Update 03/08/2023 10:58am:

Melle Mel addressed his comments about Eminem being placed in the top five of Billboard's Top 50 Rappers of All Time list, while he came in at #48. While speaking to The Art of Dialogue, Melle Mel stated that he thinks Eminem was placed so high because he's white.

His comments lead to pushback from the hip-hop community from the likes of 50 Cent, Fat Joe, and Papoose. In his response, Melle Mel made it clear that he doesn't have anything personal against any rappers. 

"Melle Mel has nothing against nobody in hip-hop. I've been in hip-hop for 40 years. Very competitive, really have nothing against nobody. I’m not jealous of nobody, I'm not intimidated by anybody or anything, and I'm not bitter. I just come across as I come across 'cause I’m a man and I say what I say, and when I say what I say, basically, I mean what I say." 

Melle Mel went on to add, "Everything that I said, that I commented on, it was to comment on what he wrote and who he put on this said list. And I think Billboard is not known for Hip Hop, of course, they’re known for records. So obviously, Billboard is leaning more toward guys that made records, compared to guys like myself that put in all the time in hip-hop.

"We're responsible for the genre. We're the biggest influences in the genre, and if you ask anybody that knows anything about true hip-hop, they will tell you that. If you ask anybody that calls themselves an MC, they will be the first to tell you that there is no modern day rap or hip-hop of that nature if it wasn't for Grandmaster Flash, if it wasn't for the Furious Five, if it wasn't for Melle Mel, if it wasn't for [Keef] Cowboy."

To hear more, hit the above video.

Original 03/03/2023 12:10pm:

Billboard’s Top 50 Rappers of All Time list has still been making waves, as more artists have responded to the list. Legendary emcee Melle Mel recently sat down with ‘The Art of Dialogue’ and spoke about where he landed on the list and others like Eminem, who hit the top 5. 

Melle Mel made a list and was placed at number 48. When asked about Eminem, he said, “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!” He didn’t stop there, saying, “So now if Eminem was another n***a like all the rest of us, would he be Top 5 on that list when a n***a that could rhyme just as good as him is 35? That had records and all that? He’s 35. He’s white.”

The rapper then talked about potential backlash from his comments, saying, “And anybody could be as mad … They could feel how they wanna feel. If you don’t think that race plays a part in the equation of how great he is.” He then gave an example of how race plays into Em’s status, saying, “I heard one of the dudes that’s down with him, [Royce Da 5’9″] or one of those – I heard he’s just as good as Eminem. 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.” Watch above.

source: The Art of Dialogue