Battle Rapper Real Deal: “I Was An Eminem Hater”

In a recent interview with Panda Chop, the legendary four-time King of the Dot (KOTD) champion Real Deal offered a candid look back at his early days in hip-hop. The Pittsburgh native revealed a surprising narrative regarding his relationship with Eminem’s music, admitting that he went through a significant phase of “hating” on the Detroit icon. Rather than a critique of talent, Real Deal explained that his resistance was born out of a desire to distance himself from the stereotypical image of a white rapper.

Reflecting on that period of his life, Real Deal didn’t hold back in calling out his own past mindset as “corny.” He explained that his initial dismissal of Eminem was a reactionary attempt to be different from his peers. “I weirdly did not like Eminem early on. Just because of the fact that every other white person did. I was such a cornball for it. So, as soon as Bubba Sparxxx hit, I was like ‘yeah! I like Bubba Sparxxx’. There is no country bone in my body but I was like ‘dude can rap and he raps what he knows and everyone’s on Eminem’s jock so I’m just gonna like Bubba Sparxxx,” he admitted.

This internal pushback against the “Eminem trend” led Real Deal to intentionally ignore some of the most pivotal moments in hip-hop history during the early 2000s. He confessed to actively avoiding the cultural phenomenon of 8 Mile and downplaying Eminem’s lyrical output out of pure spite. “I was cornball in that regard. I would find any corny excuse to downplay a verse Eminem had. I was such a hater. I was hating on Eminem even when 8 Mile came out. I would not even see it. I saw it years after it came out,” he shared.

Even as Eminem’s technical prowess became undeniable to the masses, Real Deal maintained his skeptical stance. However, he did acknowledge that some tracks began to break through his defenses. “I obviously knew he was talented. When I first seen ‘Hi My Name Is’, I didn’t even consider it as a rap. I thought it was parody. When Marshall Mathers LP came out, people were constantly traying to sell me on him and I did like ‘Stan’. I was like ‘that one’s kinda cool.’ I saw just super hater,” the battle rap veteran recalled.

During this era, Real Deal found his inspiration in Bubba Sparxxx, particularly the critically acclaimed album Deliverance. Despite having no personal connection to the rural themes of the record, he found Bubba’s lyrical approach more refreshing than the massive hype surrounding Shady Records. He noted the irony that while most white rappers of his generation were following the Eminem blueprint, he was looking elsewhere for his primary influence.

Now an established legend in the battle rap circuit known for his own technical complexity, Real Deal recognizes that his style eventually shifted toward the very artist he once tried to ignore. He concluded by acknowledging that while Bubba was his early hero, his actual craft shares more DNA with Eminem’s arsenal. “I’m still huge Bubba Sparxxx fan to this day but the funny thing was when everyone else’s white rapper inspiration is Eminem that’s my age, mine was Bubba Sparxxx. And I don’t sound like Bubba Sparxxx, I don’t neccessarly rap like Bubba Sparxxx, he definitely influenced me lyrically, cause he’s good lyricist but now looking back, I have tried to take more from Eminem’s arsenal than Bubba Sparxxx,” he added.

You can watch the interview below:

Eminem Real Deal