Dr. Umar Johnson, a controversial activist who has received criticism for his opinions on homosexuality, interracial marriage and antisemitism, has doubled down on his recent comments where he claimed that calling Eminem one of the greatest rappers of all time was “white supremacy.”
After being roundly criticized for his remarks, Dr. Umar went on Instagram Live on Wednesday (December 27) and defended his opinions.
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“When I look at the responses from America’s Caucasian community over this issue of Eminem being the G.O.A.T. of Hip Hop — and let me say this: I have nothing personal against Eminem,” he said.
“My comments had nothing to do with Mr. Marshall Mathers personally. And I want Mr. Marshall Mathers to understand that Dr. Umar Ifatunde harbors no personal ill will towards you. You are a talented musician, lyricist, producer. You seem like you are an okay guy.”
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He continued: “So my comments are not personal; they apply to any non-African. This is about business — the business of protecting the integrity of African culture.
“But from a cultural integrity perspective, haven’t they stolen enough from us? Haven’t they appropriated enough from us? Haven’t they robbed, stole, killed, enslaved, lynched, miseducated, mass incarcerated, politically dominated us enough?”
“The fact that you got Black people arguing for a white man to be considered the greatest of all time in an African artform speaks to how psychologically ill we are as a race of people,” he concluded.
Previously appearing on The Joe Budden Podcast, Dr. Umar Johnson took issue with rap fans’ reverence of Eminem, who remains the highest-selling rapper of all time.
“No non-African can ever be the best of anything African. It is an insult to the ancestors, it is an insult to the race and it is an insult to every Black person,” he declared.
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“We gotta stop naming non-African people as being the best of any aspect of our cultural power because it is an insult … I can acknowledge Eminem’s talent. But for you to put him at the top, that’s white supremacy.”
He added: “I don’t see Eminem building no schools and hospitals. I don’t see DJ Khaled building no schools and hospitals.”
Melle Mel has also previously criticized Eminem’s standing in Hip Hop after he was named one of the five greatest rappers of all time by Billboard.
“Obviously he’s a capable rapper. If you was talking about sales, he’s sold more than everybody. If you were talking about rhyme style, okay he got a rhyme style. But he’s white. He’s white!” the Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five pioneer said.
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“So now if Eminem was another n-gga like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list when a n-gga that could rhyme just as good as him is 35? That had records and all that? He’s 35. He’s white.”
He continued: “If you don’t think that race plays a part in the equation of how great he is — I heard one of the dudes that’s down with him, Royce Da 6’9″ [mislabelling Royce Da 5’9″] or one of those – I heard he’s just as good as Eminem.
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“Why he ain’t as big as Eminem? Because he’s Black! Ain’t none of that shit hard to figure out. Eminem gets a top spot because he’s white.”
