In a recent episode of the My Expert Opinion podcast, esteemed hip-hop producer and executive, Bobby Simmons, delved into the ongoing exchange between Melle Mel and Eminem.
Steering clear of the specifics, Simmons offered an enlightening perspective: “This whole Melle Mel and Eminem thing… I don’t really want to talk about that, but I gotta make this clear to people who listen. The whole Eminem thing, let me explain this to people ’cause I know Mel. Mel loves it when you talk about him. If you don’t talk about him, you got a problem with him,” Simmons remarked.
He went on to challenge the perception that Mel attached profound significance to his clash with Eminem: “How many of you all in this room really think Mel cared that his battle with Eminem meant something? Some of you might probably think he cared. He didn’t care! Mel’s been through this five times. He done battled Big Daddy Kane. I was there when he battled KRS-1. He lost. Mel lost every battle he had. Am I lying, man?! Mel lost every battle he had. It didn’t matter. When you talk about it, he was the one that battled him. Mel’s been into this a million times, he lost to everybody!”
Furthermore, Simmons pointed out an important parallel between Melle Mel and Eminem’s careers: “Let me also clarify something. When people talk about Eminem… Melle Mel is sitting in the same chair Eminem is sitting. Is Melle Mel in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame?! So is Eminem. Does Melle Mel have platinum records and platinum albums? He went triple platinum. He won the Grammy. He and Eminem sit in the same seat. Mel is probably saying to everybody right now, ‘yo, I don’t care if I lost to Eminem, as long as you say who was the guy that had the nerve to battle Eminem?!’ Can you name anybody? Don’t name Game, name somebody else,” Bobby Simmons emphatically added.