Justin Bieber has claimed Eminem doesn’t ‘understand’ rap’s new generation.
That’s a pretty big accusation to make of the Rap God himself.
The 25-year-old singer made the comment on his Instagram story after sharing a screenshot from his phone when he was listening to Eminem’s song The Ringer, from the 2018 album Kamikaze.
In the song, Em takes aim at the current state of hip-hop, lamenting ‘mumblin’ and ‘mumbo-jumbo’ rap. He mentions rappers like Lil Yachty, Lil Pump and Lil Xan, who only started releasing songs in the past few years, as well as Machine Gun Kelly, who he’s had beef with for years.
The 46-year-old says Lil Yachty ‘just ain’t for him’, and a later section of the song goes:
But last week, an ex-fan mailed me a copy
Of The Mathers LP to tell me to study
It’ll help me get back to myself and she’ll love me (ooh-ooh)
I mailed the b*tch back and said if I did that
I’d just be like everyone else in the f**king industry
Especially an effing Recovery clone of me
So finger-b*ng, chicken wang, MGK, Iggy ‘Zae
Lil’ Pump, Lil’ Xan imitate Lil’ Wayne
On Bieber’s Instagram story, he showed support for both Eminem’s music, but claimed he didn’t understand the new generation of the genre.
He wrote:
I just like Em’s flow but don’t like that he’s dissing new rappers.
I like the new generation of rap he just doesn’t understand it.
Although Bieber admitted to liking Eminem’s music, many of the rapper’s fans have taken to Twitter to argue against the pop star, claiming he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
One frustrated music fan wrote:
imagine thinking that eminem doesn‘t know what rap is…. eminem literally paved the way for a whole new section of rap lmao
While another responded:
I’d pay money to watch Justin Bieber try to explain anything about hip hop to Eminem
It seems Eminem doesn’t only have it in for rappers, however, as in December last year he actually name-dropped Bieber himself.
The rapper took a dig at the pop star during his 11-minute freestyle Kick Off, where he sang:
Justin Bieber in a Catholic school
Selling dust and reefer when your back is to him.
Admittedly, I don’t think Bieber would have ever got away with claiming Eminem ‘doesn’t understand rap’. The 46-year-old is a staple of hip hop, and has been releasing tracks for decades, likely making him an influence for many newer rappers around today.
If anyone understands rap, it’s the Rap God.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.