Eminem Denies Dissing Drake On Kamikaze
Slim Shady doesn’t have beef with the 6 God.
While he did take aim at Machine Gun Kelly, Joe Budden, and Tyler, the Creator on his surprise album Kamikaze, Eminem shuts down rumors that he was dissing Drake.
In the fourth and final installment of his interview with Sway, the Detroit rapper was asked about his controversial verse on Kamikaze. “You got some views, but you’re still below me / Mine are higher, so when you compare our views, you get overlooked / And I don’t say the hook unless I wrote the hook,” he raps on “Fall.”
Many interpreted the lyrics as a subliminal shot at Drake by referencing his 2016 album Views and his alleged ghostwriting. However, Eminem denies having any issues with the Scorpion rapper, who he collaborated with on “Forever” in 2009.
“Drake is always gonna be in my good graces because he did something for one of my daughter’s that I will never forget,” said Em. “He will always be in my graces with that. And I like Drake.”
He went on to clarify his ghostwriting comments. “What I’m telling you with these lines is I don’t know what’s real and what’s not at this point because you hear shit about this rapper, that rapper, whatever. I’m telling you that I don’t do it. Never have and never will. If I ever need a ghostwriter, I need to just fucking put the mic down. That’s my personal belief.”
While he doesn’t have an issue with rappers who use ghostwriters, he would never personally use one. “As far as anybody out here that does use ghostwriters, that’s fine. If that’s what you do, that’s fine. I’m telling you I don’t do it,” he continued. “Hip-hop, since it’s beginning, I was always under the impression that every rapper wrote their rhymes and when you heard about Kool Moe Dee battling Busy Bee it was who was bringing the best rhymes to the table. Who’s the cleverest and the wittiest. And then years later, fast forward, you hear Eazy-E saying, ‘Ice Cube writes the rhymes that I say.’ I remember hearing the line, but I just really didn’t care.”
As for Drake, Eminem remains a fan. “He makes great music. There’s not really even much you can say about it,” he said. “On this Kamikaze album, I feel like I was pretty direct about who I was kinda taking shots at. I wouldn’t send subliminals to Drake. There would be no reason for me to do that. But I am expressing to you that regardless of what any of these other dudes do, I have never, not even a line, not even anything. I wouldn’t be able to have fun with it if I couldn’t write it.”
The conversation turned to the Grammys, who Em calls out on “Fall.” “Then tell the Grammys to go and fuck themselves, they suck the blood from all the biggest artists like some leeches / So they nominate ’em, get ’em there, get a name to ’em / See the show, every parasite needs a host,” he raps.
Eminem, who has won 15 Grammys throughout his career, explains why he has beef with the awards show. “For whatever reason, they’re always pitching this hint that you might win Album of the Year, which used to be a big deal. I don’t think it’s a big deal now. Sat at home this year for the Grammys and watched Jay and Kendrick not get it. I felt like one of them should’ve got it. I felt like Joyner Lucas should’ve won a Grammy for ‘I’m Not Racist.’”
He reflected on his own loss in the major categories. “Every year we went, I would be up for Album of the Year and then the winner is Norah Jones. Who? And I’m not even trying to say anything bad about her music. At that point, I had never heard of her. And none of my friends did either. And then Steely Dan. OK, I know who Steely Dan is. Steely Dan back in the day. More than The Marshall Mathers LP impact? OK, fine. I watched 50 [Cent]. 50 did not win Best New Artist at the Grammys. Nobody since Snoop came out the gate like that. My first album didn’t do it. I never saw someone’s first album and the wave happen like he had. And then he doesn’t get it.”
He vows to never return to the Grammys again. “After that point in time, I was like don’t ever ask me to fucking come here again. Please do not ask me. My answer is no for a hundred million years. Never again will I fucking go to the Grammys.”
#D12 #LegendsNeverDie #BigProof4ever #RIPBugz pic.twitter.com/ISK9uyYqMY
— 🏁KUNIVA of D12 🏁 (@KunivaD12) September 13, 2018
Elsewhere during Part 4, he addresses the end of D12. On Kamikaze‘s “Stepping Stone,” Em reveals that the group is officially over. “Done all we possibly can, I know we kept our hopes up / But the longer we spend livin’ this lie that we live,” he raps. “The less is left for closure, so let’s let this go / It’s not goodbye to our friendship, but D12 is over.”
He told Sway that he informed the other members of D12 that he was going to make the announcement before the song came out. “They got a heads up. I have not talked to Swift and Kuniva yet about the song, they just knew it was coming down the pipe,” said Em. “Proof was the glue that binded us all together. He did so much shit behind the scenes that I didn’t even realize and did things to keep us a group and motivate us. I think the conversation now going forward is to see if there’s anything we can do to help their solo careers.”
