Why do rappers never mention Eminem in songs?

[Trimss]

Jay Kanye etc.. All gave props to Em. But I've Never heard andre give him props

[AbramIsaac]

Macklemore mentioned Em in "White Privilege", though he wasn't giving him props:

"The face of hip hop has changed a lot since Eminem
And if he's taking away black artists' profits I look just like him
Claimed a culture that wasn't mine, the way of the american"

Well, I would say that it's debatable. He's saying that Eminem changed everything, and it's true.

[CrashBand]

Earl Sweatshirt
"We're reincarnation of '98 Eminem"

Lowkey
"Elevate with the energy of Eminem"

The Game
"Cause Marshall Mathers made it"

"It ain’t been this much drama since I first heard Eminem"

But I agree with the main point of this thread. It's the generic thing to give props to Pac & Biggie. Then Nas and Jay get the old mention here and there too.

[AbramIsaac]

Macklemore mentioned Em in "White Privilege", though he wasn't giving him props:

"The face of hip hop has changed a lot since Eminem
And if he's taking away black artists' profits I look just like him
Claimed a culture that wasn't mine, the way of the american"

Well, I would say that it's debatable. He's saying that Eminem changed everything, and it's true.

I'd say he's aiming at the public for looking at rap as a "black" man's culture.

The way of the american is pretty much a jab at how typical and expected of people to say that instead of applauding and admitting that he's talented and color has nothing to do with it.
It might have some sort of shot at Em because of how he acted back then and how he used to dress up and talk with an accent. But I don't think that was the point Mack was trying to make.

EDIT: Or he could be saying that Americans steal cultures and stuff and claim them as if they were their own.

It was definitely aimed at the public, I agree.

As far as the second part, I'm not totally sure. It definitely fits with what he was saying, but I think he was actually continuing the thought, not commenting on it. The way of the American is to absorb culture and re-purpose it. In music, it has a lot to do with the comparisons people make about how white musicians essentially stole the style black ones pioneered to make money off of Rock & Roll. That's also why Eminem mentioned Elvis so much after he got ridiculously famous.

With hip-hop though, it's not like that. You could make that argument with an artist like Vanilla Ice, which was purely a money-making fabrication of what people thought "hip hop" was, but it's also a genre that transcends racial boundaries. People tend to miss that though, unfortunately.

Either way though, Macklemore was just speaking on the perception that he felt some people might hold of him as a white rapper.

[Ares]

Game on "The City"

Either I’m crazy, or the black Slim Shady, or

[CrashBand]

Or one of the great Lil Wayne punches.

"my teeth and my ice so white like shady"

[cityfan31]

That lowkey line is hilarious. Reminds me of Ems pretend opener to the cypher.

I think in the past people were probably wary of mentioning 'The White Boy' in case he turned on them and destroyed them.

Nowadays he's sort of comfortably considered by the majority as an Elder Statesman of rap, and legitimately one of the greatest to do it, so I think we'll hear a lot more references to him. He's also less combative nowadays and less likely to go off at someone. He's not as much of a loose cannon.

[SliK]

Whitey Ford:
"I pull a 380 on those that act shady"
"So won't the bitch Slim Shady please act up?"
"With your platinum blonde Caesar, you look like a ho
Like M and M stands for Marilyn Monroe"

Ja Rule:
"No wonder Feminem be cross dressin' in pumps and tight 'lil dresses"
"And Em, whats tha du-rag for?
You never gonna have waves, you'll never know black pain
but you can become the first white rapper slain."
"Em you say your mother's a crack head and Kim is a known slut
So what's hailie gonna be when she grows up?"

[OMEGA]

Lowkey in Albhabet Assassin:

"Cause Everything is Everything it's Evidence my Essence is Every Element, Effortlessly Edit your Enterprise with Eloquence. Elevate with the Energy of Eminem, Every Entity that's Ever been a Enemy I'm Ending them."

It could be because rappers don't want to come across as dickriders giving shout outs to someone already at the zenith of popularity -shrugs-

Those bars are ridiculous, lmao. Lyrical miracle spiritual individual subliminal.......

Game gives props to Em a lot.

[RoleModel'Est96]

I wouldn't say its exactly a bad thing that they don't mention Em in their songs. But Game says his name alot.
And in Success, Jay-Z pretty much uses one of the most recognisable lines from 'I'm Back' and samples the song.

I used to give a fuck, now I give a fuck less
What do I think of success
It sucks too much to stress
I guess I blew up quick, (cause friends I grew up with)

which isn't exactly mentioning him, but I guess is paying a big homage (or maybe just one of Jay's bitin ways...)

Also B-Real in Outkast's Xplosion

Fuck XXL you're a size too small
I should hire Eminem so we can kill you all

[tadpole25]

because em is an isolationist, for the most part. outside of his clique, he rarely features in other people's raps.

ask any paparazzi, he's one of the most elusive celebrities.

[mwm5952]

Game on "The City"

Either I’m crazy, or the black Slim Shady, or

Id call that dissing Em

Game is a big Em fan..he's not dissing him here.

[SajN]

"Somebody send a message to Dr. Dre and Eminem
They taking so long to drop that we jam Soulja Boy instead of them"

Chamillionaire

[SajN]

"Till I collapse I’m spilling these raps long as you feel 'em
Till the day that I drop you'll never say that I'm not killing them
'Cause when I am not then I'ma stop penning 'em
And I am not hip-hop and I’m just not Eminem."


Eminem

[python]

Eminem is so great, I don't think he hates gays.

-14 year old Youtube commenter