After years of controversy and hostility, Melle Mel has posted an awkward video in which he carefully praises Eminem’s technical skill but avoids to acknowledge his impact, then drops a claim about a possible Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg tour.
Change of heart?
A video appeared on Melle Mel’s Instagram account. He often posts short clips from longer commentaries, and the world has already seen him pivot on some sensitive topics Mel used to have strong opinions about. For instance, in 2024, he slammed Kendrick Lamar for being too young and insignificant to be ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list. Now, he praises Kendrick as the brightest light in hip hop, citing the Drake beef and the very successful live tour as the reasons.
Even more surprisingly, Grandmaster took back some accusations he used to lay at Eminem’s door. Reacting to Eminem’s No.5 on the same list, Mel was livid: “Obviously, he’s a capable rapper. If we’re talking about sales – he’s sold more than everybody. If we’re talking about rhymestyle – okay, he’s got a rhymestyle. But he is white! He is white! If Eminem was just another nigga like the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list?!”
Now, the Furious Five MC has at least stepped away from the racial angle he often adopted when talking about Marshall.
“Eminem fits into the hip hop diaspora”, Melle Mel starts his speech. “He’s one of the greatest rappers, technically, that we have ever seen. Do I think he’s the greatest? No. Does him being black or white have anything to do with it? Not at all”.
Not that much has changed after all
However, what followed was not all that different from Melle Mel’s previous diatribes – specifically, his definition of greatness and how reluctant he remains to apply that definition to Eminem’s legacy.
“I define greatness as those who’ve changed the landscape the most. Those who’ve been on top of this greatness pedestal. But I do think that technically he’s probably one of the best, if not THE best, technical rappers. As far as his rhyming skills and how he puts the words together, I think there is nobody better than him”.
It is satisfying to hear Mel acknowledge Eminem’s skills. At least this time he did not add his favourite point, which he has used before to argue that Eminem did not truly change hip hop’s landscape. “If after Eminem makes his songs and he makes his big splash in the game, if you don’t have a thousand white rappers – nothing’s changed”, the veteran rapper declared in 2023.
A peace offering
Overall, Melle Mel repeated his old talking points, just smoothing the sharpest edges and adopting a more measured tone. Perhaps softening his tone served the main purpose of the post – repairing his public image and relationship with Marshall.
“Anybody can be a rapper, anybody can have a place. And even after whatever happened between me and Eminem, I have no ill will about it. I don’t think no kind of way about it. I respect him. I respect what he did within hip hop.
He’s definitely one of the greats. I’m not saying he’s THE great, because I define greatness not whether I like you or not; it’s whether you’ve changed the landscape in hip hop. Eminem, I have regard for. I have no problem with him, and I don’t believe he has a problem with me. It’s just something that happened – that happened. I wish him all the best”.
What did happen?
That was quite a way to downplay a very public feud. What happened was that Eminem, after years of hearing the same jabs and dismissive remarks, addressed them on the joint with Ez Mil, who had recently signed to Shady Records at that time.
Being white ain’t why they put me at top five
It’s why they can’t put me at one
Marshall’s whole “Realest” verse is about the way he’s been treated by haters. Moreover, he does not name names except for one:
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 ass to ‘roids
At once, Melle Mel took this verse very personally and decided to go on a crusade. He dropped a diss record. It was so bad that other veteran rappers, including Grandmaster Caz from Mel’s own crew, felt embarrassed on his behalf.
Now, Melle Mel claims that all that is just water under the bridge. And the way he decided to show it surprised the followers.
Too good to be true
In a very theatrical manner, the biggest surprise came just before the curtain dropped. Having declared peace with Eminem, Melle Mel shared his plans to see Eminem performing live. More surprisingly, he spoke as if a full tour was already planned.
“He’s going on tour soon with Dre and Snoop”, Mel declared with unshakable confidence. “I’m looking forward to seeing it. Looking to see what kind of noise he puts up”.
Where this information comes from, nobody knows. Melle Mel does not belong to Marshall’s inner circle to have any inside information. If he did, he wouldn’t share it so casually.
Fans have joked for years about Melle Mel living in the past that it might be just him hearing about that old joint tour that fell through years ago. Back then Eminem turned the offer down because he did not want to be away from his children.
Or, more likely, Melle Mel just believes rampant misinformation that floods social media. Posts on every platform have been claiming for years that an Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre tour is about to begin. It’s been going on for years now.
You know what they say: if it sounds good to be true, it probably is. For now, this unfounded claim belongs in that category. While every Slim Shady fan believes that the world will eventually see Eminem touring again, we know that until the official confirmation comes, we should not get our hopes up too high.