The music industry is still grieving the loss of Andre Harrell. The beloved music executive has created a legacy that is unmatched, and it’s clear that his protegé Diddy continues to have a hard time coming to terms with Harrell’s death. “I MISS YOU. HE WAS SO KIND. SO BEAUTIFUL. SO PATIENT. SO BLACK. SO CARING. SO SHARING. SO WISE. THE LIFE OF THE PARTY. A MUSICAL GENIUS! MY HERO,” Diddy wrote in the caption to a photo of himself and Andre Harrell.

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Lord Jamar and DJ Vlad chatted about the late music legend in a recent episode of VladTV, and during the discussion, they brought up Harrell’s early days in hip hop. Before he became instrumental in inking deals that turned some of our favorite artists into icons, Harrell was one half of the 1908s hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde. Vlad mentioned that he read that Harrell was gung-ho about his music career until he saw LL Cool J perform. It was then that he decided to go another route.

“‘Cause their whole style wasn’t aggressive like that,” Lord Jamar recalled. “It was more like that early emcee type of style and it was good for that, but he was smart enough to know. You see? And that’s part of it, being smart enough to assess your strengths and your weaknesses and know what you can do and what you can’t do. You might want to do some sh*t but I can’t really do that even if I want to do it… But I can help other people do that.”  The two also talked about the evolution of Harrell’s hip hop duo partner Alonzo Brown who apparently didn’t do too bad for himself after becoming an executive producer of the Judge Mathis show. Watch the clip below. 

Eminem and Lord Jamar, two men who quite simply will never be friends, have been at odds for well over a year now. It all started when Jamar sought to diminish Em’s impact on hip-hop culture, likening him to a houseguest and maintaining that his predominantly white fanbase disqualifies him from the GOAT conversation. After Jamar made Eminem a recurring talking-point throughout his various press runs, Em fired back on songs like Kamikaze’s “Fall” and Music To Be Murdered By’s “I Will.”

Things seemed destined to drag on until Slim hit up KXNG Crooked’s Crook’s Corner, where he openly acknowledged himself to be a “guest” in hip-hop. Naturally, Jamar was all but committed to address the development. It didn’t take long before he was having another face to face with Vlad of Vlad TV, wasting little time in addressing the “elephant in the room.” Making the distinction that Vlad brought it up, not him, Jamar maintains that he never had a “beef” with Eminem in the first place.

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Vlad reflects on how Eminem openly admitted to being a guest in hip-hop, which leads Jamar to wonder why it took so long to come to such a conclusion. “This could have been ended a long time ago,” he maintains. “Not that it’s even anything. He even used the word beef in there. This was just me stating my fuckin’ opinion and a bunch of fuckin’ Stans having a problem with it. They were just amplifying it so much back to him that he had to respond. Really, the Stans are responsible for a lot of this back and forth shit.”

“At the end of the day, this was never no beef,” continues Jamar. “All of my points were proven. I don’t consider this a personal victory. This just speaks to the power of the soil. I represent the voice of the soil of hip-hop. You can plant many seeds in the soil but the soil decides what grows. Not the seed, the soil.” Elaborating on the metaphor, Jamar explains that “the soil” is what dictates quality, not record sales or technical prowess. “The soil will decide if you are the GOAT. It was never personal to Eminem — if anything it was a fuck you to white supremacy. It was the fact that [they] think they can come into all genres and dictate everything. We were saying, as the soil, no you can’t.”

At this stage, Eminem and Lord Jamar have become entwined in a shared destiny. Despite nursing a genuine dislike for one another, neither seems particularly willing to turn the other cheek and let bygones be bygones. In Em’s case, he’s taken to songs like “Fall” and “I Will” to air his grievances with the Brand Nubian rapper-turned-podcaster. In Jamar’s, he’s opted to sit down with DJ Vlad and poke fun at both Slim’s musicality and fanbase. At least, until now. In his latest appearance on Vlad TV, Jamar mused on the possibility of getting the band back together for a diss track. 

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“Premier!” he calls, after teasing the possibility of retaliating on wax. “Send me that joint! Premier, who else. How about Just Blaze? If you not scared, I’ll take one. MF DOOM? I’m just saying.” When Vlad points out that Dr. Dre wouldn’t be a ble option, Jamar doesn’t appear overtly concerned. “I can’t say I would necessarily want one from Dre,” he shrugs. “I don’t feel that’s necessarily my style. The people I named right now are more in my lane.” 

“I was going to say Daringer, but he’s running with them,” says Jamar. “That’s kinda in that lane.” Both Vlad and Jamar proceed to conclude that Primo is the best option, pledging the producer to move “for hip-hop. A lot of trash has been put out right now. The bar is very low. Between what Eminem put out and what Nick Cannon put out, I think it would not be hard to surpass that.” 

As he’s currently hailed as one of the biggest rappers in the world at the moment, DaBaby has taken over airwaves while also getting himself in trouble with the law. Within the last few months, he’s found himself arrested, detained, or recorded in physical altercations. The Kirk rapper is much sought after in the entertainment industry, but he’s also developed a reputation that can be seen as unfavorable.

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During a chat with VladTV, Lord Jamar and Vlad discussed DaBaby’s recent legal troubles. “What is it about DaBaby and beating the pants off of n*ggas?” Lord Jamar asked. Vlad mentioned that the promoter who claims he was assaulted by DaBaby had his pants pulled down. “Like why, when Baby put on somebody the pants just fall off? That’s a helluva punch this mtoherf*cka got.”

While Jamar was giving DaBaby props, Vlad was less impressed. “It almost seems like some prison sh*t to me,” Vlad added. “I guess just recently there was a situation when this valet was filming DaBaby and his daughter. He told him not to and kept doing it and there’s a video of him shoving the dude. And I’m like, yo, you can’t just keep doing this at the level you’re at.”

After going on a rant about why DaBaby can’t move the way he’s used to moving, Jamar tells Vlad that he may be asking too much of the rapper too soon. Jamar asserted that rappers don’t often think of the domino effect of their bad decisions because they’re taking things day by day. “That’s like being a master chess player [and] you’re looking 30 moves down the road and sh*t like that,” he said. “When you’re the type of person that’s moving off muscle memory, meaning like, if somebody punch you, you automatically punch them back because that’s what you’re used to do, then until you train yourself—you train your muscles differently when you’re put into those situations, you’re gonna sometimes react without even thinking.” Watch the full clip below.

At the end of December 2019, Lil Wayne was left facing some legal trouble after feds found copious amounts of drugs on his private plane. Given the proximity to Juice WRLD’s death and the circumstances surrounding it, some were left wondering why Weezy would open himself to the possibility of catching airborne drug charges in the first place. Lord Jamar among them, as evidenced by his recent sit down on Vlad TV. 

After Vlad informs him that authorities found weed, cocaine, and heroin on Weezy’s plane, Jamar expresses annoyance over how the situation played out. “For that to happen so soon after Juice WRLD just got caught on a private plan with seventy-five pounds of weed and pills he took cause he was scared he was going to get locked up, which ultimately took his life, ” begins Jamar. ” You would think that muthafuckas would fall back from doing shit like that…Dudes like Wayne probably thought this whole flying private, that’s probably been the get-over for the longest time. That shit is probably over now.”

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“Being able to bring guns and drugs, nuh-uh,” he continues. “Not for the very near future, especially with all this Juice WRLD shit that just happened. You can’t move like how you moved in the early two-thousands.” He explains that there’s an idea that a rich person wouldn’t have to smuggle drugs, therefore one might be able to exactly that while unimpeded. “On that regular jet, they’re very suspicious of the poor!” says Jamar. “Black people, especially rappers and entertainers, we’re just finding out the kind of access money brings you. How it takes away your suspicions sometimes.”

Citing the eternal wisdom of Boosie, Vlad seconds the idea of having a fall-guy on paid salary. Jamar nods in agreement, claiming “it’s simple to do! All the money ya’ll tricking off in strip clubs, you can’t put a little stack aside for the fall guy?! Come on.” 

Lord Jamar and Eminem won't make peace in the foreseeable future, or at least that's how it seems. In recent times, Lord Jamar's expressed his disdain for Eminem, and vice versa, on numerous occasions and now, it just seems like a running joke. It goes -- DJ Vlad interviews Lord Jamar, Lord Jamar shares his unadulterated thoughts on Eminem, and Eminem then lashes out on Lord Jamar on wax. 

After Eminem fired shots on "I Will," Lord Jamar continued to fire back in interviews. In his most recent sit-down with Vlad, Lord Jamar discussed the photo of Eminem wearing a mask of Will Smith. Lord Jamar shared a photo on his Instagram page last year of Eminem wearing a mask of Will Smith and suggested that it's "kinda like a blackface."

"It's a mockery of black people, like a white dude wearing any kind of black mask is problematic and should be explained," he began. "I just wanna know what the whole context was. Could it be explained?'"

After Vlad said that he personally wouldn't do it, Lord Jamar explained, "I know at the time a lot people in Hip Hop -- black people -- might have looked at Will Smith as kinda corny and straight-laced but that's for us to do. You can't cross the line that maybe one of us could have done. But you as a white guy can't do that."

He continued to explain that the photo in question wasn't his first time mocking the Black community, pointing out to the leaked demo when Em was 16-years-old describing Black women as "bad" in comparison to white girls. "You gotta put all of that sht into context when you talk about this guy... it wasn't something that was easily found on the Internet," he said.

Following the release of Eminem‘s Music To Be Murdered By, which featured some bars aimed at his old pal Lord Jamar, it seemed inevitable that the Godcast host would have something to say. Naturally, he linked up with VladTV for another interview and it didn’t take long for Jamar’s animosity to reach a boiling point.  

“He made a whole song about me,” says Jamar. “Stepdad! The whole song ‘Stepdad!'” Vlad appears confused, and Jamar sings the chorus for his benefit. “‘Ain’t he talking about me? No!? I thought ‘Stepdad’ is the one he’s talking about me. Which song are you talking about? Oh the one where he had a little verse about me? Nah, that ain’t as good as the ‘Stepdad!’ ‘Stepdad’ is banging! That shit rocks! That’s a whole song about me!” 

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After clarifying that the song in question is “I Will,” Jamar admits to having heard it. “I thought ‘Stepdad’ was much better,” continues Jamar, doubling down on the Eminem lyric impressions before cycling back to “I Will.” “It was almost Slaughterhouse, but no Joe so it falls short,” reasons Jamar. “I know what he said! Don’t read his lyrics for him. I know what this bitch-ass said. And? And what? I’m still unscathed! Guess what, muthafuckas still ain’t listening to that in the hood…They gotta read about it, because again my point is proven, nobody listens to your fuckin’ shit!”

“I figured out that I live rent-free in Eminem’s fuckin brain,” he continues. “I got squatters rights in that bitch. And might I say, it’s fuckin’ filthy in there. Okay? He talks about yeah, I’d be cleaning the sinks for Rakim. Yeah, we clean our fucking houses you filthy piece of trailer park shit. We clean our fucking houses. Cleanliness is next to godliness. I’d be glad to clean the house of hip-hop’s sink. Your trailer park is filthy. But I’m in here chilling — you’ll have to call the ‘Marshalls’ to get me out.” 

Can we expect a Lord Jamar remix of “Stepdad” anytime soon? Check out his spirited rendition below, and read our Music To Be Murdered By review right here. 

Eminem has always stirred the pot by name-dropping fellow celebrities in his music. Last Friday, he surprise-released his new album, Music To Be Murdered By, and while some might consider it to be more tame than his previous releases, there are still moments that possess shock value. On “Marsh”, Shady gets ears to perk up when he name-drops Trippie Redd. While he doesn’t seem to send any serious shots, he associates the 20-year-old rapper with drug use. “Then he said kill MCs/Trippie Redd, with pills and lean/Sipping meds in the limousine/Getting head, guillotine,” he raps. 

Trippie has now responded to this mention, but he is not up in arms over it. In a black-screen IG story, he wrote: “N****s be 50 beefing wit a 15yr old.” While Eminem name-drops have resulted in heated beefs in the past,  Trippie shows no interest in entering that territory. 

The feud between Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly escalated in 2018, but after hearing that he is referenced twice on Music To Be Murdered By (“Unaccommodating”, “Yah Yah”), MGK seemed as unconcerned as Trippie. He tweeted, “mad af I just stepped out a loud room to hear this bullshit,” and then clarified what bullshit he was referring to with a follow-up tweet: “he’s been rich and mad for 20 years straight”. 

Em’s new album has also incited reactions from Lord Jamar, Joe Budden and the mayor of Manchester. 

At the wee hours of the morning, Eminem swung in with a brand new album titled, Music To Be Murdered By. The project came at a surprise with no forewarning but as expected, the middle-aged rapper took to wax to air out his grievances. Among his targets was Lord Jamar who’s been having back and forths with Eminem indirectly over the years. 

On “I Will,” Eminem takes direct aim at Lord Jamar once again. Em’s previously done this on his album Kamikaze while Lord Jamar has continued to egg on the Detroit native during Vlad TV interviews.

I’m more than you bargained for and I am far more worse than a fourty-some bar Lord Jamar verse / Nothing means more than respect, so when I curse / You could say I swore to protect / My image I have zero time or regard for/ I never was, been claiming rap when it’s not yours/ If it was anyone’s house G Rap and Rakim would be havin’ you mop floors / Run-DMC would be havin’ you cleanin’ sinks / Yeah, your group was off the chain, but you were the weakest link

This is clearly in reference to Jamar’s claim that Em is a guest in the house of hip-hop. Clearly, it’s been weighing on Eminem’s mind for a hot minute. Will 2020 be the year they put their differences aside? Probably not. 

Today, Eminem surprised the world and dropped his tenth studio album Music To Be Murdered By. Here are some of the key takeaways. 

THE GANG’S ALL HERE

Like Kamikaze, Music To Be Murdered To brought several new collaborators into Em’s circle, including three placements from D.A. “Got That Dope” Doman. For the most part, however, the album find Em reconnecting with many longstanding collaborators, including the main musical core behind Relapse. For the first time in a minute, Dr. Dre blessed Slim with four instrumental contributions, not including skits: “Premonition,” “Never Love Again,” “Little Engine,” and “Lock It Up.” Alongside the Good Doctor stood producer Dawaun Parker, the clutch behind-the-scenes MVP behind much of Relapse. 

Another recurring presence is Luis Resto, a multi-instrumentalist responsible for working on many of Eminem’s best beats of all time. A perusal through the credits reveals Resto’s name on fifteen of the album’s twenty cuts, providing “additional keyboards” as well as deeper compositional contributions. As one of his most loyal collaborators behind-the-scenes, it’s time to start recognizing Resto’s impact on Em’s sound.  

Though Music To Be Murdered To found Em collaborating with many new friends, he also made sure to connect with some former collaborators. Former D12 associate turned hype-man Denaun Porter lays down a kinetic beat for the lyrical banger “Yah Yah,” which marks Em’s first official collaboration with Q-Tip. Not to mention his first official collaboration with Black Thought following their turn on the 2009 BET cypher. He even brought Slaughterhouse out of retirement on “I Will,” though old friend-turned-foe Joe Budden was a notable snub. Naturally, longtime friend and collaborator Royce Da 5’9 held it down with three verses and a few production credits, and it wouldn’t be an Eminem album without a hook from Skylar Grey. Even Alchemist, who spent a longstanding run as Em’s touring DJ, came through to co-produce on “Stepdad.”

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DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

Since declaring war on his enemies in 2018, Em spent the majority of the following year fielding petty shots and deeper critiques from the likes of Lord Jamar, Machine Gun Kelly, and Nick Cannon. And while many fans openly prayed for Em to rain fire and brimstone upon him, it seemed unlikely that he would dedicate a full diss track to one singular party. It’s no surprise to see Slim address each one individually on Music To Be Murdered By, to varying degrees of intensity. 

Lord Jamar catches the most bars, as delivered on Slaughterhouse collaboration “I Will.” As his verse nears its conclusion, he reverts back to the “hip-hop-as-a-house” analogy that has been a throughline throughout their war of words:

I am far more worse than a forty-some bar Lord Jamar verse
Nothing means more than respect, so when I curse
You could say I swore to protect
My image I have zero time or regard for
A never-was-been claiming rap when it’s not yours
If it was anyone’s house G Rap and Rakim would be having you mop floors
Run-DMC would be havin’ you cleanin’ sinks
Yeah your group was off the chain, but you were the weakest link

Given that Jamar will likely respond to this by the time next Monday rolls around, it’s likely this particular cycle will continue until it simply dissipates. On that note, Em also addressed Machine Gun Kelly twice, leaving fans unpacking his motive through mixed signals. The first arrived on the Young M.A. collaboration track “Unaccomodating,” as Em seemingly moved to call a halt on the once-heated duel between Rap God and Rap Devil. “But when they ask me is the war finished with MGK? Of course it is / I cleansed him of his mortal sins, I’m God and the Lord forgives — even the devil worshippers,” raps Em, in the second verse. “I’m moving on but you know your scruples are gone when you’re born with Lucifer’s horns.” 

While this confident declaration of victory could easily be seen as — at the very least — mildly antagonistic, it still feels like an armistice. And yet, merely eight songs later, he’s letting off another jab. On a track with Royce Da 5’9”, Black Thought, and Q-Tip of all place, Em took a moment to son the Gunner, spitting a dexterous scheme equating him to a premature baby born in his image: “Me and this game we got married already, had the prenup ready, fucked on her, should’ve seen her belly / she barely was three months pregnant, Bitch had to give me a baby, we named it Machine Gun Kelly.” One big happy family. 

And course, the trilogy wouldn’t be complete without a reference to Nick Cannon, who has been doing his damndest to elicit a response from his longtime sparring partner. His wish, albeit a diluted version, was granted on “No Regrets.” “For some adversaries, I carry big guns,” he spits, in what feels like a spiritual successor to “Fall.” “So some targets’ll get the kill shot, some, I just barely nicked ’em.” 

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ROOTS RUN DEEP

If there’s one thing that has remained important to modern-day Eminem, it’s the preservation of hip-hop history. In an age that finds many young voices glossing over the cultural forefathers, Em has made it his personal mission to shout out his peers and chief influences alike. One of the first mentions arrives on the opening track “Premonition,” as Em shouts out three of his former collaborators; by his estimation, Tech N9ne, 2 Chainz and Jay-Z are kindred spirits, inevitably plagued by some of the more frustrating critiques. “Instead of us being credited for longevity and being able to keep it up for this long at this level, we get told we’ll never be what we were,” he vents. “Bitch, if I was as half as good as I was, I’m still twice as good as you’ll ever be.”

A proud student of the school of “Notorious, Puba, Cube and The Poor Righteous Teachers,” Em also takes a moment to shout out his old pal Sticky Fingaz on “Godzilla.” And while quick homages are scattered throughout, the centerpieces arrives on golden-era homage “Yah Yah.” It’s only appropriate that a gathering of elite lyricists is home to Slim’s love-letter to his formative influences: 

Now here’s to LL, Big L and Del
K-Solo, Treach, and G Rap
DJ Polo, Tony D, ODB, Moe Dee, Run-DMC
Ed OG, and EPMD, D.O.C., Ice-T, Evil Dee
King Tee, UTFO, and Schoolly D, PE, and BDP
YZ and Chi-Ali, Rakim and Eric B., they were like my therapy
From B.I.G. and Paris, Three Times Dope, and some we’ll never see, and PRT
N.W.A and Eazy-E, and D-R-E was like my GPS
Without him, I don’t know where I’d be

Be sure to check out Music To Be Murdered By, itself a homage to the Master Of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock, and share your thoughts accordingly. 

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