The Knock-Down, Drag-Out, 'Whipped' Fight Between Eminem And Nick Cannon Roared Back To Life Today
Here they go again...
Instagram Why are Eminem and Nick Cannon feuding? That's been the question on everybody's mind since the legendary rapper appeared on a new song called "Lord Above," which will be released on Fat Joe's newest (and possibly last) album, Family Ties. So what the hell are these two beefing about? And is it about Mariah Carey? Does the beef even make sense? (Spoiler alert: probably not.)
Born Marshall Mathers, Eminem is a rapper that, for better or for worse, has made his name off of beefing with other artists. Some of his most infamous beefs include a feud with Benzino (that almost put The Source Magazine out of business), a feud with Christina Aguilera (that came to a head in February 2019, when Christina basically bit his head off), and even a feud with Machine Gun Kelly (i.e., the actor Colson Baker) that still rages on to this day (though, thankfully, their issues with one another seem to be confined to wax, as nobody really wants a repeat of the Biggie/Pac situation.)
And, yes, Mariah Carey (and, by extension, Nick Cannon) got their share of the smoke, too, from Slim Shady. One has to wonder, however, if it's really necessary to continue a feud ten years later — especially when you don't know what you're feuding about in the first place. Regardless, let's look at what has these two tearing each other's hair out.
1. Where it all began
To understand the Eminem-Nick Cannon feud, one has to first start with Em's issue with Mariah Carey (who, today, is Nick Cannon's ex-wife and the mother of his fraternal twins). Let's go back to 2002, in which Eminem released a song called "Superman," which includes the lyrics, "what you tryin' to be, my new wife? What'chu, Mariah? Fly through twice." That already let the hip hop community know that there was something going on between the rapper and the "Vision of Love" singer. But, naturally, Eminem didn't stop there — he kept taking shots at Carey in other songs, specifically "The Warning" (in which Nick Cannon came in for his share of the smoke when Em spit "Wow Mariah, didn't expect you to go balls out/B**h shut the f*** up 'fore I put all them phone calls out/You made to my house when you was wild'n out before Nick/When you was on my d**k"! Damn, Marshall!) and "When The Music Stops" with the D12 rap collective ("What the f**k you take me for a joke? You smokin' crack? Before I do that, I'd beg Mariah to take me back!").
2. Mariah Carey swears she never dated Eminem
Even though Eminem swears that he and Mariah Carey had a thing going on for about six months, Mariah Carey said that she only saw Slim Shady "a few times" and didn't consider their relationship to be anything serious.
3. She tried to reach out to Eminem to squash the beef — but didn't get very far
Depending on your point of view, Eminem is either petty as all get-out and is making bank off of this beef (and doesn't want the gravy train to come to a halt), or he really was broken-hearted over Mariah Carey's rejection of him (and his poor heart simply can't heal). Regardless, though, Mariah Carey has tried to reach out to Eminem to try to settle things between them once and for all ... but hasn't been very lucky with her efforts.
4. Nick Cannon stepped in the middle to defend his wife's honor
How chivalrous. Nick Cannon tried to run interference between Eminem and Mariah Carey, and decided to take up the mantle for Mariah, to whom he was married at the time. "I respect you as an artist, I’m actually a fan. I think you’re one of the best to ever to do it, but from man to man, you talking out of pocket to my wife. You’ve gotta be held accountable for that so I need to see you face to face," Nick Cannon said he wrote, in a letter, to the rapper, while adding that while he knew he couldn't "out-rap" him in the booth, he had no issue "kicking his a**" if he had to. (Fortunately, it didn't come to that. Yet.)
5. And Eminem subsequently drew fire on Nick Cannon
Apparently, Nick Cannon's calls for peace were the hip hop equivalent of pouring gasoline on a fire, because the two have been at it (both in the booth and out of it) ever since. Nick Cannon even invited Eminem to come to a taping of Wild N'Out, but so far, Eminem hasn't accepted the offer.
6. And now, the latest salvo
Because we all know, by now, that Eminem is a true Petty Crocker (and we love him for it), Eminem decided to let everyone know that he's still got issues with Nick Cannon (and Mariah Carey) in the track "Lord Above." In the new song, he raps, "I know me and Mariah didn't end on a high note/But that other dude's whipped, that p***y got him neutered/Tried to tell him this chick's a nut job before he got his jewels clipped/Almost got my caboose kicked, fool, quit, you not gon' do s**t/I let her chop my b***s off, too 'fore I lost to you, Nick/I should quit watchin' news clips, yeah/My b***s are too big, I should be talkin' pool/'Cause I got scratches on my pocket, fall when I'm takin' shots at you."
Now, to be fair, hip hop is, by nature, a "competitive sport," and it's not unusual for its participants to engage in extreme braggadocio. That, after all, is part of the fun. But we humbly submit that when it comes to Mariah Carey, Eminem should make like Elsa from Frozen and "let it go." Really, there are far better things to rap about than a failed love affair.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series and is the CEO of the acclaimed G-Force Marketing & Publicity firm, which has been featured in The Hollywood Reporter and has scored film, television, radio, and print placements for celebrity clientele worldwide.