Legendary hip-hop group Cypress Hill’s B-Real and The Beatnuts’ Psycho Les have recently talked about Melle Mel’s comments about Eminem on B-Real’s The Dr. Greenthumb Show podcast. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five recently talked about Slim Shady’s place in top 5 greatest rappers of all time list and said that Marshall Mathers is in top 5 just because he’s a white rapper.
“Eminem was handpicked by Dre, yes, but Dre did not necessarily make him. He had to make himself. Much like Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick Lamar got recognized by Dre but if you look at what Kendrick has done, he has built himself. That’s what Eminem did. And here is a thing I wanna say as an emcee. There is no way you can not give him his props. Because it does not matter what color this dude is, he’s spit out some of the hardest bars and verses and style-flips and conceptual songs that anybody has ever heard.” said B-Real
Then he continues: “So for me, in my opinion, he’s one of the GOATs and he has earned all that respect. To me color is not an issue. He was the best to ever do it. One of the best to ever do it. Is he the best? Again, it’s subjective. Other folks think Jay-Z, other folks think Lil Wayne, other folks think it’s Biggie, other folks think its Pac, other folks think KRS-1. It’s all subjective but to say Eminem does not deserve this props, well, that’s your opinion. It may not be good one but it’s yours and that’s fine. In my list, Eminem is one of the best and he deserves all those props. When they ask me who’s your top 5 emcees, the top meaningful to me as emcees, are Em, KRS and Jay-Z. This is my top 3. It’s just my opinion and you might not agree. Em earned all his respect.”
“Eminem came from battle rap world. So he gotta be on fire. And he was. He was known for eating people up in a battle world. He also knew how to write a song, a catchy song, an anthem song. So, he not necessarily mastered the best of both worlds, but he is tapped in to both worlds in a way no one else is. And that is something very hard to do. It’s very rare when emcees do this. How do you not give this dude his due. And on top of that, he sold millions. I think he’s a number one selling artist in hip-hop. How can you not give him his dues. He still sells. he got fans. He got hard core fans. I know that Eminem would take Melle Mel out in this time because he has been doing that. When he does features, he’s going after the head of whoever he’s doing features with. And if you don’t hear that my dude, there’s more than that. Eminem is just different beast.”
“If I was to get a call and Eminem says I want to do a song with you, I already know he’s going to try to take my head off. Friendly-style cause we are competitive and we are friends and we got love for each other but I know he’s gonna flex a verse to make me work. That song with him and Busta, s–t’s crazy. You know the first guy to put me on to Eminem was Busta Rhymes. We were on tour and we was like ‘hey man you heard this kid Slim Shady? he has got crazy bars!’ And he starts repeating like first four bars of My Name Is.”
“Em was always cool with us. He was always giving up props. He shouted us out on many different songs. Sometimes I could not understand. My dude just gives us so much love that he does not have to. That’s something that I respect and appreciate. When he got nominated into the Hall Of Fame he shouted out all those groups and he threw us in there as well. He constantly chills us up. He’s a person that does not have to. That’s what’s so dope about him. He recognizes what fed him. What inspired him. And he told Hall Of Fame board that ‘hey you all have to recognize these folks cause they made me.’ And that’s big because the guys in his position don’t have to do it. They just walk in there and thank fans, family, agents and f–k off. But he did not. He’s a student of the game. He respects the artists that came before him.” – B-real added.
After that, B-Real and Psycho Les talk working and touring with Eminem. You can watch the entire interview below: