Icewear Vezzo has weighed in on Skilla Baby’s recent statement that many in Detroit don’t consider Eminem the greatest rapper of all time.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Vezzo expressed his respect for Eminem and acknowledged the generational gap in music preferences. Vezzo mentioned his previous comments about the lack of support young Detroit rappers get from local legends. Back then, his opinion sparked heated debates and prompted Royce 5’9 to remind them that a) they have to carve their own path and nobody owes them help, and b) they can always reach out to him personally. Since then, Vezzo altered his position slightly, stating that he didn’t mean to demand anything from the older generation, but you could tell that the resentment had always been there. And it looks like it’s still here:
I never wanted to speak against Eminem publicly. But I just couldn’t contain my thoughts and how I felt. I feel like I do so much for the city, I do so much for the community that I grew up in, and he grew up in, and a lot of people grew up in, and that support isn’t there from certain artists, especially people like Em.
While Vezzo acknowledged Eminem’s contributions to Detroit hip hop, he feels bitter that he didn’t have more personal interaction and mentorship from the legend:
I’ve never been a guy that’s like, “Em ain’t did nothing to put nobody on from the city”. He doesn’t owe nobody nothing, absolutely nothing, at all. And respectfully, he did what he needed to do. He did that for his era. If it was not for Em, there would be no Proof. There wouldn’t be a D12. It wouldn’t be Royce da 5’9. He did what he had to do. We admire everything about Em so much, and he inspired us so much. I just think we’d appreciate it more if we could have met him early on and got some knowledge, got some game, got some type of insight. I don’t understand how I met and locked in with 50 Cent, who was from Queens, before I met Eminem.
By the way, Vezzo met Eminem at Fifty’s show, where Em made a surprise appearance on stage:
Me and Em, we literally bumped into each other. It’s all good. I rock with Fifty the long way. He’s a real one. Meeting Em was mad awkward, but I was like, “Hey, bro, it’s all love; I respect you, bro, ain’t nothing like that. I feel how I feel”. He like, “I see what you doing, bla bla bla”. We kept it moving. Em don’t owe anybody nothing, man. We gotta leave him alone.
So, Vezzo can relate to Skilla Baby’s perspective. Also, he explains it by generational differences in music taste:
Them youngers ain’t listening to that. They listen to most street artists in Detroit. Em’s got a fanbase. He got his fanbase. He’s got people that like that kind of music, and the music he makes has a way bigger audience. So, if I was him, I wouldn’t even care if certain audiences don’t listen to me anyway because I’ve got a way bigger audience. But it was true what Skilla said. He got some flack for that, too, didn’t he? I don’t understand; it’s true; it’s what it is. Put it like this: Is the youngest in New York listening to Jay-Z? Probably not. It’s the same scenario. It’s a generational gap. It’s all good. The youngest in Detroit don’t really understand Jay-Z. They don’t get it. They don’t care about that music either.
Vezzo’s comments highlight the complex dynamics within the Detroit hip hop scene. While many younger rappers are familiar with Marshall’s legacy, some think they can start their career in rap without studying the greatest who came before them. Yet still, there is nobody near who can tower over the Detroit hip hop community higher than Marshall’s figure.
