Fabolous recently shared that there is one artist he has not collaborated with yet but would like to in the future – Eminem. At the Tunecore “Hip-Hop 50” event, the rapper gave an interview on the red carpet. As part of the line of questions, the interviewer asked Fabolous who he would want to work with that he hasn’t had the chance to. Though he took a moment to chastise the interviewer for putting him on the spot, he quickly came up with an answer. Fabolous named Eminem, and he said he admires Em’s lyrical skills. He also described him as a true representation of hip-hop. “In Hip Hop, I think I want to get with Eminem,” he said. “He’s real Hip Hop.”
Though Eminem seems to inspire Fabolous, other artists also find inspiration from him. While he may not be as commercially successful as he once was, his influence on the game is undeniable. Earlier this year, Drake paid tribute to Fabolous on Instagram, crediting him with shaping his style and sound. Drake shared two throwback photos of Fabolous from the early 2000s and wrote that he wouldn’t be where he is today without him.
Although Fabolous has not been releasing music as frequently in recent years, there is something in the pipeline. The New York rapper is joining Jim Jones, Maino, and Dave East for a collaborative album. The rappers named their album Fit Lit, inspired by their love of the gym. They released a track under the same name last year, but they only recently announced the album. In an interview with the Amazing AllHipHop Podcast, Maino revealed the news. “I’m gonna tell you some secretive shit that I’ve never talked about,” Maino said. “It’s actually an album that’s I’ll say 85 percent done — me, Jim, Fabolous and Dave East. We got some heat.”
The New York rappers dropped the title track early last year. It was released as part of Jim Jones’ mixtape with DJ Drama, We Set The Trends. Alone with the track, the quartet released a video. It was filmed inside a gym, fittingly. What do you think about Fabolous’ choice of collab partner? Would you like to hear a song from Em and Fabolous? Sound off in the comments!
Michael Jackson was known as the King of Pop, but was he secretly the King of Petty? According to hip-hop media titan Benzino, that might be true. Many stories about the musician have emerged, including how the “Bad” singer was almost run over by actor Jason Bateman on a bicycle. Now, Benzino is sharing one of his own.
During his appearance on The Gauds Show podcast, Benzino revealed that Michael Jackson fully supported his feud with rapper Eminem.
“I knew Mike. I met Mike through Teddy [Riley]. He called me, and he thanked me,” said Benzino. As for what the call was about, he revealed Jackson called him, “Because when Eminem dissed him with the fire situation, in the [‘Just Lose It’] video, Mike called — and I remember his assistant put him on the phone — and I sat there and listened to him. And he thanked me.”
The “Just Lose It” video was released back in 2004. In it, Eminem poked fun at Jackson on several fronts, including his 2005 child molestation trial, rumored plastic surgery, and his hair catching on fire on the set of the infamous 1984 Pepsi commercial.
The feud between Benzino and Eminem is still going strong to this day. Strangely, the former’s daughter, rapper Coi Leray, has said she’s on the side of her dad’s foe.
Benzino is back to reflecting on his beef with Eminem. According to the rapper, the late Michael Jackson thanked him for dissing Slim Shady back in the day.
Popping up on The Gauds Show podcast, Benzino claims MJ praised him for the diss after Eminem made light of the situation where Michael Jackson once caught on fire. That moment was in the “Just Lose It” video.
“I met Mike through Teddy [Riley]. He called me and he thanked me. Because when Eminem dissed him with the fire situation, in the video, Mike called and I remember his assistant put him on the phone and I sat there and listened to him. And he thanked me.”
8 Mile is a biographical film that is loosely based on the early career of legendary Detroit MC, Eminem. The film, set in the mid-90s, follows Jimmy Smith Jr. a.k.a B-Rabbit (played by Eminem), a struggling young white rapper trying to carve out his lane in a genre created and defined by the African American experience. The film’s title is taken from 8 Mile Road, a highway that separated the primarily African American-inhabited city of Detroit and the largely white suburbs, north of Eminem’s stomping grounds.
The loosely based autobiographical film proved to be a Blockbuster hit, bringing in more than $200 million at the box office. The movie stands as one of hip-hop’s best autobiographical movies, partly due to Eminem’s incomparable career. Another reason why the movie is so iconic is because of the incredible plot and the cast ensemble that brought it to life. Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Shannon, Anthony Mackie, Kim Basinger, Omar Benson Miller, and Taryn Manning took on supporting roles in Eminem’s theatrical debut. 8 Mile also features cameos from rapper Obie Trice and Xzibit.
A majority of the cast went on to have stunning careers in Hollywood. Sadly, several actors who starred in the film passed away. De’Angelo Wilson, who portrayed Jimmy’s best friend DJ Iz, unfortunately, died from an apparent suicide in 2008. Brittany Murphy, who played Jimmy’s love interest, Alex, was pronounced dead in 2009 after suffering health complications related to pneumonia and amenia. The director of the film, Curtis Hanson, passed away from natural causes in 2016. Here is what the cast members have been up to after the success of the 8 Mile film.
Marshall “Eminem” Mathers – Jimmy a.k.a B-Rabbit
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: Eminem performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
What is there to say about Eminem that hasn’t already been said? Eminem is widely regarded for taking hip hop from the urban communities and inner cities to the suburban communities of America. His skill as a rapper, his influence, and the commercial success of his albums made him one of the greatest and best-selling rappers of all time. Global record sales for the Detroit native stand at around 200 million records.
Eminem dropped eight number-one solo albums, a chart-topping soundtrack for 8 Mile, and two greatest hits compilation albums since 2002. His latest LP, 2020’s Music to be Murdered By debuted at number one on the Billboard Chart, moving 279,000 units in the first week. He has won 15 Grammys, an Academy Award for “Lose Yourself,” 8 American Music Awards, and 17 Billboard Music Awards in the span of his career.
Eminem is the CEO of Shady Records, which he launched with his long-time manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999. He also has his own SiriusXM channel, Shade 45. Most recently, he took inspiration from the 8 Mile soundtrack to launch Mom’s Spaghetti Restaurant which he opened in 2021. Marshall has had a long-standing relationship with Nike and the Air Jordan brand. He occasionally releases limited edition Eminem sneakers based on iconic names such as the Air Force 1, the Jordan IVs, and the Air Max 90s.
Anthony Mackie – Papa Doc, Final Rap Battle Opponent
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 20: Anthony Mackie attends the UK Film Premiere of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” at Westfield London on March 20, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
8 Mile was actually Mackie’s first movie. He has starred in commercially successful and critically acclaimed movies like Million Dollar Baby and The Hurt Locker. He is also famously known for playing the late Tupac Shakur in Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G” Wallace’s biographical film, Notorious. The New Orleans native has also portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the HBO drama, All The Way.
Mackie has, in recent years, achieved global superstardom, thanks to his portrayal of Falcon and the new Captain America in the blockbuster machine that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eventually, this led to a starring role in the Disney+ series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Mackie has also been busy on the Netflix streaming platform appearing in the sci-fi series, Altered Carbon (2020). He has also starred in and produced the sci-fi movie, Outside the Wire (2021). The Marvel superstar has a new dramedy movie on the platform titled, We Have a Ghost. Mackie inked a deal to reprise the role of the new Captain America in the fourth sequel of the Captain America movies.
Taryn Manning – Janeane, Jimmy’s Ex-Girlfriend
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 11: Actress Taryn Manning attends a screening of “Karen” at Silverspot Cinema on August 11, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Manning is an actress and singer who most notably portrayed Tiffany “Pennstatucky” Doggett in Netflix’sOrange is the New Black. She also played the character of Cherry in Sons of Anarchy and Nola in the hip-hop-inspired drama film Hustle & Flow. The Virginia native frequently made cameos in other popular TV series like NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami, Boston Public, Hawaii Five-0, and Law & Order.
She has two chart-topping singles in the United States. “Send Me Your Love” reached number one in 2012, and “Turn It Up” number 21 in 2011. Taryn is currently filming a horror film titled The Skulleton where she will reportedly star alongside Tyrese Gibson.
Michael Shannon – Greg Buehl, Jimmy’s Former Classmate & Stephanie’s Boyfriend
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 11: Actor Michael Shannon arrives at the premiere of “Machine Gun Preacher” at Roy Thomson Hall during the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2011 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Michael is one of the few Hollywood thespians to achieve success on the big screen, the silver screen, and on stage. His career took off with appearances in Groundhog Day, nearly a decade before 8 Mile. Michael went on to star in critically acclaimed films such as Lucky You, Revolutionary Road, and The Broken Tower. He has also had his own fair share of blockbuster films such as Bad Boys II, Machine Gun Preacher, Bullet Train, and the comic book movie Man of Steel where he plays the antagonist, General Zod.
Michael’s latest TV pursuit is his portrayal of George Jones in the American drama miniseries George & Tammy. The show airs on Showtime and co-stars Jessica Chastain as Tammy Wynette. He has also starred in Waco, Little Drummer Girl, Nine Perfect Strangers, and Little Demon. The Kentucky native also has an active career on the theater stage. He has performed in over 30 plays between 1991 and 2023. Michael has won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role in the drama series, Boardwalk Empire.
Kim Basinger – Stephanie, Jimmy’s Mother
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 19: Kim Basinger attends the Last Chance for Animals’ 35th anniversary gala at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 19, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)
Basinger moved to Los Angeles and transitioned into acting after a brief career in modeling in New York. Her global fame came when she appeared in Playboy magazine in 1983. That same year, she starred in her breakout role as Bond girl, Domino Petachi, in the James Bond sequel Never Say Never Again, alongside Sean Connery. After 2002’s 8 Mile, Basinger appeared in popular movies such as The Nice Guys (2016) and Fifty Shades Darker (2017).
Mekhi Phifer – Future, Jimmy’s Best Friend
Mekhi Phifer at the season 3 premiere of Apple’s “Truth Be Told” held at Pacific Design Center on January 19, 2023 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
The New York native is largely known for starring as Dr. Gregg Pratt in the medical drama series, ER. He had numerous appearances on the big screen in films like Honey, and Dawn Of The Dead. Still, the actor is more known for his roles in TV. Besides ER, Mekhi has had recurring roles in TV shows including Fox’s Lie to Me, British sci-fi series Torchwood, Showtime’s House of Lies, and Love, Victor which is on the Hulu streaming platform.
Evan Jones – Cheddar Bob, Jimmy’s Friend
Evan Jones during “8 Mile” Westwood Premiere at Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)
Evan has had a low-key acting career compared to his 8 Mile co-stars, though his credits are quite expansive. Since 8 Mile, he starred in several films including The Book of Eli alongside Denzel Washington, Seth MacFarlane’s comedy, A Million Ways to Die in the West, 50 Cent’s Den of Thieves, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II. He has made episode cameos on ER, House, CSI: NY, Hawaii Five-0, Criminal Minds, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Evans’ last appearance in a movie was in 2018 with his roles in Den of Thieves, Hotel Artemis, and the TV movie Cagney and Lacey where he played a detective.
Omar Benson Miller – Sol George, Jimmy’s Friend
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Omar Benson Miller speaks during the “True Lies” exclusive screening and Q&A with cast and creators at WonderCon 2023 at Anaheim Convention Center on March 24, 2023 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)
From Spike Lee’s Miracle of St. Anna (2008) to Eleventh Hour, Omar Benson Miller continued to have a thriving career post-8 Mile. He’s had long-standing roles in popular TV series such as CSI: Miami (playing Walter Simmons) and Ballers (playing Charles Greane). Omar has repeatedly reprised the voice of Raphael, both in animation and in film, from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise. He currently stars in the action-thriller television series True Lies. Shortly after 8 Mile, he also appeared in 50 Cent’s autobiographical movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ as Karlo.
He’s gone through countless musical and personal evolutions throughout his career. Still, Eminem remains one of the greatest lyricists in hip-hop history. From his 1999 debut album, The Slim Shady LP, to 2022’s Curtain Call 2, the Detroit native has consistently delivered heat for over two decades. He’s best known for crafting rhymes that his contemporaries could never conceive. In fact, this past weekend, one of the recording artist’s most iconic moments resurfaced on social media in the form of a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper.
“I’ve heard you say that you bend the word,” the journalist says to Eminem during their chat. “Yeah, it’s just in the enunciation of it,” Slim Shady replies. “Like, people say that the word ‘orange’ doesn’t rhyme with anything. That kinda pisses me off. I can think about a lot of things that rhyme with ‘orange.’” At this point, the interview almost feels like a skit, as it’s hard to tell how serious the rapper is being. However, he quickly proves that he meant every word, giving Cooper prime examples of his lyrical wit.
Eminem’s Rhyming Skills are Unmatched
“If you’re taking the word at face value, and you just say ‘orange,’ nothing is gonna rhyme with it exactly,” the “Mockingbird” hitmaker admits. “If you enunciate it, and you make it like, more than one syllable, ‘or-ange,’ you can say like… I put my or-ange, four-inch, door hinge in storage / And ate porridge, with Ge-orge.” As Eminem recites the bars, Cooper lets out a giggle, admiring the 8 Mile actor’s obvious dedication to his craft. “You just have to figure out the science of breaking down words,” the former noted.
Elsewhere in the news, Eminem’s incredible influence on the industry was proven once again this past weekend. Following the arrival of their Sremm4Life album on Friday (April 7), Slim Jxmmi of Rae Sremmurd admitted that he used to try to rap like Marshall Mathers in the earlier days of learning his craft. Read more about that here. Additionally, let us know if you think the 50-year-old did a good job of rhyming in the comments below.
Melle Mel might think Eminem is only ranked amongst the greatest emcees list because of his race, but 50 Cent and Rae Sremmurd’s Slim Jxmmi beg to differ. During the duo’s interview on The Bootleg Kev Podcast the duo talked about Eminem’s impact.
On their new album Sremm4Life, the pair was able to clear their sample of the rapper’s 2000 song “Stan.” The track featured on Em’s album The Marshall Mathers LP, has been emmortilized in pop culture and the English language for shining a light on some fans’ unhealthy obsession with public figures. The song in question, “Not So Bad (Leans Gone Cold),” which caused a short-lived clash with rapper Millyz who also recently sampled the track.
When discussing Em’s impact on them personally, Slim Jxmmi confessed, that growing up he ‘used to want to rap like [Eminem].’ Despite Em proudly hailing from Detroit, Michigan and Jxmmi from Tupelo, Mississippi, the geographical distance and regional cultural differences didn’t stop him from being inspired by him.
“That was definitely my favorite rapper [growing up. Man what, I used to do all that ‘Hi, my name is’ [stuff]. I used to like the way he rapped. I [even] used to try and rap like him at one point in time in my life,” proclaimed Jxmmi.
It seems like Eminem’s self-appointed nickname of “Rap God,” was appriorately designated.
Eminem is still one of the biggest names in music. One of the greatest emcees of all time, he has inspired countless rappers around the world. Moreover the Detroit native continues to remain relevant more than two decades into his career. This relevance can be seen on YouTube. As one of the few active artists whose career predates the platform, Em is still one of the sites most popular figures,
Our Generation Music recently took to Instagram to announce that Eminem was the most viewed rapper on YouTube in March. Marshall pulled in a whopping 423 million views over the course of the month. The “Lose Yourself” rapper had plenty of challengers for the crown. Artists like Drake, Jay-Z and Kodak Black all consistently pull in huge numbers on the platform. But perhaps the stiffest competition for YouTube dominance comes from NBA YoungBoy. The Louisiana superstar passed an incredible 10 billion views on YouTube in 2022. He was also the most viewed artist on the platform for the first three months of last year.
However, the blistering success of the 23 year-old YoungBoy is less of an anomaly. It speaks to the impact Eminem has made on hip hop that he is still so popular so far into his career. The 50 year-old still holds the distinction of being one of the most streamed artists on earth. Furthermore, Em’s music is now being listened to by an entirely new generation. He released the song “Mockingbird” in 2005 as a touching tribute to his daughter Hailee. Last month the song reached one billion streams on Spotify. This was sparked in large part by the popularity of the song on TikTok.
However, Eminem is no stranger to success on Spotify either. In 2021, he set the record for most albums with 1 billion streams on the platform. Away from streaming, he earned yet another platinum with his most recent project. Music to be Murdered By: Side B was released in late 2020 and sold more than 250,000 copies. Eminem’s popularity is just further proof that audiences are still being captivated by one of the greatest rappers to ever pick up a microphone.
Chuck D just stamped both Eminem and Black Thought as 2 lyrical cyborgs in hip hop.
During an appearance on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s Drink Champs podcast on Saturday, the Public Enemy veteran gave both MCs their flowers referring to them as ‘cyborgs’..
The legendary MC who is arguably your favorite MC’s MC “Eminem and Black Thought… big ups to Black Thought, The Roots, and also Eminem. Cyborgs, man,” Chuck said. “They’re cyborgs, but let me tell you this: we can also get caught up cause’ you know, you got future generations, and then you got people who ain’t gonna even get on the register who are so dope.”
The “Fight The Power” rapper continued by praising Skyzoo as a dope lyricist, which prompted the Brooklyn MC to give Chuck D his flowers on Instagram.
“The good word on a Sunday from the pastor of hip-hop, the legendary rhyme animal Chuck D,” Skyzoo wrote in response. “An absolute icon. Honored x humbled x grateful to say the least. Thank you OG. The book I studied from as a young aspiring writer had chapters dedicated to your penmanship in it. I learned from you 1,000%. Salute OG.”
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