Melle Mel has no doubt that Kendrick Lamar and Eminem are talented, but he does question their influence on Hip Hop culture.
In a new interview with The Art of Dialogue, the OG rapper has claimed that while artists like Kendrick and Em have proven themselves as capable rappers, they have yet to impact the game significantly.
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The conversation came about while Melle Mel was discussing Billboard and VIBE‘s recent list of the Top 50 Rappers of All Time. Mel said that while the former TDE rapper, who ranked No.2 on the list, might have made some good songs, they “don’t translate into the street part of Hip Hop.”
“I don’t know what records he made like that,” he said. “I might know one or two of them, but I don’t think you even hear Kendrick in the club like that.”
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The iconic rapper jokingly admitted that while he’s a bit of dinosaur in the game, calling himself “90-years-old,” that Kendrick Lamar’s music doesn’t resonate, and it certainly “doesn’t translate into the No.2 rapper of all time.”
Melle Mel, who landed at No.48 on the list, noted that while his legendary group, Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five, helped plant the seeds of what conscious rap is today, he believes younger, conscious rappers like Kendrick Lamar don’t have the same impact.
“Nobody wants to rap like Kendrick Lamar. Nobody wants to rap like Eminem,” he continued. “A lot of people wanted to rap, like ‘Pac and Biggie.”
Melle Mel says no one wants to rap like Kendrick Lamar, and he doesn’t have any influence on Hip Hop. pic.twitter.com/04m6yVACpu
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) March 4, 2023
This isn’t the first time Melle Mel brought up Eminem’s name in this conversation. In a previous clip from the interview, he claimed that the Detroit rapper was only considered a top MC because of the color of his skin.
“Obviously he’s a capable rapper,” he said. “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!
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“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.”
Melle Mel continued: “And anybody could be as mad … They could feel how they wanna feel. 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.”
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Weighing in on Billboard and VIBE’s Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list on air last month, The Breakfast Club co-host wasn’t afraid to contest Kendrick and Drake’s placements at No. 2 and No. 8, respectively.
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According to Charlamagne, it’s “too early” for the Compton and Toronto top dogs to be mentioned in the G.O.A.T. rappers conversation as their careers are both far from finished.
“I feel like it’s too early for Drake and Kendrick to be saying stuff like that,” he said as DJ Envy read aloud Billboard and VIBE‘s Top 10 picks. “Of all time? God damn! Penis is a form of transportation for y’all.”
