Mekhi Phifer has recently sat down on Cruz Show to talk about his Apple TV+ show called “Truth Be Told.” He also spoke about having an unfinished album from the 90’s, almost passing on 8 Mile role and more, Plus, Lechero also tells a hilarious story about how Mekhi helped him get some action.
At one point during the interview, Mekhi Phifer was asked to recall never before heard story about Eminem’s box-office topping movie 8 Mile. “When we did 8 Mile, that was back in 2001, when we were shooting and it was released in 2002,” he said. “When we shot it, we were all single men, Eminem was at height of his career, we are shooting in Detroit, in his hometown, he was the biggest rapper at that time. Period. And we had fun in Detroit. I’m not going into detail. I don’t need to. But the thing is, we had a great time. Camaraderie was real.”
Then he continues: “I’ll tell you quick story. I initially turned down 8 Mile. Because, my agency man called me like ‘look, Curtis Hanson is directing this movie 8 Mile.’ I love Curtis Hanson. He done L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, excellent director. And they said ‘yes, the movie with Eminem.’ I said ‘c’mon man, now you playing games.’ Because I loved his music but I never seen him act before. I think all I saw was The Wash movie where he had a quick cameo.”
“They would not release the script. It was hush-hush. So my agency convinced me ‘please just go Curtis’ office and read the script. I read the script and loved it. I was like ‘this is actually really freaking good.’ Then they flew me to Detroit. I hang out with Eminem for few days and we just hit it off. I didn’t know he was a fan of me. I was fan of his too. I saw how serious he was about really putting together something really nice and I camaraderie because I’m basically loosely playing Proof. That’s why I had those crazy dreads. Because when Proof was hosting those battles in 1995, he had those dreads. They offered me the role. I went down and we had month of rehearsal. By the time we started shooting, I knew the whole script. There was nothing to really study. So, it was party time. And we were at our 20s, forget it… It was going down!”
Cassidy has recently sat down with Fresha Than and Rashaun Abdur-Rahim on the latest episode of ACAF where Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-born hip-hop artists and battle rapper expressed his desire to work with Eminem but also challenges him into a rap battle.
“If somebody wants to claim the title, like Eminem or somebody who would have to come back and get actually in the lane, they are out to claim that they are biggest battle rapper because, as at this point right now, it’s me.” said Cassidy.
When Rashaun asked him if Eminem is someone he would like to battle, Cassidy replied: “Nah, I’m a fan of Eminem. I wanna work with him. I ain’t really trying to battle him but I battle anybody. I battled myself before so I battle anyone.”
This is not the first time Cassidy expressed his desire to work with (or battle) Eminem. Couple of years ago, in an interview with Hip-Hop Is Real, Cass spoke about Slim Shady being the only person he’d like to battle: “The only artists that I would get excited about are those that accomplished more than me in this world. Any battle rapper that you will bring up I am not going to feel, like, not taking anything away from battle rappers but I just felt like I accomplished more than any other battle rapper. I would get excited about somebody like Eminem, definitely, I want that.”
Last year, in an interview with Ugly Money TV, Cassidy was asked to describe how his Eminem-diss record would sound like, on which he replied: “Nah, I love Eminem man. I got no reason to diss him. I love Detroit. I love all them motherf–kers. That’s like really hip-hop place. I f–k with Eminem. He made history so many times and that ni–a can really rap. That ni–a can put bars together and that’s dope. He can do any type of hip-hop. He really into the culture. He’s not the ni–a that’s unfamiliar to what’s going on. That ni–a is super informed. So, I don’t wanna diss Eminem. I wanna work with him. I wanna meet him. I wanna talk to him.”
As far as Eminem, his favorite battle rapper seems to be Murda Mook. Couple of years ago, in an interview with Report Card Radio, Royce 5’9″ said: “Eminem is definitely tuned in battle rap, he loves Murda Mook. I think Mook is his favorite right now.”
Throughout the 5 seasons of the hit television series, “Breaking Bad,” we were introduced to countless iconic characters. Every character in the show was incredibly well-written and usually served as one of many cogs that advanced the plot further.
In case there was ever any doubt, it should be said that every member on our Southpawers team is a huge fan of the series and the characters it contained. The first character that comes to mind might be Walt, the scientist teacher that snaps (or “Breaks Bad”) and unleashes his evil, alter ego, Heisenberg. This may remind you of a certain Detroit battle rapper that sometimes lets his evil twin out of the box to do his evil deeds. This got some of our Southpawers writer’s wondering, “What if Shady Affiliates were Breaking Bad Characters”?
Walter White/Heisenberg Eminem/Slim Shady
Walter White is a perfectly normal guy on the surface, much like Eminem. However, once the Fedora or bleached blonde hair is applied, they become an evil version of themselves. This evil version serves as a vehicle they can use to blame for all their murders and misdeeds. Some could argue they’re stronger and more powerful when their bad half is in control. However, it’s usually at the cost of inflicting pain on anyone and everyone within the crossfire.
Skylar White Kim Mathers
The wives of both Eminem and Walt often disapprove of the way they choose to earn their money. Both on again and off again relationships, eventually wind up ending permanently with Walt/Eminem. The only difference is between divorce and death. The troubled relationships with their husbands both resulted in self sabotage. Kim would attempt to end her life via self-harm, while Skylar was shown smoking cigarettes while pregnant as a way to deal with the stress. The majority of both Eminem and Breaking Bad fans also seem to generally dislike each of the protagonist’s wives.
Saul Goodman Jimmy Iovine
They’re not usually directly involved in the front lines of any real action, but through wit and the will to survive, they seem to have a role in everyone’s business. Both men are very good at taking the bare materials they have, and finding a way to use them to their benefit in tight situations.
Mike Ehrmantraut Dr. Dre
Mike and Dre are both strictly business, at least on the surface. They both have a history of committing questionalnl, even criminal deeds, but mostly for the sake of supporting their family. Mike/Dre work very closely with Saul/Jimmy within the same business. They don’t always agree with each other, but they need each other to become Moguls in the Crime/Hip-Hop industry. Mike/Dre are also responsible for cleaning up the messes often made by Heisenberg/Slim Shady. Walt/Eminem always wanted to become as successful as Mike/Dre, no matter what they have to sacrifice to get there.
Gus Fring Paul Rosenberg
If it wasn’t for Gus Fring, Walter White would have never been able to make as much money in the business as he did. The same goes for Eminem needing Paul Rosenberg as his manager to take care of the business side of things. Both Gus and Paul are very smart men who know how to run a business, even if it means being a little shady sometimes. Deep down, both Gus and Paul have emotions, but the bottom line is, if it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense.
Jesse Pinkman Proof (Of D12)
Jesse and Proof both came from the streets. Proof was running the streets of underground Detroit Hip-hop, while Jesse was well known in New Mexico for his “Chilly P” brand of methamphetamines. They were both masters of their craft, but didn’t break into fame until they teamed up with someone who balances them. Proof met Eminem who would help launch Proof into fame with the success of D12. Walter White helped Jesse perfect his formula and they built an methamphetamine empire together. In both cases, Proof and Jesse were doing well, but they needed to find someone with a similar skillset to maximize their full potential.
Badger Bizzare (Of D12)
Badger/Bizzare is a longtime friend of Jesse/Proof. They came up together in the rough streets of Albuquerque/Detroit. Badger/Bizzare are both known to be pretty unorthodox and strange individuals. One thing you have to give them credit for, though, is the strong loyalty they have for their friends. Until the very end, Badger can be seen providing a safe house for Jesse while he was on the run, being one of the most wanted criminals in the country. Badger even provided Jesse with a car while he was wanted by police. Bizzare is also known to always have his friend’s backs until the very end. Even very recently, Bizzare has shown support for Eminem during his beefs with Machine Gun Kelly and Lord Jamar. Despite D12 having disbanded years ago, Bizzare has shown that friends are forever.
I had a lot of fun writing this article, and I hope Southpawers enjoyed reading it just as much. This is just the beginning. We have tons of creative ideas just like this queued up and coming down the pipeline very soon. What Breaking Bad Characters do you think we should have included as Shady Affiliates? Let us know in the comments!
TK Kirkland is an American entertainer who has been in the industry for over a decade. He has had success in both film and television. TK is well-known for his work in acting, stand-up comedy, and writing. He has recently sat down for an interview with The Art Of Dialogue where he shared his thoughts on Billboard and Vibe magazines list of top 50 greatest rappers of all time and how Eminem and Jay-Z fit in the list.
“[Top 5] That’s a hot list bro. Listen, I toured with Jay-Z. I toured with Tupac. I toured with 50 Cent and Eminem. You can take all the rappers combined on this planet and put them in the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, they will never outsell Eminem. When he was at the top of his prime.” said TK Kirkland.
Then he continues: “When I saw Eminem performing in Detroit at the Ford Field in Michigan, he sold out three nights straight. Jay-Z could never do that. Tupac could never do that. Those guys on the list could never do that. And these are facts. Eminem sold out Ford Field by himself alone. It’s insane. But far as swag. Far as when you listen to person’s music what they do for you, hands down, Jay-Z.”
From there TK Kirkland continues talking about Nas and Kendrick Lamar. You can watch the entire thing below:
Cash Kidd has recently sat down with No Jumper where the Detroit rapper talked about hopping on a song with Eminem and Royce 5’9″ on Big Sean’s “Friday Night Cypher” from Detroit 2 album which also features Kash Doll, Payroll Giovanni, Sada Baby, Drego, Boldy James, 42 Dugg and Tee Grizzley.
In a similar fashion to how Em united with six Detroiter rappers on “Detroit vs. Everybody,” Big Sean went further on “Friday Night Cypher” and brought together fourteen Detroit natives — eleven rappers and three producers, including Cash Kidd. Part of the song is also produced by Detroit 2’s executive producer Hit-Boy, who is the only artist on this song who doesn’t hail from Detroit.
In rap, a “cypher” refers to a gathering of rappers, usually taking turns freestyling. “Friday Night Cypher” runs through seven beat switches and brings together rappers with very different styles over a nearly ten-minute run-time. It is notable for uniting individuals who have previously had disagreements, notably Eminem, Royce and Tee Grizzley.
“I brag about that with everybody. We were all in the studio together. Everybody was in there. I wish I was in the studio with Eminem. Everyone was there besides Eminem and Royce 5’9″. Sean was there too. Tee Grizzley was there.” said Cash Kidd.
Then he continues: “Eminem man, I got a song with Eminem. My homeboy in jail called me, he had been there for like 10 years and s–t. He could not believe it. I’m in motherf–kin line in store and my phone keep bolwin’ up. I picked it up and I hear my dude be like ‘MAN, YOU GOT A SONG WITH EMINEM?! WHAT A F–K NI–A. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS S–T. I’M GOING CRAZY! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT BRO. Eminem bro. Still can’t believe it right now. Eminem! That’s crazy. That s–t meant the world to me. That s–t was lit as hell. Best thing in my career. I appreciate everybody that make that s–t happen.”
You can watch No Jumper’s interview with Cash Kidd below:
For the latest episode of Southpawdcast, we sat down with Detroit’s own Kid Vishis to talk about Nipsey Hussle, top 5 lists, Alien Gang, Idolizing rappers, Drake, getting motivation from Eminem and much more! You can watch the entire thing above!
Make sure to follow our host Marshall Mann on Instagram and check out Interview with D12’s Kuniva here if you missed it.
We have listed some of the best Eminem guest hooks of all time. Check the list below and tell us your opinions in the comment sections of our social media accounts.
1. Tony Yayo – “Drama Setter” (feat. Eminem & Obie Trice)
“Drama Setter” was released on Tony Yayo’s debut album, called Thoughts of a Predicate Felon. The album was released in 2005 and sold 214,000 in its first week. Production for the song was handled by Eminem, Luis Resto, and Jeff Bass. “Drama Setter” was not released as a single for the album.
2. Jadakiss – “Welcome To D-Block” (feat. Eminem, Styles P & Sheek Louch)
Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch, the 3 members of The Lox, often shout out D-Block on their songs. It’s what they call their neighborhood in Yonkers. The term may have been coined as a reference to the maximum security wing at Alcatraz, but regardless of it’s origin, The Lox have turned D-Block into a catch-all term for a rough and scary neighborhood. Eminem drops one of his best verses in a guest-spot and gets all sing-songy on the chorus. Definitely worthy to be included in the list of best Eminem guest hooks.
The Drumma Boy-produced track that was leaked in 2011. This song actually had some drama behind it. It started with Jeezy wanting to get Freddie Gibbs on this song, however, Gibbs didn’t want to get on this song, due to him thinking getting on a song with Eminem, an artist he had little interaction with, made him look “thirsty.” Allegedly, Eminem thought Jeezy was at fault for leaking the song, but Jeezy blamed the song leaking on Gibbs, causing Jeezy and Eminem’s relationship to end, and starting beef between Freddie Gibbs and Jeezy. The chorus is considered one of the best Eminem guest hooks he has ever made.
4. Trick Trick – “No More To Say” (feat. Eminem & Big Proof)
The Eminem-produced song from Trick’s 2005 album, called The People Vs. On the seventh track, Trick Trick makes it clear to everyone in Detroit that he isn’t someone they want to mess with. Having Eminem and Proof giving them a warning that they’ll regret it if they dare get on their bad side, by taking that step showing s–t will get personal. Eminem is known for condoning violence due to his history with the law of battery assault and gun charges and Proof most definitely be sure to not let anyone pick on any of his homies who got his back.
5. T.I. – “That’s All She Wrote” (feat. Eminem)
This marks their first collaboration between Tip and Em since “Touchdown.” The instrumental is a mellow affair, a series of guitar strums, both over staccato 808’s, allowing both rappers to take center stage. Around Thanksgiving in 2010, just a few weeks before T.I.’s No Mercy album was officially released, a version of this song surfaced on the Internet that featured a different Eminem verse and lacked a bridge from T.I., though it’s presumably only a demo. This track is produced by Dr. Luke, a renown contributor to T.I.’s other music.
“911” is about hip-hop escalating to death threats and violence. As Monsta G detailed in a 2020 interview for The Lesson w/ DJ Sanchez, the song came about as a quid pro quo for Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’s protection of Eminem whenever he visited the West Coast, as he was being extorted by the Crips.
7. Dr. Dre – “Die Hard” (feat. Eminem)
A song from Detox that premiered on the final episode of “Fight Camp 360º: Pacquio vs. Mosley”. The final version has never been released.
“Our House” is used as a metaphor for the rap game. Royce, Joell, Eminem, Joe and Crooked I have all payed their dues and now it’s their time to be on top, warning everyone that the industry is their house now. The placement of “Our House” on Welcome To: Our House may also indicate that their house is their album, as “Our House” is the first full-length song, following the intro skit “The Slaughter.”
9. Xzibit – “Don’t Approach Me” (feat. Eminem)
Off Xzibit’s 2000 album Restless. A low-budget music video was shot, even though it wasn’t released as a single. The song was produced by Eminem.
10. Obie Trice “Hands On You” (feat. Eminem)
The thirteenth track off of Obie Trice’s debut studio album, Cheers. Obie tells a girl that if she promises to stay with him, he’ll be the best man he can for her. Eminem helps out on the hook and bridge, and both rappers, along with frequent collaborator Luis Resto, produced the song.
List of best Eminem guest hooks provided by Southpawer. Song description written with the help of Genius.
Secaucus, New Jersey-born rapper Russ looks impressed by Eminem‘s streaming numbers after Hip-Hop All Day shared the list of most streamed songs this week on Spotify.
Russ retweeted Hip-Hop All Day’s tweet and said it’s his goal to match Eminem’s longevity: “Eminem’s longevity is f—ing insane. Goals.” he wrote in the caption.
This week, Slim Shady was the only artist to have five songs in the top 20 most streamed songs on Spotify, with “Mockingbird” earning the most, more than 14 million streams. Check out top streamed songs this week below:
Most streamed songs this week on Spotify
16.8m – Players
14.1m – Just Wanna Rock 14.1m – Mockingbird
13.3m – Rich Flex
12.2m – Superhero
12.0m – Watch This
11.3m – On The Street
10.6m – Trance
10.2m – No Role Modelz 9.3m – Without Me
9.3m – LET GO
9.0m – Red Ruby Da Sleeze
8.6m – Private Landing 8.2m – The Real Slim Shady
8.0m – Jimmy Cooks 8.0m – Superman 7.9m – Lose Yourself
7.8m – Painting Pictures
7.8m – In Ha Mood
7.7m – Revenge
7.6m – Gangstas Paradise
“Mockingbird” has also recently joined the billion-streams club on Spotify, making it Eminem’s 7th song to reach this milestone. To celebrate the accolade, Shady Records tweeter shared the link of the song with the caption: “Maybe one day we’ll wake up and this’ll all just be a dream” Eminem’s #Mockingbird hit 1 billion!”
50 Cent and Ja Rule’s feud was probably one of Hip Hop’s most infamous beefs, and Melle Mel thinks things may have gone differently for Ja Rule if he did not copy Fiddy’s gangsta style.
In a recent interview with The Art of Dialogue, the legendary rapper from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five shared his thoughts on why rappers trying to be “hard” is resulting in the destruction of the genre itself.
“A lot of rappers could be better rappers if they stopped rapping like everybody else. What is it that you need to say? You could be the ni–a that made a song about a pool party, but you f–ked around and listened to Meek Mill and went and you f–ked around and did some dumb s–t. It’s just like when 50 Cent was doing this s–t and then when Ja Rule and that was probably one of his last big records.” said Melle Mel.
Then he continued: “If he woulda just made that record a pure New York record, it would have been a way bigger record. But he went the route of trying to sound hard because 50 Cent sound hard. And it was still a good record but I’m just saying, if he woulda just made it a pure New York record like how JAY-Z did with his New York record. See what I’m saying? If he woulda went along the same lines as that. So the point I am saying is that consciousness does have its place in Hip-Hop, but everybody is too scared about not being hard. And that’s the destruction of the whole game.”
In a recently release footage from TMZ, Ja literally laughs out loud at Mel’s comments and says: “Mel has earned the right to say whatever he wants but me copying Fifty is the funniest s–t I’ve ever because Fifty copied me. I was his blueprint. Other than that, my New York record was huge. One of the biggest New York records to date. Empire State of Mind is also huge but they are different. Mine’s a street anthem and Empire State Of Mind is a big commercial record with Alicia Key and Jay-Z.”
Tony Yayo has recently sat down with VLAD and chimed in on recent debate about who made a bigger impact in hip-hop, Eminem or Jay-Z. It all started when former NBA player Jamal Crawford visited Shaquille O’Neal on his The Big Podcast and drew the parallel to hip-hop to rank his top five NBA players of all time and used Eminem and JAY-Z’s impact as an example.
“In my top five, the dominance outweighs the number. You can not change the game and say this person has more points than me, he is better. It is beyond that. Jay-Z’s affect on hip-hop is bigger than any album sales Eminem will have. That is just how it goes.” Crawford said during the interview.
Jamal Crawford’s statement sparked lots of discussions in hip-hop social media and 50 Cent also weighed in. The Hip-Hop Wolf Instagram page posted Crawford’s interview and asked fans if they agree to him or not. Under the comment section, Fifty replied: “Ha, bulls–t.” with Sneezing Face emoji.
When VLAD asked Tony Yayo if he agrees 50 Cent or not, he replied: “For me, I would say I agree because he made the biggest impact on my career. So, for me, I look at Eminem as, any artist that sells 60 million records, that’s number one, that’s number two. But I could see why people put Jay-Z number one. Because this guy was around Biggie Smalls. He rhymed with Biggie back and forth. Filled out Arenas. Can’t take no accolades for Jay-Z or Eminem. I don’t know, when you look at these lists, to me it’s hard to really figure out who’s number one. Who is this. Who is that. As long as you are on the list, I guess it’s all good.”
You can watch Yayo’s recent interview on VLAD TV below:
50 Cent might be a top-tier trolling king but it looks like he met his match and its his girlfriend, Cuban Link. Couple of days ago, Link whose real name is Jamira Haines flaunted her figure on Instagram, posting a series of photos showing her stepping out in a scantily-clad outfit.
“She my lil vibe, she my lil ah ah ah,” the Instagram influencer and fitness trainer captioned her post, referencing lines from Nicki Minaj’s latest single, titled “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.”
Fif commented on the post: “[big eyes emoji] what is you doing out side the house? [raised eyebrow emoji] I am telling Lucy.”
Cuban Link later posted a video on Instagram showing Fiddy writing that very comment while watching Monday night’s Houston Rockets vs. Boston Celtics game from his luxury suite inside the Toyota Center: “Caught him commenting on my post !! Please look at his face , Y’all he be dead serious lmaooooooo,” Link joked in the caption.
On his latest episode of Big Podcast, Shaquille O’Neal addresses the burning issues in the world of sports and entertainment, along with his co-hosts Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams. During a new segment of the show, the NBA icon brought up a rather contentious topic, “Did you hear what Chaka Khan said about all those singers?”
The Big Aristotle was referring to singer Chaka Khan’s insulting comments at the expense of artists like legendary Mary J. Blige and Adele, among others. The lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus was ranked 29th on the list while Mary J. Blige was in the 25th position. The hosts of the podcast revealed that they were shocked by Khan’s comments. Turner said, “She [Khan] said Mary J Blige was flat singing her version of sweet love. She went in. She is apologizing now!”
“She went there, she went there,” Shaq exclaimed. Without directly making any comment, Shaq brought up legendary rapper Melle Mel’s comments on Eminem: “Did you hear what Melle Mel said about Eminem? [He] said Eminem’s only a top 5 rapper because he’s white.” Shaq ironically smiled and with that statement he implied that Khan’s comments were clearly prompted from a place of envy, rather than being any kind of constructive criticism. Nischelle Turner was quick to reply: “Oh stop! He’s got flow! Eminem’s got the flow, don’t do that to him.”
The crew later talked about GloRilla’s concert in New York where two people die after crowd crush. Shaq drew parallel to Dr. Dre’s Up In Smoke tour: “I’ve seen crowds with half million people. How you gonna prevent that? I remember going to the Up In Smoke tour, I came from the backstage and when I looked up had to be 500 thousand people. And when Eminem came out and Snoop came out, the crowd goes crazy, everybody’s jamming I don’t know how you prevent that.”
