First of all, I don't like Em's flow. That will probably not change.

>Are you forgetting not too long ago Dilated and Eminem were on >the same show freestyling?

They were at the same show, and now DP is the object of his attack. Something changed. Em has a different primary audience now.

>Are you forgetting Em patrolled the underground Circa 97?

I knew that I was going to get nailed the instant the 'underground' word dropped from my mouth, and I probably shouldn't have used it. I am not an elitist. I have heard the old Em stuff, and I didn't like it then either.

I want to retract my use of that word. However, I maintain that Eminem is searching for approval. I personally would have lost respect I had for him when My Name Is, etc. dropped, and I think he knows this. As much as he is cultivating his style he wants everyone to love him, MTV, the fans of DP, everyone. This is not wrong.

>Are you forgetting how many Rawkus/independent singles he's >appeared on?

My example using Em bashing Rawkus and the Beat Junkies was because this seems an unnecessary continuation. They were chosen at random because of his association with them.

At this point I want to say that I feel like DP made an error in letting Everlast say what he said in the first place. However, the fact that they screwed up did not necessitate Em's spreading the attack to them. On one level, he was dissed by Everlast. Okay, perhaps a response is justified. But then again maybe it's not! Why sink to the level? If he has less than zero respect for Everlast, then he really shouldn't have felt any obligation. It could have been worked out otherwise. If you get punched by the school bully, do you have to punch back? Do you understand that this exacerbates the problem, rather than ameliorating them?

Isolating the conflict to Em and Everlast, their continued revenge attacks are justified. One attacks, the other fights back, a cycle without end. Eminem had no reason to expand it, and it was his choice to do so. That was unneeded.

> Are you forgetting Dilated was dumb enough to let Everlast >start beef on THEIR record?

See above. Yes, they were dumb. Maybe Eminem should have recognized that they were being dumb, and not marking themselves for his attacks. He could have looked past it, if he didn't need the spotlight of battle - this everlast eminem thing is everywhere now.

> Are you forgetting that, during that freestyle session, >Eminem blew everyone away, including Dilated, with that 5 ways >to get a record deal freestyle?

Okay. That was then, and maybe it would be different now. Maybe it wouldn't. This is not the crux of my problem with the escalation, as you can read above.

> Em started underground with Dilated, and probably felt >betrayed by the whole incident. Wouldn't you?

Sure. He could have also called them up, talked it out with them. And for that, things might be stronger in the rap community. What kind of a picture do you think this is painting for the hungry media? The last thing hip hop needs in the public eye is two visible people telling others to physically attack their rival. Whether we recognize the words as words only doesn't matter to the strides hip hop was making with a positive image in society.

NOTE: hip hop doesn't need media support, but why show the public the 0.1% of hip hop that is like this? I would love one day to hear The Roots or Talib Kweli in the mall....

> I'm sorry, if you print the lyrics to each dis joint, Em >wins hands down. I felt bad for everlast listening to Quitter, >and I only heard 4 minutes of it.

I make no statements about Everlast's lyrical prowess. I just thought 'Jump Around' was a good party jam.

bw
aim: okayplayer47
ben.walker@hiphopcongress.com

--
"You kick my dog, and now it needs operation."