Netflix’s new comedy “You People” plays on racial stereotypes a lot, and it seems like endless debates around Marshall’s place in hip hop belong to this category now.
The official “You People” trailer used Dr. Dre’s “What’s the Difference” recorded with Eminem and Xzibit as if to foreshadow more to come. And indeed, more followed.
There is a moment in the movie, where Jona Hill’s character gets into a heated hip hop discussion on a podcast he co-hosts.
When asked about his Top 5 MCs, Ezra, the white guy he portrays, cites this list:
1. Jay-Z
2. Biggie
3. 2Pac
4. Nas
5. Eminem.
His colleague feels sceptical about it and specifically questions if Eminem fits the list, comparing him to Larry Bird and crediting his success in the “Black game” exclusively to his whiteness. Jonah’s character sounds exasperated when he reacts:
That is so stupid. That might be the dumbest shit you’ve ever said to me. Why do I have to keep defending Shady? I mean, his sole purpose is to be on other people’s tracks and murder them. I mean, “Renegade”? “Dead Wrong”?
Haven’t we been hearing almost exactly the same conversation again and again for years? No wonder that when HipHopDX posted this scene on their Twitter account people started discussing it as if it was a real show. Because it is just too real and HipHopDX and Complex, whose logo is printed on the backscreen of that podcast, have already posted hundreds of clips about this topic with a very similar argument.
You might feel tired of it but the magic of Eminem’s name doesn’t go away, and people will click on any clip that mentions Marshall.
