The Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five previously caused an uproar after weighing in on Eminem's No. 5 placement in Billboard and Vibe's Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All-Time list.
- Mar 8, 2023
AceShowbiz - Melle Mel has finally responded to backlash over his comments on Eminem. Having been dragged by a number of hip-hop artists for claiming Em's success only comes from his skin color, the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five lead vocalist insisted that he's not racist.
The 61-year-old offered his clarification in a video for his "Hip Hop Corner" podcast. "Melle Mel has nothing against nobody in Hop Hop," he began while lifting weights in the gym. "I've been in Hip Hop for 40 years. Very competitive, really have nothing against nobody. I'm not jealous of nobody, I'm not intimidated by anybody or anything, and I'm not bitter. I just come across as I come across 'cause I'm a man and I say what I say, and when I say what I say, basically, I mean what I say."
"Everything that I said, that I commented on, it was to comment on what he wrote and who he put on this said list. And I think Billboard is not known for Hip Hop, of course, they're known for records," he added. "So obviously, Billboard is more leaning toward guys that made records, compared to guys like myself that put in all the time in Hip Hop."
"Everybody's just so angry that I would say that," he said of his comment. "I've even been branded a racist, which is neither here nor there because that's almost impossible. I've been playing for all different kinds of people all my life. That is so far off-kilt that I don't understand. But Eminem made a record, I guess the album was 'White America' ... where he said he wouldn't be as popular if he wasn't white."
Melle went on to elaborate in the lengthy video, "So now my point, and it's very simple, if he basically said what I said, we said very similar things, how could what he say not be racist but then what I said was racist?" He then stressed, "In other words, if he's right for saying what he's saying, then the only reason that I could be wrong is that I'm Black and I said it."
Melle caused an uproar after weighing in on Eminem's No. 5 placement in Billboard and Vibe's Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All-Time list. "Obviously, he's a capable rapper," he said of Em at that time. "If you talking about sales, he sold more than everybody. If you talking about rhyme styles, okay, he got rhyme style. But he's white."
"So, if Eminem was just another n***a like all the rest of us, would he be top five on that list where a n***a that can rhyme just as good as him is [No.] 35? That had records and all that," Melle continued. "He's 35."
While Eminem has yet to respond to Melle's diss, many rappers came to his defense, including 50 Cent, who told Melle to get the "f**k outta here." Fat Joe, Papoose and Kevin Gates also supported the "Lose Yourself" hitmaker.
