‘If he was a Black rapper, he wouldn’t even make the list probably’
Grandmaster Melle Mel has claimed that Eminem would not make it onto lists ranking the greatest rappers of all time if he was Black.
During a new interview with Art Of Dialogue, the lead vocalist of Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five gave his opinion about Eminem making the top five of Billboard‘s ’50 Greatest Rappers of All Time’ list — and did not hold back.
“Obviously, he’s a capable rapper,” Melle Mel said. “If you was talking about sales, he sold more than everybody. If you talking about rhyme style – OK, he got a rhyme style.”
“But he’s white! He’s white! If Eminem was just another n**** like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list when a n**** that can rhyme just as good as him is 35?”
He continued: “If he was a Black rapper, he wouldn’t even make the list probably.
“Busta [Rhymes] … see this is the difference between who writes what list. Busta, I would say, is the No. 1 rapper overall. Nobody’s gonna take Busta. Busta could rap just as good as Eminem.
“Eminem, he has his style. He’s got a nice little tricky, gimmicky style … But to say that he would be [able to] sell as many records if he was just another brother, that’s not true. It’s just not.”
Eminem was placed fifth on Billboard’s list, ahead of the likes of André 3000 (12th), Kanye West (11th), and the Notorious B.I.G (6th).
Finishing above Slim Shady were Tupac (4th), Nas (3rd), Kendrick Lamar (2nd), with Jay-Z taking top spot.
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