Eminem has all the privileges of a white male and all the privileges of being in the hip-hop community,β Dr. Umar Johnson Claims.
Black activist Dr. Umar Johnson recently sparked outrage after claiming Eminem can’t be considered one of the greatest rappers of all time because βhe’s White.β In a recent episode of The Joe Budden podcast, the controversial Black activist discredited the Not Afraid rapper’s GOAT status. βNo non-African can ever be the best of anything African,β Johnson said. Following his hateful comments, hip-hop fans flocked to social media in support of Eminem.
‘An insult to every Black person’, Johnson added
The staunch Pan-Africanist condemned White people’s participation in Black culture. βEminem has all the privileges of a white male and all the privileges of being in the hip-hop community, so we got to be careful about letting non-Africans into our community,β Johnson said.
He continued, βLet me say something to you. And this is going to my African fundamentalism. No non-African can ever be the best of anything African. It is an insult to the ancestors, it is an insult to the race and it is an insult to every Black person.β βWe have to stop naming non-African people as being the best of any aspect in our cultural product because it’s an insult,β Johnson said.
Netizens are furious and disappointed over Johnsonβs comment
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, netizens expressed their resentment over Johnson for racially dividing hip-hop. Many also pointed out Black people’s participation in historically White activities. A user said, βThis is like saying no black guy could ever be the goat of basketball because a white dude from Canada invented the sport.β
Yet another fan said, βThis is dumb cuz with this logic you canβt call Tiger Woods the goat at golf cuz heβs not white or Serena Williams the goat at tennis cuz sheβs not white.β
One more user wrote, βToo much eminem slander on the timeline. the guy never boasted always humble always shows love for the culture and always gives back man. will go down as one of the goats ever. go argue with your cat.β
Another user said, βPeople will give Em so much hate but forget that he most likely inspired some of their favourite artists. I mean heβs in kendrickβs top 5, drakes, lil wayne, j cole and many others. People really forget he actually revolutionised hip hop.β
Disclaimer: Except the headline and synopsis, this story has been taken from the HT News Service.