The iconic Melle Mel, aimed squarely at the one and only Eminem. The legendary figure from Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five tantalizingly previewed this diss track, setting the digital airwaves ablaze with anticipation. This forthcoming retaliation stands as a response to the recent verbal volleys unleashed by Eminem in his collaboration with Ez Mil on the track “Realest.”
With an air of unapologetic confidence, Melle Mel asserts his prowess in lyrical warfare, delivering a taste of his lyrical arsenal in the teaser: “No apologies, this ain’t a disclaimer / I’m the king of legends, the first Hall of Famer / Making diss tracks, I know you’re with that / Now everybody get ready for the kickback,” The verses ooze with the kind of fervor and skill that only an artist of his stature could muster.
In the preceding week, Eminem didn’t shy away from firing his own shots, taking direct aim at Mel in his verses: “But when they say that I’m only top five / ‘Cause I’m white, why would I be stunned? / My skin color still workin’ against me / ‘Cause second I should be to none / Being white ain’t why they put me at top five / It’s why they can’t put me at one,” he raps. These lines underscore the complex dynamics of race that continue to weave through the fabric of the hip-hop scene.
A key figure in the Furious Five, Grandmaster Flash himself also caught a mention in Eminem’s lines:Shout to the Furious Five and Grandmaster Flash, but, boy / This someone who really is furious, stay out his path, his wrath, avoid / And I’ll be the last to toy with a juice-head whose brain is like half destroyed / Like a meteor hit it / Well, there went Melle Mel, we lost his a-s to ‘roids,” The verbal jabs are unapologetically pointed, underscoring the intensity of this lyrical showdown.
Before this exchange of lyrical fire, Melle Mel had expressed his thoughts on Eminem’s position in the hip-hop pantheon, contending that the rapper’s presence in Billboard’s prestigious list of the 50 greatest rappers was bolstered by his ethnicity. “Obviously he’s a capable rapper. If you were talking about sales, he’s sold more than everybody. If you were talking about rhyme style, okay he’s got a rhyme style. But he’s white. He’s white,” he stated candidly. This perspective rekindles the ongoing debate about how race factors into the appraisal of an artist’s greatness.
Delving further, Melle Mel explored the hypothetical scenario where Eminem was not a white artist. “So now if Eminem was another ni–a like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list when a ni–a that could rhyme just as good as him is 35? That had records and all that? He’s 35. He’s white.” The question he raises speaks to the intricacies of representation and opportunity in the hip-hop landscape.
Check out Melle Mel’s Diss Below:
He continued, offering insight into the industry dynamics: “And anybody could be as mad… They could feel how they wanna feel. If you don’t think that race plays a part in the equation of how great he is — I heard one of the dudes that’s down with him, Royce Da 6’9″ [Royce Da 5’9″] or one of those – I heard he’s just as good as Eminem. Why he ain’t as big as Eminem? Because he’s Black. Ain’t none of that sh-t hard to figure out.” His words peel back the layers of systemic biases that shape the trajectory of artists’ careers.
In the intricate tapestry of hip-hop, the clash of words and ideas between Melle Mel and Eminem reverberates far beyond the lyrics themselves. This confrontation forces us to confront deeper questions about identity, privilege, and the complex interplay between talent and opportunity in the realm of music
[VIA]