Crazee wrote:It's a business thing too too, people don't want to go at Em because his fanbase is huge and they could lose some fans over it.
And like...Eminem goes after people who are well known for the most part. Even underground acts like Canibus, Dilated Peoples and ICP have high name recognition. Most of the people that diss him now are nobodies so why say anything?
Asheroth didn't diss Em, but he has name recognition so he was used as an example to relive his early days.
There's a lot of factors in play I think. As mentioned before, he thinks everyone is "dope" now. Even songs it seems like he hasn't heard. Like with Mackelmore. "Yeah I heard his album. What? What song? Oh that one. Yeah. He's dope."
So there's that, plus the clout. Rap is competitive until there is a clear victor. He earned his stripes, he's proven to be one of the big dogs in the game. I remember like six years ago when Diplomats went at Jay. That shit ended real quick. You look at where they are (or were?) to where Jay is, even though I don't like him personally, you just look like a hater going at someone that big when you're that small. It's like rap should have different belts like boxing does. Lightweights shouldn't go at heavyweights. Climb up in ranks, then do it. The heavyweight has nothing to gain by answering little guys.
So there's that, then there's, as I mentioned, the respect factor. Hell up until a few days ago I thought Ice Cube was an Em hater, until I read his comments about Rap God. And maybe he was an Em hater at some point and then realized this guy has been in the game 15 years commercially, he's the real deal, and it was like a rite of passage, and now he's accepted.
A lot of artists out now grew up listening to SSLP and MMLP, he's a legend in their eyes. They're not gonna diss a legend just to gain some shine.
And flat out, whether people think I'm stanning or not, there is a certain level of intimidation that comes with dissing Eminem. This dude put his mom on blast. He even puts his own personal shit on blast. There is nothing he won't say on a record. No one wants to get into that kind of battle with a guy who grew up battle rapping, has no problem crossing the line, and is more technically skilled than he's ever been. People aren't exactly lining up to go at him. They've seen what happens when you do that. Careers end.
I know his competition wasn't exactly challenging, but you play who's in front of you. People like Nas and Jay never decided to go at him. It was the Nick Cannons, Ja Rules and Benzinos of the world. It's not his fault. He didn't select them. I guess Canibus would be an exception but Em fought back too. Almost everyone else who's gone up against Eminem is a clown. Figuratively and literally (ICP).