Eminem’s battle rap era is turning into the origin story of a mythical hero. But when somebody tries to blame him for transgressions he did not commit, hip hop veterans rally behind Em and show where the truth lies.
A Lesson in Hip Hop History
This story starts in the 1990s, when Mr. Dibbs, now a successful DJ and producer, brought together Cincinnati DJs, MCs, and graffiti artists to form the 1200 Hobos crew. In 1996, he worked with the local graffiti magazine Scribble to promote it with a music festival. Not just any music festival, but the one focused on hip hop culture. The demand was so high that the following year they extended the Scribble Jam programme, including breakdancing, and welcomed MCs from other US cities. They came take part in the Scribble Jam’s rap battles. One of those rappers was Eminem.
Back in 1997, Em’s reputation was not well known outside Detroit. Yes, he had already released his Infinite album, but very few actually heard it. Mr. Dibbs was not one of those, shares the DJ in his recent interview with Panda Chop:
“He had Infinite, but we hadn’t heard that. His manager at the time, Mark, was passing out copies, but we didn’t hear that till after the weekend had passed, when we had a chance to listen. He was just there with Mark, just a dude. He was just over there being quiet, just waiting”.
Murder on the Beat
Nothing prepared Mr. Dibbs and the whole Scribble Jam crew for what Eminem did later:
“I remember the beat came on, and then he rapped. And I’m like, “Who the fuck is that?” All the dudes that were sitting behind the turntables like, “What the fuck just happened? Did you hear that motherfucker?” It was surprising. It was definitely a ‘what the fuck is happening’ moment. And it became very clear: there was going to be Juice, Rhymefest, Dose, and Eminem in the final four”.
And by the end of outdoor rounds, there were exactly those four finalists. In the semifinals, Eminem was seeded against DoseOne and won. Rhymefest did not want to go against Juice, who was from the same crew, and withdrew from the competition. So, the 1997 Scribble Jam final battle was between Eminem and Juice, and Juice wrestled the victory from Em’s hands.
An Attempt at Rewriting History
Here is where the conversation about hip hop history ends, and the conversation about current hip hop lies begins. Last year, Rhymefest declared on camera that during the Scribble Jam battle, Eminem called him an n-word. Rhymefest was a picture of lighthearted forgiveness, saying that the rhyme was so sharp that he could not even be angry with Marshall, and also that he won that battle.
The claim was disputed immediately. Eminem did not use an n-slur, and also, he did not lose a battle to him because they had never gone against each other. There was a silent agreement to call this an incident of misquotation and misremembering, because everyone involved struggled to believe that Rhymefest would lie about something so easy to verify by just watching the video. Mr. Dibbs was the one who provided the evidence. Apparently, after that, Em’s management reached out to him and asked him to make the video public.
It was the video of Em’s battle against Allstar, where Eminem used the lines, which Rhymefest later misquoted, adding a slur. And also, claiming that they were addressed to him. However, Mr. Dibs is not only ready to disprove it with evidence, but also said that the competition’s culture would never allow anything like that to happen.
“If that had happened, Eminem would have got clanked with a bottle. We don’t play that shit. We just don’t, that doesn’t fly here”.
Understandably, it did not fly with Em’s team as well. Marshall did not make any statement. As we all know, it is not his style. However, his management asked Mr. Dibbs to pull receipts from the real battle.
“The Eminem camp was pissed”, remembers the fest organiser. “They were telling the Scribble Jam kids, ‘Could you just make sure that you post it and explain what’s going on?’ You know, it’s a bad look, especially when it’s not fucking true”.
Paul Rosenberg then amplified the signal, sharing the video with a message:
“Em said a lot of nasty stuff in battles, but never that. Here’s the actual footage from ’97 Scribble Jam — and those lines weren’t even against Rhymefest”.
An Origin Story
The video was posted and then reposted again because the allegation spread quickly. Haters flocked to the comments to start a fight without even watching the video. You cannot make people see the truth, and the attention span of the internet population is short, so it all died out eventually.
However, what is interesting here is that Eminem’s figure has become a legend. He moved through the battle rap circuit fast and far. Slaughtering opponents, killing rhymes, murdering beats. Em has skyrocketed to fame, leaving this world behind. With time, his accension had become a myth, a legend, a story many tell in a way that others do not recognise. We have several reports here on this website from different people, focused on the message “how I broke Eminem”.
Traditionally, that’s what happens to heroes – they become legends. Still, it is important to distinguish a myth from the outward lie. That’s why testimonies of artists like Mr. Dibbs are important, and that’s why we should not stop paying attention to them.
