During an interview with Vlad TV, Dr. Boyce Watkins offered praise to Eminem on his artistry, but also stated that the Detroit, Michigan rapper “is a little bit of a product of white privilege.”
The author/political analyst shared his thoughts on Em after he was asked if Eminem is the king of Hip Hop. Dr. Watkins chuckled at the question before offering a stern “no.” He then went on to break down the reasons why he feels Eminem is in fact a product of white privilege.
“I like Eminem though as a rapper,” Dr. Boyce Watkins said. “The first time I ever heard him back in the 90s, I thought he was a great artist. Eminem is as true of a lyricist as you’re gonna see. And he’s also great because he shows respect to those who came before him. So, he’s not Iggy Azalea or whatever. He’s a guy that I think at the core of his heart he’s not a wigger, but he’s not a white boy. He’s just who he is. And to me, I think that Eminem to some extent is a little bit of a product of white privilege for two reasons.
“One, he does get a little bit of that Elvis effect,” he added. “You’re a white rapper. You’re as good as the black guy. People are gonna love you more because you’re white…The other thing about Eminem that I think is an artifact of white privilege is that Eminem gets something that a lot of black artists don’t get. He gets to be a pure and true artist. Eminem, if you listen to his music, he raps about everything that’s in his soul and in his spirit. There’s not sort of this very programmatic, predictable, continual music that comes from him. Where he’s always talking about the same thing…And so, what I see with a lot of artists who’ve become corporatized is just sort of the same old stuff. And it gets old after a while.”
Dr. Watkins was later asked if Eminem selling 50 million more records than Jay Z would make the Motor City lyricist the king of Hip Hop. He explained that the king of Hip Hop would be decided by the Hip Hop purists and the Hip Hop community, and not through album sales.
“Album sales should never define who the best artist is,” Dr. Watkins said. “There are some artists who are so extraordinary that they can sell one record and everybody would still consider them to be among the best…If you’re looking at it in terms of who the king of Hip Hop is, I think that would be decided more amongst the Hip Hop purists, the Hip Hop community.”
For additional Eminem coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
Yeah I get this as a white boy. Im glad he didnt make it sound completely racist though. But he needs to worry about his own race before worrying about whoses privileged.
So , noticing a person has a privilege (freedom to do something) Within his own culture, which his own “race” as u say, inside that culture doesn’t have, isn’t considered worrying about his own race, in your mind?
So, if I bring my family to ur dinner table and we all get a plate, but none of ur family get dessert, you shouldn’t be concerned with that happening?
I can’t wait for your brilliant answer to that
And a product of powerful prescription drugs, don’t forget that. Before Obamacare– and even with– how many black folks have access to the same? That Em has been fucking horrible since at least 2003 only goes to show you what White Power really means.
You are an idiot, Eminem is a great rapper, go back to listening to Lil Wayne and 2Chainz
White Privilege. It’s the same thing with Drake. The 2 biggest artists and they just happen to be white and can say anything and radio will play it.
Linux or a Windows OS I know which one I prefer ..
The last thing the radio played consistently of Drake was when he dropped “Hold on, We’re going home” Drake music rarely gets played on Mainstream media and et he is disputed the greatest of this generation. but every time Em drops a album at least 1 of those songs gets played on the radio CONSTANTLY! not hating on Em.
I love Dr. Watkins, and I am a big Em fan, but he is 100% correct. But why are we STILL talking about this? Em himself has admitted to this time after time. If it’s not Em’s fault or concern, why are we holding on to something that is an issue with our society as a whole, instead of trying to alleviate it within Hip Hop? You look at who owns these major labels…it’s powerful, rich, White men. They don’t care about changing this dynamic if it matters that much to artists, so THEY need to change it. Instead of getting rich and stuntin all the damn time, reinvest in your passion and be an owner if you want to shift the paradigm. Shit….lol.
oh diddy is powerful rich man? oh jayz is too? oh so is birdman? wait dr dres white too?
foh
@lol White men are behind all the people you mentioned, so what is your point? If those hip hop producers weer for revolutionary or conscious rhetoric in the music they would have their funding cut. White people only allow black people who go by their agenda to be in power. Unless you are truly independent. So your argument is weak.
Great interview. It all made perfect sense. I love how this dude laughed when asked if Eminem is the king of hip-hop. It’s funny because it’s a joke. Eminem is one of the most overrated rappers of all time.
Is the “18” in your name there because you’re 18?? If so then WTF would u know about hip hop anyway youngsta?
18th Street Gang running over your hood, homie. So what the fucc you goin’ on about? Did you get a little ass hurt over my post, dicchead?
Oh you another one of them internet thugs. Cool
smh when you read the title you think Dr. Boyce is dissing Eminem, that’s not true
‘album sales should never define who the best artist is’……hahaha wise up watkins u fool of course they define who’s the greatest u idiot, i mean fck sake am not gonna go out an buy an album from someone who is shit. also if this wasn’t about eminem u would be saying they deserve to be king
The Young Thug fans weigh in….back to reality
^Nah he can’t be a Young Thug fan. He’s making the claim that album sales show who’s the best. I don’t think selling 17k first week makes you the best.
album sales should never define who the best artist is’……hahaha wise up watkins u fool of course they define who’s the greatest u idiot,
^ why hip-hop is dead
Fucking racist asshole being white has nothing to do with why em is the goat and raps circles around all these black clown ass rappers
Eminem is washed up…NEVER WAS THE KING OF hIPhOP
True bronx he never “was” but he always will be
Calvin candie django funny huh kill yourself slowly
Are You kidding me right now? you just call him racist and look at how you just opened up your comment you fucking hypocrite. Secondly Eminem cannot rap circles around every rap artist maybe old eminem but face it fanboy his last few efforts have sucked.
Certainly, a lot of Eminem’s success comes from white privilege. Although, I wouldn’t necessarily say that he was always a beneficiary of it. I think the 90s weren’t much of a good time for white rappers(blame that on Vanilla Ice) and labels weren’t really looking to sign them. I think Em got signed purely based on talent. But definitely, white privilege came in later and is one of many reasons why he’s the top selling rapper of all time. I think anyone who refutes this needs to stop being delusional.
But most of all, Eminem recognizes his privilege. He’s not the kind of white guy that has to have his privilege checked. He’s fully aware of it and he always will be. Which only reminds me why White America is one of my favorite songs by him.
, white privilege came in later and is one of many reasons why he’s the top selling rapper of all time
thats white SUPPORT not priv. people dont even know the difference between supporting and privelages smh
You idiot…..often blind white support is a part of white privilege.
^ that’s the dumbest shit I ever hear.. bc a person is loyal? you sound dumb..people are loyal to Eminem, not white rappers..just bc eminems hot doent mean mgk or rittz or yelawolf get a pass..
you all got racist minds
Do you read? I said often not always idiot smh
The other thing about Eminem that I think is an artifact of white privilege is that Eminem gets something that a lot of black artists don’t get. He gets to be a pure and true artist. Eminem, if you listen to his music, he raps about everything that’s in his soul and in his spirit. There’s not sort of this very programmatic, predictable, continual music that comes from him. Where he’s always talking about the same thing…And so, what I see with a lot of artists who’ve become corporatized is just sort of the same old stuff. And it gets old after a while.”
^
this is true. don’t think it racist, more of just …some artist have to sell their soul for their music to be played. Em can just be Em.
Yes I can agree that part and only PART of the reason he’s successful may be due to his skin color but I’ll always respect em for staying a true lyricist even with his top level popularity.. Shit he has enough money for him to even quit hip hop and retire, he’s popular enough to give us half ass dumbed down albums that are just made to sell.. But no he still puts his heart and soul into that mic. No he aint the best rapper that ever existed, no he aint as good as he was in his prime.. But he’s 43 years old and still a beast among these other half assed rappers with their dumbed down lyrics about weed money and ho’s and the gangsta lives they never lived
Spot on. Sick of this argument. You listening too Lord Jamar?
You did hear his last two albums right? Dude went Pop a half a decade ago. Stop it LOL
THEN WHY ISNT EVERY OTHER WHITE RAPPER SO POPULAR????
ITS HIS TALENT YOU STUPID RACIST FUCKS
Macklemore won a grammy. Iggy can’t even rap and she’s a pop star, you stupid racist fuck.
Iggy is shit on daily by everyone and she is a pop artist. Macklemore made a song about gay acceptance when every rapper was quaking in their Air Yeezys not wanting to piss off their fanbase. These 2 artists made inoffensive, broad, poppy music and they experienced the fame that everyone gets when they make broad, inoffensive, poppy music. Stop trying to claim racism every time you see a white person doing something, retard.
Shut your dumb ass mouth, Tommy.
Nadya can’t handle being BTFO
Go back to your Klan rally, you pathetic shit-kicker. You’re too stupid for even the lowly dreck that is an internet comment section.
Has anyone heard Eminem’s racist song “Foolish Pride”? He calls the originators of Hip-Hop the N word. It’s hard for me to get into Eminem because he lacks substance and content. I can’t relate to his lyrics and lack of message. I liked MMLP and Slim Shady for their comedic and production value, but i just can’t take Eminem seriously.
Why the Fuck does Eminem look like MJ in that picture???
Huge Em fan, and I think he IS the king of Hip-Hop….
But he is absolutely a product of white privilege. Back when he was a nobody, battling, this wasn’t the case. His race worked AGAINST him then. But the second he made it to TRL and into the living rooms of white America, his skin has been his biggest marketing asset.
That doesn’t say anything about his skill or whether or not he deserves to be where he is. It’s just a fact.
I agree completely.
Lol…. some of you dont like or get him because he doesn’t rap about GuNs and hoes and slapping Bs around. Like any other rapper he rapps what he sees in his eyes in the hood
Why the fuck do people act like eminem is some sort of conscious rapper? Eminens early discography is all punchlines, jokes, and mockery in a great flow, then he just lost the flow and jokes and now just screams on tracks spitting a thousand words a minute.
So many black artist have messages that are way better than eminem.
Tupac
Talib Kweli
k.dot
Common
Nas
But whatever. Eminent stans will live on forever I guess.
There’s like one white rapper people can agree is great and buttmad black people still just can’t accept it. Everyone shits on every other white rapper daily, they can’t even just accept that one is top-5 status. But then they’ll go on about how Nas is underrated when he is accurately mid-level rated.
Actually most black purists do have Eminem near or in there top 5. You are correct though Sir. we all nearly have Nas as #1 or in the Top %. You’re batting 500 for now Sir. LMAO
There are loads of other white rappers who never made it big as em……… Yelawolf, mac miller, machine gun kelly, now why oh why haven’t they made it big and why hasn’t their skin color benefited them.. What ya say about that??
that’s crap… did this dude not grow up poverty stricken?, rose through the ranks of the “underground” rap scene before landing a deal… no… not white privilege, he worked his ass off…. just one more asshole trying to start a race war to murder more white people… that’s all this is..
Daniel I was with you SON until you over reached yourself with the “Trying to murder white people comment ” .
Just for clarity’s sake please name the white rappers who have been murdered by black rappers ?
PS, Most white murders are committed by fellow whites ..Just the same way the majority of black murders are committed by their fellow blacks in the good old US of A
Really some of the comments whenever Eminem is mentioned on this site are just borderline weird and creepy
There are so many other “white rappers” who haven’t done shit. Em was signed by Dr. Dre. That’s what benefited his career in the beginning 100%. The rest he did on his own. When it comes to lyricism, Em the greatest. Don’t trip. The nigga even said on The Eminem Show, “Let’s do the math: If I was black, I woulda sold half / I ain’t have to graduate Lincoln High School to know that”…
Eminem is the king with cooperate or without it. Take rap god for example 1,560 words in 6:05 minutes thats fuckin 4.28 words per secound. I have not heard Jay Z, Kanye, or any other rapper to have 4.28 words per second in 6 05 minutes. so that’s why Eminem is the king of hip hop and beats Kanye, Jay Z, biggie, 2pac, or even NAS. Eminem is also over the age of 40 and still is getting faster.he also just featured in a song by techn9ne and is just as fast.
Doesn’t make it good music.
LOL… Eminem is dope ..But really your getting your panties in a twist because he can spit “4.28” words per second .. If that’s your hiphop benchmark no doubt Twista must be second in your top 5 DOA . #cute
only a white person from seattle would use statistics to prove eminem to be the greatest. he made 2 good albums and then became the most annoying rapper of all time. terrible voice and cadence, boring ass lyrics. he sucks. and so do the sea-pigeons. cornball.
It’s corporate not (cooperate) dumb ass . Learn to fucking spell correctly .
and only black ppl come on eminem blogs to troll bc theyre mad about the rap god being god of rap
Sorry that would be Nas^^^^^
@ Seahawk AKA LOL ..Like Jack said learn to spell you stupid trailer trash inbred it’s they’re not theyre … Plus you are using it in the wrong context dumb peasant .
eminem is a product of skill, talent and work ethic
did being white give him the ability to rap? did being white give him the ability to say fuck the club, smoking drinkning im gonna rap and put all my money into battle rapping and studio time? no and no
eminem is a great and people jsut cant see white people SUPPORT eminem. theres been many white rappers before and after eminem who failed. eminem says bec he deserves it
miss me with the white priv. shit (doesnt even apply in this case, it would be whte support not privelage.)
Is that you Stan?
Did Dr Dre help Eminem monetize the talent he has ?
Did Proof help Eminem’s early career in regards to supporting his friend when people were trying at first trying to ignore his OBVIOUS talent because he was white ?
At the end of the day Eminem is one of the most talented rappers of all time … Now please FUCK off with the race baiting “black ppl are mad comment” especially when a large part of his early fan base who supported him in the early days were black hiphop fans .
race baiting comment.. this whole article is race baiting..hiphop is nothing but race baiting..hiphops the only genre of music where skin color is relevant. the only genre where if your white your still looked down on..
fuck it white rappers here kicking doors down…fuck it if you dont like it.
and who cares who Em had help him..everyone in the game had someone help them unless your krs-1 or afrika bambistaa. thats a fact
eminem helped all his d-12 boys bc of HIS skills. not proof, not kuniva, not bizarre..eminems talents. emienm put 50 on, game on, banks on, putting slaughter house on. lol
eminem does more for hiphop than any black rapper out htere.. anoth fact.
^ Hip hop is just race baiting what the fuck are you talking about you degenerate loser . LOL …
P,S You obviously don’t know what color I am seeing as you feel the need to end your illiterate piece of nonsensical bullshit comment with
“fuck it white rappers here kicking doors down” I’m not BLACK you dumb piece of shit …L.M.A.O you really are a waste of space
who said i said you were black? lol theres whites, blacks, arabs, asians and hispanics..i never said either of the following except white lol
that whole comment had a bunch of words and said nothing at the same time..used as a tatic when you have nothing left to say and want to discredit being looked at like a jackass.
@ You’re Just Dumb .You ethered him with pure logic love it
God you really are a degenerate loser lets hope your gene pool stops with you . The fact that you cant even spell the most basic words really just makes all your contradicting comments even more irrelevant But you are so clearly lacking the requisite I,Q it’s just a waste of time trying to educate you . P.S DUH …You have inadvertently agreed with everything I said ….Jeezzz
and thats tatic number 2.. to sit online in a hiphop blog and when you no longer have anything to say regarding the debate. act like your an online english prof. lol like i care what you think about my online rap blog typing abilities. lol
where you get your english phd at professor lol. love ppl like you
and what did you say that i agreed or didnt agree with? my post wasnt to start a debate. if i agree with you cool, if i dont..who cares. but im giving out facts as to why eminem is on top..your all butt hurt giving me parapraphs of english essays instead of explaining why i might be mad
thats why i dont take you serious.
*Tactic* not *Tatic*
btw i just went thru a few of ur parapraghs..noticed a bunch of errors..most common is capital letters that should be and missing alot of commas. 🙂
you have a shit ton of run off sentences..might as well blog of hhdx
*You’re butthurt not *Your* butthurt …It’s most definitely been confirmed that you are ?… I will let you fill in the blanks 🙂
if you read back on this convo youll realize how dumb you sound.. you’ve got to be 14,15 tops.
Very well said. It’s sad that people want to force Eminem as the GOAT but all the true fans know he is just one of thee greats and dam sure not the GOAT Lol
Whenever this type of article comes out, there’s always those persons who always mention other white rappers. One white rapper I never see ever mentioned, is Slug from Atmosphere. I regard Em as a top 5 rapper. But look at Slug, larger discography, amazing lyricist, one of the most creative rapper I have ever heard, with amazing metaphors! I’m not saying Slug is better than Eminem, I’m just saying he should get more props. Atmosphere have quite a few amazing albums, yet nobody ever mentions them!
Yeah but Slug’s not white, homie.
You Know Slugz is mixed right? His father is Black.
Kendrick super fan….K-Dot s da king, God nd Saint of HH to mee.. Bt comparin Eminem to Pac, Nas nd Biggie ts a mistake, 1 Pac song equal to 10 Em rap god’s(Dear mama) a song whch no ada rapper can touch, evn K-DOT…….So u’ll dont got2 compare young boys to greatness
Dr. Watkins is always dropping that knowledge. I respect the man.
I feel like eminem was criticized even more because he was white pushing boundaries in a black dominant genre, so people didn’t like him more ’cause he is white people like him ’cause he had the biggest balls out everyone and did shit people didn’t even think about doing.
seriously, now being creative and not wanting to rap about the things black people been rapping about for 30 years in a row now is a white priv thing..
guess thats why white rappers are succeeding..we just have better minds, more to talk about and more to say then talking about bitchs and cars.
OK …………… 🙂
As far as sales go eminem has an unfair edge on people like kanye and jay-z because America is 65% white and he gets some sales from people that don’t listen to much hip hop. That is his only real privilege. On the other end I have met plenty of black people that won’t listen to anything outside urban music and some won’t F with Em.
Sure you have sure you have…..
Eminem is not the king of pop. He is the RAP GOD. So that’s it. Simple as can be.
Exactly //
if you wanna hear a Rap God you listen to KRS one
G Rap would slay KRS, lyrically.
Look take out skin color for once in your lives it can be done I do it everyday of my life I love Eminem I love Jay-Z but I hate Kanye okay and not one of them do I ever go oh he’s white or he’s black I go by how great a lyricist they are which is what matters in Rap and Hip – hop this is not soul or pop okay these men and women work very hard but some do not have the skill and some do now I am a huge fan of Rap and have always been I absolutely love Eminem he is my fav Jay-z is # 2 for me I love him too but my reasoning is that Eminem is a better lyricist if you listen to the words right not the hook c’mon who can do better it’s not cause he is white which I find highly racist I don’t like Jay-z because he is black I love him as a artist this shit sounds like we are in the 50’s still well he’s privileged because he is white wtf I’m white and I am far from privileged and if you knew Eminem aka Marshal’s life story how the hell can you call him Privileged get real man I am from around the same as he and no one there is privileged I’m white I never got any special treatment just like anyone else who grew up in the hood or projects black, white, mexican, we were all broke and had crappy lives get over it stop talking about race when it comes to things that it should not matter in skill and talent are all that matter grow up
White boy all you know is jay z and em dat aint hip hop you whack. Go lissen to some real artist then you wont think em is the greatest. Just cuz you like hov dont make not rascist white boy. You actually sound disrespectful comin out your mouf like this. This is the problem with america now….hidden rascism.
@maybach- from an outsider lookin in..the only one with hidden racism is you.. bc a white person likes Eminem and jayz hes racist? lol he likes what he likes get off his dick and mind your own and lisen to what you like
people are always worried about what another man likes in rap.
If you wanna see a rap God you listen to KRS one
G Rap and Rakim are better.
There have been many white rappers with talent, that were never given the chance because of skin color. Em had a hell of a co-sign from the gate…Dre. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t bust his ass to get there.
You don’t know what the f your talking about he is the king no one comes close to em
White black why put race into it his the best rapper out there!! Better than any white or black artist no one comes close even only 2pac rip or biggy rip
But there gone dead n buried,
Since when did Eminem claim to be the king of hip hop? Never. And he had a long down period up until the Marshall Mathers LP 2. And ShadyXV wasn’t good and didn’t get much attention. IKKKy Azalea is a product of white privilege.
Guys this isn’t a big deal. Eminem himself admits that he benefits from being white in how many records he sells in his song ‘White America.’ This isn’t news. But I disagree that him being white has anything to do with him being able to be creative. Look at Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly album, besides the song ‘i’, he didn’t try to appeal to the radio, that album is one of the most unique albums out there right now. Kendrick is black and that doesn’t make him less creative. Meanwhile white rapper MGK is coming out with songs like Ratchet and Til I Die. I’m not saying those are bad songs but they sound a lot like what’s already in the mainstream, not that creative
fuck off you culture vultures. Fuck outta hiphop and leave it to real niggas. You white people have never been through our struggle. You crackas cower in the presence of a real nigga. We all know Big Gucci dont play no games like all these white boy rappers. Big Gucci will catch a body real nigga shit.
are you for real? what kind of backwards bullshit is this. pull your head out of your ass. Hiphop belongs to whoever has the skills. Put up or shut up.
What an idiot.
I bet you’re a bitch. Oh, by the way, I’m white.
Your struggle? You mean your ancestors struggle that you piggy back off of for pity. You mean your racially self inflicted neighborhoods and culture to be a rebel to earn “street cred” therefore not push yourself to succeed in life but instead stay at the bottom that you worked so hard to remain at? You and this racist “DR” can sherk blame all you want. In reality black culture and society is where it is because it chose to remain there after the travesties of the past were over.
real talk, get mad.
^Big gucci blah blah blah ..Is white and race baiting ..But I hope you feel better now you got that off your chest …
For the record black people have only been allowed to vote since 1965 not such a long time in the big scheme of things .
Go to other countries such as Cambodia or certain former communist countries and you will be surprised to learn that it takes more than a generation for the people to catch up with the rest of the society who weren’t disenfranchised/ostracized i.e allowed to vote , lack of investment in the school systems etc ….
You are also choosing to ignore the effects of Reganomics had on the poor and disenfranchised both black and white in the 80s
But you have clearly been socially engineered like a lot of blacks and whites … So obviously this narrative wont suit your point of view
BIG GUCCI IS A WHITE GUY! DON’T DO THAT GUCCI, CAUSE THAT’S NOT GUCCI!
NO SHIT IT’S FUCKING OBVIOUS IT’S A WHITE GOOFY GUY WHO WOULD CALL HIMSELF – BIG GUCCI THE RULLER – SUCH A CORNY USERNAME BY AN OBVIOUS 30+CORNBALL
Eminem, is my fav rapper, Hands down. I had my role model in Ice Cube, My Mentor in Pac, FAv Groups in Outkast, and Bone thugs. Timbo, and Missy, to Snoop dogg and death row. But EM is my best lyricist hands down. But this Dr is 100 on the nose. Even Em himself said he has that Elvis effect. But Em repsect those legens Krs 1, LL, Rakim, Beastie, etc … He is HipHOp .. Dr hit it right on the nose.
Last I checked Yelawolf is white, ActionBronson is white, Paul Wall is white, Brother Ali is white/albino, Sage Francis is white, Jef Jon Sin is white, Chris Webby is white, Slug from Atmosphere is white, Machine Gun Kelly is white, Mac Miller is white, El-P is white, Mackelmore is white, and not one of them is on the level of Eminem in regards to overall success. So please somebody explain why Eminem being white makes him one of the top hip-hop/Rap artist in the game? Did he benefit from being white by selling more records along the way, yes of-course but does his white skin the reason he’s in 98% of everyone’s top 10 if not top 5 artists of all time, fuck no! Doesn’t make any sense and its ignorant to say otherwise. He’s a dope rapper and being white may help in certain ways but to say he’s considered one of the best because he’s white is just plain stupid. Oh and in regards to Dr. Boyce Watkins saying he as “privlaged” to make the music he wants he obviously hasn’t listened to much. Kendrick Lamar, Tech 9 (especially older stuff), NWA, Public Enemy, Ice T, and so many others made/made the music they wanted. Of course they’ve all made music their labels wanted and that includes Eminem but to say he’s allowed to make the music he wants because he’s white is ludacris. He gets to make music he wants because he’s earned the right and respect of the fans to do so as have so many others in all genres of music.
they don’t. black people are just mad Eminem came in with this skill.. even rakim said if EM was black hed be the Muhammad ali of rap..but hes white so he gets hate bc hes the top in a black created sport.
think of it when Jackie robinson came in baseball, whites hated him..eventually everyone will get over it and they wont bitch so much when they get on with their lives.
Listen, I am just as big of an Eminem fan as you guys are but even I have to admit this dude is 100% right…that’s why it hurts so much.
@ lol …Remember me illiterate trailer trash .. It’s “he’d” not “hed” and it’s “he’s” not “hes” .And you wonder why no one in your life takes you seriously .Jeeezzz get a grip loser
@ BBfia
I’d argue that him being white and more skilled than most mainstream MCs is what hurts, hence why people have to resort to flawed arguments such as “white privilege”.
only thing confirmed is you’re a dickrider lol..and obv dont like white people.. get off my nuts lol im not up and down this post looking for your posts. if your opinions dont mesh with mine, who gives a fk.
Eminem is a skilled emcee and raised off the early 90s era Hip Hop, but white privilege keeps him relevant and in the conversation for best emcee. If he were black he’d have faded into the background along with the rest of the skilled 90s rappers or just never have made it into the mainstream just like the Slaughterhouse members when first trying to do solo projects.
The lyrical bar in Hip Hop has fallen off so badly, it seems as though Young Thug, Migos and French Montana are the standard. Fans hear a little bit of wordplay nowadays and they’re ready to proclaim Lil Wayne as one the best rappers alive. That’s how much the ball has been dropped. So it’s no surprise people want to put Slim in the conversation as best rapper or King of Hip Hop. Fans are thirsty for lyrical content In mainstream rap.
Back in the 90s when the Slim Shady LP dropped, Eminem was a drop in the ocean. It wasn’t a thing to hear an emcee spit real bars. Nas, Jay-Z, Raekwon, Busta, Redman, Method Man, Cam’ron, Canibus, Lox, Big Pun were slaying tracks on a regular. When Eminem arrived, his skill wasn’t that a big a deal because rappers were doing it daily. His whiteness made him a novelty.
As said, if Slim were Black he’d be in the background and nobody would pay attention to his rapping skills. Plenty of rappers from the 90s era are still dropping gems, but nobody is really checking for them. That would have been Em if he were a black artist.
Very well said.
Spot on…
em would of faded in the background if hes black bc black ppl are dick riders and trend followers.. white people SUPPORT our legends and keep them thriving..black ppl look for the next best thing
its called support not priv. some of you ppl in here are too dumb for a raxce convo
@lol – so what happened to Vanilla Ice? If white ppl support their own like that you’d have stood by Vanilla Ice when he was exposed for not being from the hood. Check whose really dick riding who before you speak.
Listen I’m just as big of an Eminem fan as you guys are but even I have to admit that this dude is 100% right…that’s why it hurts so much.
He looks like a creepy wax work in that picture .
It seems to me that Dr. Boyce Watkins hasn’t done his homework. He said that Eminem gets a pass from racial backlash yet before he blew up his skin colour worked against him when trying to get signed. I’d also like to point out that different points in his career, XXL and The Source spent years trashing him based on race. White privilege is an excuse for not being able to sell albums, that’s all. The main reasons Eminem sold as much as he did was clever marketing, his boy band-eque image, being talented as fuck and shock value. Nellyville went 7x platinum at the same time as The Marshal Mathers LP but it’s interesting how that never comes up in conversation.
Hip Hop really needs to grow up, this is one of the only musical genres that are more interested in race than it is skill. Rap hasn’t fallen off because of white rappers, it has fallen off because of a lack of talent and effort. And Vlad TV is everything that is wrong with Hip Hop in a nutshell. Race baiting for clicks? Fucking losers.
Very on point
From 2000 to 2004 eminem was running the rap game. There has probably never been a rapper who hold the game down this good than when he did that. He was unstoppable and the MMLP and eminem show and all the loose tracks and features from then are beyong incredible. The problem is that for a rapper to be considered the greatest I think you need a lot of material to back it up. That’s why I can’t consider Biggie the greatest because sadly he didn’t get to put out enough before he passed. The problem with eminem is that everything he keeps putting out is not making him the greatest, it’s just lowering the average quality of his discography. So no, eminem is not the greatest. Had he died instead of Proof, it would have been a different case…
umm talk about re-writing history. From 2000-2002, Jay-Z was considered the King of Hip Hop. Almost undisputed. From 2002-2003, Nas had the crown. Eminem had the most commercial exposure and he reached the zenith of his powers on the Lose Yourself soundtrack, but he was never running the rap game. He fell off after that. Makes me question your knowledge on Hip Hop.
Pretty sure Eminem would say the same exact thing. Actually…. he referenced the Elvis effect in one of his more annoying singles.
“Without Me” is an awesome song… you’re the only thing annoying around here.
We clearly have a different definition of “awesome”…
Yes, I mostly listen to radio rap.
Em is nice but yes he also benefits from White Privilege, the most recent example is battle rap events. I’m sure that Smack and a whole lot of other Black Battle Rap organizers would have loved to get a PPV event with a ton of corporate sponsors but that didn’t happen until Em came along and did Total Slaughter and used his white privilege (in a good way, I might add) to bring Battle Rap events to an even bigger platform.
Wtf… Lol… You think it’s because smack is black that he couldn’t host a national wide reality tv show? Lmao its called star power bud, you think corporate sponsors are going to fuck with some guy who only has one tiny niche market (battle rap, more specifically gangster battle rap focusing on gun bars) hell no! Eminems reach surpasses battle rap or even the rap culture in general,it’s simple business strategy, go where we know we’ll do numbers, white or black.
@onblast– your jsut another person who when you can fully understand a situation goes to race bc you cant process the real situation..
eminem over smack = power to reach audiences..it just happened to be that EM is so hiphop he did it..go ask yor black brothers why they didnt.
You know what is really sad about this article? Is that 15 years after Eminem became the Jackie Robinson of Rap (said it) we are still arguing about this shit. Tiger Woods golfs, Ichiro plays in the MLB, Wayne Simmons is a hell of a hockey player – get the fuck over it. This dude is the racist. Eminem can’t be #1 because his hooks are mostly shit, especially in a post-Dre era. But no one knew his skin color would benefit him, he was the first to do it. So blame him or the system because he sold extra albums? This dude is a doctor of what? Hope Em disses him. If we are talking LYRICISTS then you can make the case Em is #1. DOOM is still tops for me though.
Its about the music not the colour of your skin
Rap god top track ✌
Rap god old man’s
Vlad is obsessed with proving Eminem’s credibility in hip hop. He asks everyone that question. #WhitePrivelege
and black people are obsessed with discrediting eminem in hiphop. if yall would just get off his nuts fans would jump off too. let hte music not the skin tone tell u if hes good
Wtf obviously the king of Hip Hop is Tupac, best storyteller, best lyricist, best performer and most famously iconic. I’m white and I think Eminem is dope and defiantly deserves top 5 rank in history but clearly Tupac takes the cake.
I’d say
1.jay z
2. Biggie
3.2PAC
4.eminem
5.Big L
Also Big Pun is a pretty intense lyricist.
Was?
I agree Eminem has certain aspects of white privilege, he even says so himself through his song “White America.” However, his story is complicated if you really want to talk about his white privilege, you should also talk about how he almost never had a career because he was white, and the only reason he ever reached mainstream success is because the right person gave him a chance, Dr. Dre.
History will know Jay Z as the king. Time will tell.