When asked to talk about how he evolved as a person while his environment remains the same, the 'Caterpillar' rapper stresses on the importance of travelling to change one's perspective.
- Jun 13, 2020
AceShowbiz - Royce Da 5'9 sees Eminem more than just a longtime collaborator. During a discussion about his evolution as a person amid the continuation of police brutality against the black community, the "Detroit Vs. Everybody" rapper credited the "Without Me" hitmaker for changing his perspective on white people.
"When you encounter people … like with me, Em is like … Marshall was like my guy, that I got in my life … that he didn't seal the deal, but he played a huge role in me not generalizing white people," the former Slaughterhouse member opened up to HipHopDX Editor-In-Chief Trent Clark and Content Coordinator Jeremy Hecht.
The 42-year-old MC continued to explain how travelling to different places also helped him change his views. "I can imagine if I had just stayed in the environment that I grew up in, and I'd only seen the world through the lens of that environment," he said. "Quite naturally, not only would I miss out on certain pieces of development, but it would skew my vision, limit my vision, so to speak."
"Because a lot of the problems that we're seeing, though they look like isolated, separate problems, they all somehow crash into each other at some point. They're all rooted in the same kinds of s**t," he described. "So like, little Jason from 7 Mile, in the hood, that's kind of like a product of being marginalized and pushed out of some sort of gentrified area. The problem is not only the area, but it's the mind frame of the people in the area."
This was not the first time Royce talked about Eminem's contribution to his view about white people. In an interview with LEVEL published in February, the "Caterpillar" rapper further pointed out, "I feel like God put him in my life to teach me that it's not cool to generalize. Because if it wasn't for Marshall Mathers, I don't think I would like Whites."
"And on the flip side, if it wasn't for Proof, I don't think he would've liked Black people," Royce continued, referring to Em's late D12 partner. "He assumed Black people didn't like him, because they used to beat him up. God places people in your life for a particular reason. Marshall restored my faith in people. It's not really about converting people; it's just about gaining understanding."
