The gangsta rap legend responded to Melle Mel’s slander and talked from the whole generation of artists.
The Dogg Pound rapper came to the same platform where Melle Mel made his scandalous statement about Eminem getting his place in hip hop only on the basis of his race. And when asked about this situation by a host, Kurupt was very respectful to the Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five veteran. But he respectfully disagreed:
That’s his opinion. That’s not our opinion though. The way Dr. Dre took Eminem subject matter wise is one thing. The way Eminem rocks [is amother]. He’s a battle rapper and he is hip hop no matter what colour he is. Dr. Dre took him in this way. That has no bearing on his skill. His skill is renowned. That’s Melle Mel’s feel on it. Melle Mel is an icon of hip hop. Melle Mel is speaking from his perspective, from hip hop’s perspective. That’s what Melle Mel is. Billboard is speaking from Billboard’s perspective, which is a hit perspective. If you can make the Billboard, you are successful. So that’s a successful list. There is no bearing of skill. Now, Melle Mel has his opinion but remember, he is hip hop, the original hip hop, so Melle speaks from that standpoint. For my generation, Eminem is OUR monster. His colour is irrelevant. [Melle Mel] does have a point. Eminem being white, he might have got away with a lot of things, like, him talking about all these different artists. And not having the backlash to where he’s blackballed. But not from his skill. White has nothing to do with his skills. But yeah, he got away with a lot of things, shit, we got away with a lot of things once we became successful. Once you’re successful, you can do whatever you want, and the game accepts it because they make money off what you’re doing, so they give you that pass. So, Melle Mel speaks from his perspective, but my generation, we really don’t agree. But hey, it’s good to agree or disagree, you know.
Interestingly, Kurupt talked not from his perspective only, he sounded like the voice of the whole generation. The generation that saw a tectonic shift in the culture that Eminem initiated, the generation that benefited from this shift. And judging by the wave of positive comments about Eminem and his legacy coming from many rappers of different ages and backgrounds, Kurupt is not reaching.
Watch the video below:
