All About Laughs
22 years in Hip-Hop, a genre often dubbed as a “young man’s game” is an accomplishment in itself. Possessing longevity in any semblance for its fickle collective has proven to be a task insurmountable for most artists.
The truth would hold for even Eminem, a Dr. Dre-produced protégé who was able to recruit a brand new demographic to rap, he even got hip-hop inserted unto alternative rock radio playlists. And who can forget his semi-autobiographical acting turn in 8 mile?
His career has been nothing short of prolific, albeit controversial, with a bevy of infamous beefs and disses playing significant parts of the runtime of each of his projects. He’s eviscerated the Insane Clown Posse, Everlast, Fred Durst, Brittany Spears, took aim at Nick Cannon, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey and more.
And while his star may have dimmed from its late 90s to early-Aughts peak, his latest release, Music To Be Murdered By and it’s companion piece, Side B (Deluxe Edition), packs some blistering verbal punches.
A song on the Side B album, titled “Zeus” after the head of the Greek Pantheon, the Marshall Mathers rapper sprinkles a rebuttal to Snoop Dogg and his recent round of Slim Shady criticism, an apology to Rihanna for lyrics from an old leaked song, as well as an annotation to his conflict with Machine Gun Kelly.
The biggest attention-grabbing slight comes at the expense of Tekashi 6ix9ine. At the start of Zeus, Eminem raps, “She’s says I’m Trash but she listens to Tekashi/ (D*mn), B— h, you lost me…”
Tekashi 6ix9ine when he finds out that Eminem dissed him.. pic.twitter.com/uzEu7Ia0nl
— Sadittarius (@Sadittariusss) December 18, 2020
The New York rapper has been nothing short of polarizing himself, with a significant slice of Hip-Hop’s community and fans labeling him a “snitch;” the lowest insult in the rap/street game. Tekashi, legally named Daniel Hernandez, was indicted on charges related to his involvement with Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.
After his release, he proceeded to implicate several more rappers and entertainment personalities in questionable activity and as a troll attempt, posted a video to Instagram that featured him bopping along to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Girls in the Hood” captioned, “Megan my new favorite rapper.”
Eminem’s new album features 36 new tracks from the Detroit emcee with guest appearances from long-running mates Royce Da 5’9 and Dr. Dre in addition to collaborations with next gen artists Young M.A., Juice WRLD, Ty Dolla $ign, and pop-crooner Ed Sheeran.
What remains to be seen is what ensues. Tekashi has been eerily quiet across social media platforms, a departure from his usual tack. Snoop Dogg, about whom Eminem rapped, “Last thing I need is Snoop—doggin’ me Man, dog, you was like a (Yeah) d*mn god to me Man, not really (Haha) I had “dog” backwards But I’m startin’ to think, all these people takin’ shots at me Sh*t, it’s no wonder…”, posted a couple of Instagram stories that led fans to speculate that they’re in response to Eminem’s lyrics.
Snoop Dogg speaks pic.twitter.com/A3ZrHeUtAX
— Abo Lulu😤😎 (@dedehalele) December 18, 2020
Hopefully, the two rap legends can bury the hatchet but we’ll see what happens in the interim.
