Eminem has always cited the Beastie Boys as one of his biggest influences, and a close affiliate of the group has now revealed that the Detroit legend was inches away from making a track with the two surviving members a few years back.
In an interview with AllHipHop published on Saturday (August 19), longtime Beasties collaborator Mix Master Mike revealed that he was close to orchestrating a collaboration between Slim Shady, Mike D and Ad-Rock following the 2012 passing of MCA.
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“I actually reached out to Eminem,” he said. “I called him and Paul [Rosenberg], and I pushed for a song. I had the beat made and everything. It was gonna be Beastie Boys, Eminem and a Mix Master Mike track. Eminem was like, ‘Let’s fucking go.’ I was spearheading this, so I brought it to Mike and Ad-Rock’s attention.”
However, both Beastie Boys members were hesitant to seal deal, Mike explained. “They were like, ‘It’s kind of weird we don’t have Yauch anymore, so we feel a way that out of respect of Adam that we don’t do it.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? Adam would love this.’
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“I was really trying to push this. It would have been fucking insane. I was like, ‘Mike just give me 32 bars. Just rap.’ But I respected their wish to not do it. Our captain is not here anymore. But maybe if I push it again, who knows?
“I was in the process of getting bars from Eminem. He was so pumped cause these are his heroes. I was kind of fulfilling his dream. I’m the gatekeeper of his dream. I felt that was a responsibility on my behalf to present that to him. The great white hopes of Hip Hop [laughs].”
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Eminem’s status as an elder statesman of Hip Hop cannot be denied, but his music is still being used by out-of-touch politicians trying to get “cool points” with Gen Z in an attempt to gain their votes. This was proven by GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, who tried to convince the crowd of his viability as a candidate during a campaign stop in Iowa last weekend and that he was fit for the job of the highest office in the land.
Ramaswamy attempted to prove he was fit to be president by spitting a few bars from Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” the classic song from 8 Mile that won Slim Shady an Oscar.
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Pitiful performances from presidential hopefuls aside, Eminem still knows how to smoke the competition behind the mic, as he proved with his recent roasting of Hip Hop legend Melle Mel in his special guest appearance on an Ez Mil track.
Though officially released on August 4, the track leaked a few hours early on Reddit — much to the delight of Slim Shady’s fanbase, as well as those wanting to hear what his new Shady/Aftermath/Interscope signee had cooked up.
“Hip Hop has been good to me, huh/ But when they say that I’m only Top 5 ’cause I’m white, why would I be stunned?” Eminem spits on the track. “My skin color’s still working against me/ ‘Cause second, I should be, to none/ Bein’ white being why they put me at five (Nope)/ That’s why they can’t put me at one.”
Continuing to stare down his critics, he adds: “And that is the only retort, is I’m not played in the clubs/ Muthafucka, put a cork in it/ Only reason they still play your shit in the clubs is because you still perform in ’em/ I am a guest in this house, but I turned this bitch into a mansion.”
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Then turning his attention to Melle Mel, Em raps: “Shoutout to Furious Five and Grandmaster Flash, but boy/ There’s someone who really is furious/ Stay out his path, his wrath avoid/ I’ll be the last to toy with a juice head whose brain is half destroyed, like a meteor hit it/ Now with Melle Mel, he lost his ass to ‘roids.”
Melle Mel issued a response that received mixed reviews and has since apologized for the initial comments made on a podcast which prompted Eminem’s scathing reply.
