Eminem "got away" with dissing many other musicians, according to Kurupt, because he is white. Furthermore, he appeared on The Art of Conversation and was asked about Melle Mel's statements on the same platform that Em is only ranked in the top five because of his racial color. They also had a connection to Billboard and VIBE's latest ranking of the best 50 rappers of all time. While the West Coast MC disagreed, claiming that his whiteness does not lessen his ability with a microphone and a pen, he did admit that Mel had a point.
As mentioned, Kurupt initially disagreed with Melle Mel, claiming that Eminem's talents on the mic are unrivaled regardless of color.
That’s his opinion. That’s not our opinion. The way Dr. Dre took Eminem subject matter-wise is one thing; the way Eminem rocked — he’s a battle rapper, so he’s Hip Hop, no matter what color he is. Dr. Dre took him in this way, so that has no bearing on his skill. His skills are renowned.
He added:
But that’s Melle Mel’s feel on it. Melle Mel is an icon of Hip Hop. Remember, he’s the original Hip Hop, so Melle Mel speaks from that standpoint. For my generation, hey, Eminem is our monster. His color is irrelevant.
However, the West Coast rap veteran — whom Eminem identified as one of his favorite MCs on 2002's "'Til I Collapse" — eventually admitted that Melle Mel was correct about one aspect of the self-proclaimed Rap God's white privilege.
He does have a point, Eminem being white. He might have got away with a lot of things, like him talking about all these different artists and shit, you know what I’m saying? And not having no backlash to where he’s blackballed.
But not from his skill. [Being] white had nothing to do with his skills. But he might have got away with a lot of things. Shit, we got away with a lot of things once we became successful! Once you’re successful, you can do whatever you fucking want, and the game accepts it because they make money off of what you’re doing, so they give you that pass.
Surprisingly, Eminem acknowledged that his skin color has a corded him more influence in the hip-hop industry. His lyrics from White America confirm this:
Let’s do the math: If I was black, I would’ve sold half/ I ain’t have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that!!
The verse continues to say:
When I was underground, no one gave a fuck. I was white,/ No labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up, I was like/ ‘Fuck it’ until I met Dre, the only one to look past/ Gave me a chance, and I lit a fire up under his ass/ Helped him get back to the top, every fan Black that I got/ Was probably his in exchange for every white fan that he’s got/ Like, damn, we just swapped, sittin’ back lookin’ at shit, wow/ I’m like, ‘My skin is startin’ to work to my benefit now’?”
Therefore, Korupt's claim may be valid. But does that mean Eminem is not suitable to be certified as one of the best rappers in history?
