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Social media users are sharing their reactions after civil activist Dr. Umar Johnson explained why he feels Eminem is not one of the best rappers of all time.
Dr. Umar Johnson appeared as a recent guest on the ‘Joe Budden Podcast’ for part one of a Patreon-exclusive episode that premiered on Monday, December 25.
During the conversation, host Joe Budden asked Dr. Umar if he believes Caucasian rapper Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time.
“Let me say something to you and this is going into my African fundamentalism,” Dr. Umar replied. “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…”
Dr. Umar Johnson explained that he believes he would not be able to enter another culture and become the “best of anything” that culture excels in. The activist added that “we have to stop naming non-African people as being the best of any aspect of our cultural prowess because it is an insult.”
“Do you think I can go to Palestine and be the best of anything of Palestinian culture? You never see that,” Dr. Umar continued. “You think I can go to Israel and be the best of anything in Israel, whether it be a cook, an instrumentalist, a dancer? Hell no.”
As the conversation continued, Dr. Umar explained that placing a non-Black person at the top of hip hop, a music genre created by Black people, is “white supremacy.”
The activist then went on to unpack his claim by referencing DJ Khaled, who is of Palestinian descent, and DJ Vlad, who is from Ukraine.
“I don’t see Eminem building no schools and hospitals. I don’t see DJ Khaled building no schools and hospitals. I don’t see DJ Vlad building no damn…” the activist explained before being cut off.
Check out a clip of Dr. Umar sharing his sentiments below.
Social media users entered The Shade Room’s comment section to share their reactions to Dr. Umar’s statements. Some users appeared to agree with the activist’s sentiments.
“The delivery was aggressive asf lmaooo but he definitely saying some ”
While Instagram user @cashmase added.
“We give out too many passes to the cookout based on talent while they give us silence on social issues ”
Instagram user @chriswilliamsii wrote.
“Its hard to say it, but Dr. Umar might be on to something here! They would never let a black artist be a goat in country music.”
“If ‘excuse me im rooting for everybody who’s black” was a person……'”
“One things about Dr. Umar, he always rooting for everybody black lol”
“I love how hard he roots for black culture! Not many do it. We should be grateful to have someone finally going hard for us. Love this man ”
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Instagram user @mekafye wrote:
“We as black ppl need to stop this type of mess.. Eminem has never went against us & hes very talented!”
“So Micheal Jordan cant be the goat cuz a white man created basketball?… Racism aint a one way rode”
Instagram user @thetrainergod wrote:
“The truth is Eminems lyrics were way more relatable than any other rappers.yes it was kool to hear about the fancy cars, models, bottles,and drug dealing but the truth is Eminem actually rapped about growing up poor, not being happy at home, and being misunderstood by everyone.and didnt have to pretend to be someone he wasnt Hes the because of his skillWhen you gotta find other things to judge by outside of actual skill then that tells us everything we need to know. Not saying I dont appreciate every other rapper I listened to, theyre legends too.but respect needs to be given where its due.”
