when Europeans arrived. Whites created the United States. Indigenous people” slaughtered and enslaved each other mercilessly, stealing and conquering land whenever they could. We conquered their lands just as they had conquered the same lands. The law of conquest. All people, everywhere, lived by it. I’m happy that this land was conquered. It is an immeasurably better place now than it would have been had Europeans never showed up. I’m proud of our history and grateful. I will never apologize for it. I will celebrate our heroes and laugh in your face when your cry about it.
So there are quite a few things here. Want to talk about everything Caucasians have taken from black people. What about EVERYONE taking from the Indians? What about what everyone has taken from Mexicans, Asians, etc. Why is he only talking about rap? Who cares what anyone’s opinion is about who is/isn’t a GOAT? It’s subjective. I would think a Dr. would have better things to argue and talk about. “No non-African can ever be the best at anything African”??? Oh, so we are doing that now. Well then, I guess that goes opposite then too right? This world has become so ridiculous.
Joe Budden usual trick… Viewership dips, mention Eminem.
Eminem is hebrew
this man is disturbed as does not speak for a race off people. This place is garbage af so I’m not surprised he’s given oxygen here. Look at the comments and you will see why these weirdos promote this shit.
Not defending white people just against the argument that someone born way after slavery is being blamed for it. If the generations born after slavery are still acting bad towards black people then it is warranted. I was born in 91 and the first born from my family in America yet slavery is my fault because my skin is white. Americas history and the worlds history is abhorrent. But don’t blame the wrong people for it. I love Black people and all people regardless of race or skin color. Everyone needs to go back and read some MLK, I have a dream….
Black people need white people to lay off the mic because they not as good as a talented white folk? That’s all that this BLM Oprah Winfrey type mofucka talking.
Well, Eminem is not the GOAT, but this guy is a racist fuck.
He’s generating clicks and getting a lot of attention. He knows what he’s doing. Stop feeding into it, you’re only helping him.
This is a backwards and racist thing to say, having good skills on the mic got nothing to do with colour, I am black and I still think eminem the 🐐.
N****, YOU are a Non-African! These Hoteps don’t get it. Africa sold us out. To this day they are just like White people, consumers of Black American culture while not giving a s*** about us. Dr. Umar needs to take two seats on this issue. Instead of blaming White folks and making excuses, he needs to start holding our community accountable for the BS we’re on.
Tell you what Dr. Umar, well give yall back hip hop and yall give us back basketball. How about that ? We lower the hoop and give all the NBA positions to white men, and let their black predecessors use their extraordinary educations to make a living in the corporate world. Lets make the trade. If not, STFU.
Benzino put his neck on the line versus a Prime Eminem back in the 2000’s for people to make these type comments on a washed up Eminem today. Now Benzino has no neck.
Who cares what this bum says tho.. we know the playback now..need attention like a woman..talk about EM or whites..entire race is embarrassing at this point
Nobody cares. More important people than this nameless idiot have tried to take that guy down and they failed as well.
only simps concern themselves over other people’s GOAT list.Its grown adults throwing tantrums because people like different artists then them. very narcissistic and childish. This fool seems like an attention seeker too
Dude said Royce 6’9 instead of 5’9!? Lol, that’s crazy
So by his logic, Black folks shouldn’t be the best in the NFL or NBA because it would be insulting to the white folks that created the game. Shit, any sport for that matter. His logic if flawed and stupid. It’s a human thing. Some people are better at things then others. It’s not race related, it’s skill and talent.
By this logic, Tiger Woods should be excluded from any list containing the best golfers.
“Stolen”…. you can’t steal art or culture. Culture produces art. Culture is universal. We all “steal” Culture. I can’t say what I like most, Italian, Mexican, Japanese, German… love all sorts of food and cultures. Food is cultural. Can’t steal it. It’s something we learn and enjoy. Black people didn’t “steal” veccaci or however you spell the clothing brand, considering they were popular amongst Europeans before Americans. If you don’t want your Culture to be “stolen”, then step 1 is DONT SELL IT OT SHARE IT. Hide it. Didn’t want hiphop to be done and liked worldwide? Then you shouldn’t have used it to make money.
I bet this dude would argue Michael Jackson only got so big because his skin changed and people then thought he was a white man lmfao. I don’t think any white person was so insecure that they felt Jackson stole their culture. People just respect the great pop star that he was (not talking about his actions, just the music he put out)
no lies detected
Hating on your own people for liking something diverse lol Em the GOAT the man conquered and ahead of his time. And Royce is Cold!! He don’t have hits its just a different respected wave imo but ohh well
The guy is a flat out racist and full blown nutjob. Google him and check his history, the Eminem comments are tame compared the other stuff this guy has said. Although that interview was hilarious just to watch how hysterical he got with his tantrum. Yapping about privilege against a guy that grew up in a trailer yet he went to university himself? Let me find out his real name is “Clarence”….
Melle Mel wadn’t sayin Royce Da 5 9 dope lyk Eminem, he wah sayin King Tekashi 6ix9ine nicer than Eminem but it went in over dey head.
The silly old racism card yet again. Mega boring.
He said Royce 6’9 instead of Royce 5’9?! LOL, that’s crazy
He said Royce 6’9 instead of Royce 5’9?! LOL, that’s crazy
SHUT THE FUCK UP NAGGA! NECRO OWNS RAP LOOK HIM UP!
Wait… hip hop is an American art form, not an African art form. It didn’t originate in Africa and it wasn’t even created by 1st or 2nd generation African immigrants. While it was created by Americans with mostly African lineage they weren’t doing it as any kind of African tradition or anything, they were creating it uniquely from their own experience as Americans.
I guess no black person can be called the GOAT of basketball since it was created and almost exclusively played by whites for quite a while. lol Maaaaan GTF addahere!
Rap is nothing but poetry set to music. He’s an idiot.
He’s trying to usurp Farrakhan’s platform, but he doesn’t got the juice. If a guy like this didn’t have hatred to fuel him every day, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. He has no talent, charisma, wisdom, so he’s gonna try to gain fame through vitriolic and controversial b.s…make no mistake about it, this guy is after money and fame. He’s a snake-oil salesman.
He’s absolutely right…in every aspect.. 4 me …BLACK THOUGHT IS FIRST..THEN…BIGGIE OR PAC…FABULOUS & CUBE & RED MAN & METHOD MAN, DRE.. & SNOOP.. THEY ALL ARE BETTER THAN EM….BUT EM IS DEFINITELY TOP 10/15…& DUDE FROM ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT..THAT FLOWED MR.WENDALL
They tell u in DEI training that caucasion is a racist term, this guys starts off this racist comment “When I look at the responses from America’s Caucasian community…”
Look, i never knew its considered r*cist term but thats what DEI training says now so #1 this guy should stop being racist #2 who tha f cares about race in 2024??? If you stuck on race in 2024 Im sorry but ur lame & u shud know by now its mostly media hype bc in real life race plays very minor role or no role at all during human interactions. Media tryin to trick us into making it a thing to divide us & this guy in middle of it & he’s hella lame for that