“There’s no chance Hip Hop would’ve ever bowed down to a white boy,” Fat Joe spills the truth on why Eminem not only survived but thrived in a time when Hip Hop was “more racial than ever.”

Eminem carved a niche in the hip-hop rap scene with his visionary genius that makes the rapper stand a foot above the rest of his contemporaries!

When Eminem broke out in the world of rap, music assumed an entirely different identity. No longer was rap the socio-political weapon of choice of the artistically inclined and musically gifted Black community. No longer did hip-hop signify the historical liberation and emancipation of an entire race by the rebels.

Eminem [Credit: Universal Pictures]

In the upper echelons of artistic creativity that demands an equal grasp over music, wit, rhythm, and language lies the world of hip-hop rap music – a genre so obscure that it rose out of thin air, broke convention, and influenced generations to rise to the top. Of the handful of people who were blessed with the talent, one name stands out as rare as the wings on a cat.

Hip-Hop Found Its New King in Eminem

Proof and Eminem performing at the 1999 Juice Jam in Stadthalle, Munich [Photo by Mika Väisänen, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons]

Born at a backyard school party in the Bronx, hip-hop originated on August 11, 1973, in an ephemeral moment when genius, vision, and foresight combined to conceive an entirely new art form. Rap entered the equation soon after and from it, a cultural movement was born that revolutionized not only music but also influenced politics, art, language, race, and post-modern thought.

There was a catch, however. When hip-hop took shape in the ’70s and exploded in the music scene, it was quickly adopted as a language of the rebels in the Black community. Historically, there was no place for a stark white boy like Eminem to participate, let alone rule the genre that once uplifted an entire race and gave it strength to fight for social equality and recognition.

Eminem’s arrival and eventual rise in the hip-hop rap scene was a gift of the rarest measure, and unforeseen by any account. His was an unprecedented talent that, if the genre hadn’t already existed in music, was strong enough to single-handedly give it a name, the honor, and the acclaim it deserved. Eminem arrived not to bring a new flavor to hip-hop rap but to revolutionize the very notion upon which it was founded – the freedom of speech, identity, and thought.

Fat Joe Bows Down to Eminem’s Sheer Talent

Eminem in 8 Mile [Credit: Universal Pictures]

Fat Joe said it best when he claimed, “Eminem would’ve never been where he was or where he’s at if he wasn’t a unicorn in the human form.” The boy genius struck a chord (and a nerve) with the Black community that dominated the hip-hop rap scene until his arrival. His talent and philosophy were so inescapable, undeniable, and in-the-face-tier brilliant that the genre was proud to welcome him into the circle with open arms.

During a podcast interview, Fat Joe explained why Eminem succeeded in the racially defined genre when hip-hop was more Black-dominated than ever:

Hip-hop at the time [when] Eminem came out was more biased and more racial than ever. There’s no way hip-hop would’ve gave it up to a white boy unless he was f**king phenomenal. And when he came out, he was so nasty… Nobody wanted the smoke. You don’t got to hear it from Dre, we know the truth… We are hip-hop. We know hip-hop. They would’ve never gave that ni**a that lane. He was phe-no-menal. Never seen before. Must see T.V.

Now, Eminem holds an Oscar – becoming the first rapper in history to win an Academy Award, an Emmy, and 44 Grammy nominations, of which he won 15, 8 AMAs, 17 Billboard Music Awards, and a Guinness World Record for being the fastest rapper of all time (7.5 words per second).

Eminem has also become the first rapper ever to win the Global Icon Award for his achievements and influences in music, effectively joining the ranks of such legends as Queen and Bon Jovi.