List of Eminem feuds

American rapper, record producer and songwriter Eminem has been engaged in many feuds and conflicts with other artists from the music industry, including Ja Rule, Benzino, Insane Clown Posse, Limp Bizkit, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and others.[1][2]

Christina Aguilera

The conflict with singer Christina Aguilera started in 2000 after Aguilera and her sister Rachel appeared on an MTV special and said she thought he was cute but that women needed to watch out for abusive men.[3] Later that year, Eminem recorded a track called "Off the Wall" with Redman and showcased disgust to Aguilera, "Causin' terror to Christina Aguilera / When I grab her by the hair and drag her across the Sahara."[4]

Eminem also responded with his single "The Real Slim Shady", stating that Aguilera had performed oral sex on MTV veejay Carson Daly and Limp Bizkit's frontman Fred Durst.[2] Aguilera responded to the song saying the lyrics were "disgusting, offensive and, above all, not true". There was a diss track entitled "Will the Real Slim Shady Please Shut Up?" and was rumored to be recorded by Aguilera, incorporating a sample from "The Real Slim Shady" and dubbing in her own lyrics. Another diss track from that era, "Freestyle Gone Crazy", features best friend and fellow rapper Proof; it not only insulted Aguilera but also Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and N'Sync. At the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, the two artists ended their feud backstage after Aguilera presented Eminem with his "Best Male Video" award.[5] Before the two made up, Aguilera recorded a track called "Can't Hold Us Down" featuring Lil' Kim, taken from Aguilera's album Stripped. The single was recorded in early 2002, released in 2003, and was suggested that certain lyrics were directed towards Eminem, "Call me a b*tch cause I speak what's on my mind / Guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and smiled; It's sad you only get your name through controversy"; "Must talk so big / To make up for smaller things."[4][6]

Insane Clown Posse

The feud with hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse began in 1997, when Eminem was throwing a party to promote his debut EP, The Slim Shady EP (1997). He gave member Violent J a flyer which stated "Featuring appearances by Esham, Kid Rock, and ICP (maybe)."[7] Violent J asked Eminem why he was promoting a possible Insane Clown Posse appearance without first contacting the group. Eminem explained, "It says 'maybe.' Maybe you will be there; I don't know. That's why I'm asking you right now. You guys comin' to my release party, or what?"[7] Violent J, upset over not being consulted, responded, "Fuck no, I ain't coming to your party. We might have, if you would've asked us first, before putting us on the fuckin' flyer like this."[7]

Eminem took Violent J's response as a personal offense, subsequently attacking the group in radio interviews. He also dissed them in an unreleased song called "Till Hell Freezes Over." Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope responded with a parody of Eminem's "My Name Is" entitled "Slim Anus" from their compilation album Psychopathics from Outer Space. Eminem responded with the song "Marshall Mathers" and a skit "Ken Kaniff" from his second album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). As the feud continued, Eminem dissed Insane Clown Posse in The Up In Smoke Tour. Eminem mentioned the feud with himself and the duo as he called them "Insane Clown Pussies" and then he threw a doll that had a figure of a naked woman with makeup similar to Insane Clown Posse to the audience. Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope responded with diss tracks called and "Please Don't Hate Me" from Bizaar (2000) and "Nuttin' But a Bitch Thang" from Forgotten Freshness Volume 3 (2001).[7] Eminem responded by dissing them on his single "Business" from his album The Eminem Show (2002).

Insane Clown Posse talked about the feud being squashed in an interview with MTV, saying that rapper and D12 member Proof squashed the conflict in 2005, which was followed by a bowling game between members of D12 and Psychopathic Records.[8] Violent J stated that, "He contacted us and we had a bowling game – it was really cool. We're something different. They could have skipped over us and said forget them, but they included us and said let's squash it and the feud is now over."[8]

Ja Rule

The conflict between Eminem and rapper Ja Rule started after 50 Cent signed to Eminem's label Shady Records and Dr. Dre's label Aftermath. Ja Rule stated that he had a problem with both of them for signing someone he disliked.[9] On November 19, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti were special guests on Star and Bucwild's morning show on Hot 97 NYC. Irv Gotti supposedly had some legal documents stating an order of protection 50 has on him, the order of protection turned out to be fake.[10]

Ja Rule threatened that, if 50 Cent released any songs with defamatory or insulting lyrics directed at him, he would take legal action towards both of them.[9][10] However, Dr. Dre was the one who produced 50 Cent's track "Back Down" in 2003 from the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin', which made derogatory comments toward Murder Inc., and Ja Rule's immediate family members.[11]

Busta Rhymes joined the conflict when he was featured on the track "Hail Mary 2003", with Eminem and 50 Cent. The song, a remake of Tupac Shakur's song "Hail Mary", was done partially as a response to Ja Rule's remake of another Tupac song, "Pain" (retitled "So Much Pain"). The rappers felt that Rule could never amount to Tupac, and so they made the track, mocking him for trying to "imitate" the deceased rap icon. Eminem prevented Ja Rule from appearing on any of the "new" Tupac songs he produced, including those on Loyal to the Game.[10]

The conflict escalated when Ja Rule released "Loose Change" (actually released before "Hail Mary"), in which he insulted 50 Cent by calling him "Loose Change", called Eminem by the name "Feminem", announced Dr. Dre as "bisexual", and claimed that Suge Knight knew of Dre "bringing transvestites home".[11] The song also includes lyrics that insulted Eminem's mother Debbie Mathers, his then ex-wife Kim Scott, and even referenced his then 8-year-old daughter Hailie Jade.[9]

These lyrics offended Eminem deeply, causing him to immediately get his rap group D12 involved, as well as the major part of his label, including Obie Trice, his close friend.[11] Eminem then made the track "Bully", and together, he and Trice responded with a song titled "Doe Rae Me" (aka "Hailie's Revenge"). Eminem also made a reference to Ja Rule's insult toward his daughter in "Like Toy Soldiers", by saying:

"I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em, if some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em. That Ja shit I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it. There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it. I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it."

Since then the feud has cooled down.[9]

Michael Jackson

The music video for "Just Lose It" generated controversy by parodying singer Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984.[12] It was banned on the BET channel, after complaints from Benzino and others (but was later reinstated, as critics of the ban argued that Nelly's "Tip Drill" video could be seen). Both were only seen on BET: Uncut. However, MTV did not drop it, and the video became one of the most requested on the channel.

A week after the release of "Just Lose It", Jackson called into the radio show of Steve Harvey to report his displeasure with the video. "I am very angry at Eminem's depiction of me in his video," Jackson said in the interview. "I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive." The singer continued: "I've admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large."[13] Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who called the video "kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit",[14] and Steve Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back."[14] Michael Jackson would eventually end up owning several of Eminem's major hits when his company Sony/ATV Music Publishing bought Famous Music.[15]

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

Eminem has written several songs referring to a relationship with R&B singer Mariah Carey, although she denies the claim.[16] She says that they hung out but nothing sexual or intimate occurred. Eminem has referenced her on many songs that include "When the Music Stops", "Superman", "Jimmy Crack Corn", "Bagpipes From Baghdad", and "The Warning". While "Superman" was released in 2003, Carey released a song entitled "Clown" on her Charmbracelet album, released in 2002, which makes similar references in line with her 2009 hit "Obsessed".

Eminem's "Bagpipes From Baghdad" from his album Relapse may be his best-known reference to Carey due to the controversy it caused. The song disparages the relationship of Carey and rapper Nick Cannon, who is her current husband since 2008.[17] Cannon responded to Eminem by saying his career is based on "racist bigotry", and that he would get revenge on Eminem, joking that he may return to rapping.[18] Eminem later stated that the couple misinterpreted the track and it was wishing the two the best.[17] Cannon also stated that there were no hard feelings, and that he just had to express his feelings about the song.[19]

In 2009, Carey released "Obsessed" in which she sings about an obsessed man who claims to be having a relationship with her.[20] Cannon claimed that the song was not an insult directed at Eminem, despite the fact that the music video features Carey dressed as a male stalker who strikingly resembles Eminem (wearing his characteristic hoodie, du-rag and sweatpants).[21] However, Eminem responded in late July 2009 by releasing a track titled "The Warning". It contained samples of voice mail recordings which Eminem claimed were left by Mariah Carey when the two were together.[22] Eminem also hinted that he had other evidence of their relationship in his possession. Eminem briefly dissed Carey on "Cold Wind Blows" from Recovery. A little over a year later in September 2010, Nick Cannon responded with the song "I'm a Slick Nick" which in Slick Rick's flow he takes shots at Eminem.[23]

Moby

After the release of The Marshall Mathers LP, popular electronic music artist Moby began speaking out against the album's lyrics, citing references to misogyny and homophobia as unacceptable.[24] Eminem responded with several disrespectful lines about Moby in "Without Me", the lead single from his next album The Eminem Show. The lines were the subject of much scrutiny, because Eminem slapped Moby with a homophobic slur and instructed him to "blow me". Moby kept quiet until 2004, when he praised Eminem for his courage in bashing the U.S. President George W. Bush in the song "Mosh", a protest song from Encore.[25] The feud has since died.[26]

Benzino and The Source

Rapper Eminem was granted "2/5 mics" for his sophomore effort, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) by hip hop magazine The Source during early 2000. This made Eminem extremely annoyed, and he mocked The Source in a few songs. However, an argument did not follow until The Source co-owner Raymond "Benzino" Scott, released a diss track aimed at Eminem, and granted his rap group D12's album "4/5" mics, as well as a front page cover on the magazine. Beef quickly ensued, where Eminem, along with Shady Records artists 50 Cent, Obie Trice and D12 took aim at The Source's credibility, arguing that nowadays with Scott as the owner, the magazine was corrupt.[27] Competing Hip Hop magazine XXL also became entangled with the feud, and eventually Scott retired from his position at The Source. Since then, Benzino has attempted to discredit the reputation of Eminem and Shady Records, as well as other upcoming artists, such as Slaughterhouse, by leaking racist comments made by a youthful Eminem. On the song "Foolish Pride", Eminem drops many racist lines in regards to African-American women. The entire song is a anti-African-American female rant, with lines consisting of "But Black girls only want your money cause they're dumb chicks" and "Black girls and white girls just don't mix, Because Black girls are dumb and white girls are good chicks". [28] Eminem officially responded to the song's leaking by saying "The tape they played today was something I made out of anger, stupidity and frustration when I was a teenager. I’d just broken up with my girlfriend, who was African-American, and I reacted like the angry, stupid kid I was."[29] Eminem's last known responses to Benzino were on the tracks from his album Encore (2004), "The Sauce" and "Yellow Brick Road." [30] Benzino has since apologized about the feud saying, "I can say it now, I was wrong for it. Because at the end of the day, Em is a great lyricist and he should be able to express himself in hip hop as anybody should."[31]

Everlast and Limp Bizkit

Shortly after Eminem and rapper Everlast contributed tracks to the soundtrack of 1999 thriller film End of Days, a feud erupted between both rappers. Eminem and Everlast crossed paths before a concert in early 1999. Eminem says he did not greet Everlast because he did not recognize him right away, and said Everlast did not acknowledge him. Everlast's version is that he tried to congratulate Eminem on his success, and Eminem blew him off. Either way, Everlast's verse from the Dilated Peoples all star track "Ear Drums Pop (Remix)" contained a thinly veiled reference to Eminem ("Cock my hammer, spit a comet like Haley/I buck a .380 on ones that act shady"), and went on to warn "You might catch a beatdown out where I come from" in his recounting of the incident.[32]

Eminem in turn, dissed Everlast several times in public and with the song "I Remember (Dedication to Whitey Ford)" released as the B-side to his group D12's 12" vinyl single "Shit on You." In it, Eminem talks about how he remembered Everlast's music, however, now "Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit came along."

Everlast responded with the track "Whitey's Revenge," released only on his official website. Whereas the song contained references to Eminem's strained relationships with his wife and mother, it was "Better run and check your kid for your DNA", again referring to Eminem's daughter, Hailie Jade, that set Eminem off. The track ends with the spoken words: "I ain't wasting no more time with you man. Fuck that shit, That's it".[33][34] Eminem and D12 responded with "Quitter," the second half of which is a take off on 2Pac's diss track "Hit 'Em Up".[35] The track ends with the spoken words: "Fuck him, that’s it, I’m done, I promise, I’m done, that’s it". It was reported that long-time friends of Eminem, nu metal band Limp Bizkit, were meant to be featured on "Quitter", but front man Fred Durst canceled it at the last moment. The record continued its release without Limp Bizkit, causing the dispute to continue. Everlast echoed similar sentiment on the status of this feud, stating in various interviews that he felt everything had been said and he would now refrain from further responses. However, following Eminem's disses towards them on "Quitter", Evidence and Dilated Peoples, responded with the track, "Search 4 Bobby Fisher." [36] In a TRL interview, Limp Bizkit member DJ Lethal made a statement that if Mathers and Everlast were to fight in real life, Everlast would win. This angered Eminem to the point of rage, and an insulting track aimed at both Everlast and Limp Bizkit appeared on D12's mainstream debut, Devil's Night, as a hidden track called "Girls".

According to a 2010 Vibe interview with Eminem, the beef has been squashed since then and there is a mutual respect between himself and Everlast.[37][38]

Canibus

Rapper Canibus, known for his lyricism, started beef with Eminem in 1998, before Eminem was signed. Eminem spoke on how the beef with Canibus started on Tim Westwood's hip-hop show. Em stated how Wyclef and Canibus approached him in 1998 and asked if he ghost-wrote the lyrics to LL Cool J's "The Ripper Strikes Back" which was a diss to Canibus. After Eminem denied writing the song, he explains that Canibus was rude to him.

Canibus came to see him on the Warped Tour the following year and apologised for his reactions and asked if Eminem was still up for doing collaboration. Canibus presented Eminem with the track "Phuck U" from the 2000 B.C. album, Eminem turned down the track, citing that it sounded like Canibus' verses were disses directed toward him and LL.

Eminem made numerous name drops on the The Slim Shady LP. Including lines like "I'm cancerous, so when I diss you wouldn't wanna answer this. If you responded back with a battle rap you wrote for Canibus". He also rapped "Lesson Three: Get a job at a label; switch demos with Canibus and put yours on the owner's table (here listen!)" on the track "Get You Mad" which was on Sway & Tech's This Or That album.

Shortly after Eminem's sophomore album The Marshall Mathers LP dropped, Canibus decided to continue the story of Stan, a reference to the song of the same name, from the album. In it Canibus told a story about a crazed fan who eventually drove himself off a bridge because Eminem didn't write a letter back to him. On Canibus' third release entitled C True Hollywood Stories, he directed various tracks towards dissing Eminem.

Eminem responded with one line on a track from Xzibit's 4th release Man Vs Machine from October 2002 called "My Name" where he says: "I'd rather have my mothafucking ass whooped by Moby/'fore I let some bitch in a can like Bis cop over me".

November 19, 2002 Canibus released his 4th album Mic Club: The Curriculum where he continued to slander Eminem. "Dr C PhD" was aimed mainly at Eminem. Nearing the end of the track gives it away "to tell you the truth, I thought your rebuttal was weak/round the outside, blah, blah, etceteras, etceteras/the body of my literature is bigger than South America/nigga look, this is all I gots to say/suck my P-H-D-I-C-K". He continued the attacks on Eminem with "Curriculum 101" where Bis spits, "Anybody better than Bis must be a hoax/Black man NO/what about the great white hope? /What? Man you must be sniffing' some great white coke/Don't you know that's like Gary Coleman fighting' the hulk/Still not even quite that close/A great mic fight in ya rubber dingy boat 50 miles out from the coast/What the f*ck is the MATHERS with you/I beat you black and blue, then I get a tat of you too/Better yet I put a tattoo of me on you/A 10 by 10 "C" logo, neon blue". Canibus also disses Eminem on his mixtape, 'The Brainstream,' released in 2003.

Eminem continued with his evasive low-key and subliminal responses to Canibus in his third major-label album The Eminem Show, making small mentions of the beef in "Square Dance" where Em spits "Can-I-Bitch don't want no beef with slim no..." and he also calls him 'Canadabis' at the end of the track. Apart from that, there were a few subliminal disses scattered throughout the album on tracks such as "When The Music Stops", "Say What You Say" and the intro to the first single "Without Me", where he references the "Round the outside" part of Bis' boxcutter track, but as with before, no direct disses, if any in some cases, were made. Eminem also mentions Canibus on his Benzino diss track "Nail in the Coffin". Eminem recorded a five minute diss to Canibus entitled "Canibitch" which leaked on the Internet.

Despite Eminem's lack of commitment to this one-sided beef by Canibus, he continued to diss Eminem. In 2010, with his ninth studio album Melatonin Magik, Canibus released an Eminem diss track called 'Air Strike (Pop Killer)' in which Eminem's group D12 was featured. Originally presented as D12 turning on Em, it was later discovered that Canibus and DZK, the track's producer had approached the members of D12 to collaborate on a completely different track and the verses from that were used in such a way as to insinuate that there was a D12 internal beef. Canibus also dissed Em numerous times in a King of the Dot rap battle against Dizaster by saying "I bet you hang out with Elton John, in Lebanon, when Eminem's gone, so both of you make feminine bars!"

In 2013, Eminem made a reference to Canibus on his track "Rap God", in which he says "It's actually disastrously bad for the wack", a reference to the Canibus v Dizaster battle[39] in which Canibus infamously pulled out a notepad and recited lines from it. This would be the first time Eminem acknowledged Canibus in 10 years.

Cage

After the release of The Slim Shady EP in 1997 Cage has gone on record saying that Eminem has copied his style and his lyrics. This has been denied by Eminem. Multiple disses sprang from both artists.

Cage sparked the beef with the song "And So Kiddies..." in which Cage mentions "Tired rhyme styles from Detroit, Michigan" referring to Eminem's heavy MTV recognition and fame. He also insulted Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, calling him Bitch Lady.

Eminem responded with a freestyle off Tony Touch's – Power Cypha: 50 MCs Volume Three mixtape. Eminem rapped, "I write a rhyme a day, So it's no wonder how come your whole album is sounding like a bunch of shit that I would say." Then in the background, Em yells "CAGE!!"

Cage responded with the track "Illest Four Letter Word."

Eminem responded with a freestyle off the Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show. Eminem rapped "Waging wars, went on stage and sprayed Cage with Agent Orange, then wiped my ass with his page in Source." This is referring to Cage's song, "Agent Orange." Eminem also re-used this verse in the song "Get You Mad."

Eminem dissed Cage again in the song, "Drastic Measures." He referenced Cage's sister in the line, "scrap, back the fuck up we miss the brewery, hurry, I'm trying to pick up Cage's sister early."

Cage responded with, "Bitch Lady."

Eminem responded with "Role Model" off of The Slim Shady LP. Eminem rapped, "I bought Cage's tape, opened it and dubbed over it," mocking the claim that The Slim Shady LP is a rip off of a Cage mixtape.

Cage finally responded with "Still C.A.G.E." Cage raps, "Since the last time y'all heard me, I shit on some friends, and after Bitch Lady drops, I'mma do it again."

The beef has died down and is unknown if both have resolved the feud.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.eminemlab.com/eminemenemies.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20278448,00.html
  3. ↑ Dominguez, Pier. Christina Aguilera Biography. Amber Communications. p. 93.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Idol Returns". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2002-09-08. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2002/
  6. ↑ Kun, Josh. "Spin review". Spin.com. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Bruce, Joseph; Hobey Echlin (August 2003). "Life on the Road". In Nathan Fostey. ICP: Behind the Paint (second ed.). Royal Oak, Michigan: Psychopathic Records. pp. 353–365. ISBN 0-9741846-0-8.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Anderson, Kyle (September 2, 2010). "Eminem Beef With Insane Clown Posse Long Over". MTV Networks. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Ja Rule - Eminem's Enemies". Eminemlab.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Eminem's Enemies, Rivals and Beefs: Ja Rule". EminemLab.com. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2
  12. ↑ "Stevie Wonder slams Eminem for mocking Michael Jackson – Female First". Femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  13. ↑ Oliver Burkeman in New York (October 14, 2004). "Michael Jackson threatens to sue over mocking video by Eminem". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Stevie Wonder has words to say about Eminem". AllHipHop. Archived from the original on 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  15. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/may/31/news.eminem
  16. ↑ "Eminem Disses Mariah for Denying Relationship". people magazine. May 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Eminem Says Nick Cannon Misinterpreted Mariah Carey Dis. MTV News.
  18. ↑ Nick Cannon Fires Back At Eminem Over Mariah Carey Dis. MTV News.
  19. ↑ Nick Cannon Insists: No Beef With Eminem Over Mariah Carey Dis. MTV News.
  20. ↑ Is Mariah Carey's 'Obsessed' Directed At Eminem? MTV News.
  21. ↑ Nick Cannon: Mariah Carey's Not Dissing Eminem In 'Obsessed'. MTV News.
  22. ↑ Eminem Slams Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon In New Diss Track, 'The Warning'. MTV News.
  23. ↑ Kuperstein, Slava (September 13, 2010). "Nick Cannon Releases Eminem Diss Track". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  24. ↑ "Eminem's Top Five Feuds". VH1. May 20, 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  25. ↑ "Moby Praises Eminem". MTV. July 29, 2005. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  26. ↑ "Moby says feud with US rapper Eminem is over". BBC. June 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  27. ↑ "Benzino/D12 & Eminem Beef" Accessed December 6 3009
  28. ↑ http://genius.com/Eminem-foolish-pride-lyrics
  29. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/1480512/the-source-digs-up-tape-of-eminem-using-racial-slurs/
  30. ↑ "Benzino disses Eminem, Joe Budden, Slaughterhouse" Accessed December 6 3009
  31. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1691538/eminem-benzino-feud.jhtml
  32. ↑ "Dilated Peoples". Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  33. ↑ "Whitey's Revenge". Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  34. ↑ "I Remember (Dedication To Whitey Ford)". Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  35. ↑ "Quitter". Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  36. ↑ "Search 4 Bobby Fisher". Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  37. ↑
  38. ↑ "Интервю с House of Pain". YouTube. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  39. ↑ "KOTD - Rap Battle - Canibus vs Dizaster - *Co-Hosted by DJ Skee*". YouTube. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2014-09-02.

Sources