Eminem is no stranger to a little bit of controversy. Whether it’s backlash from his profanity-filled lyrics or a feud with his hip-hop peers, the Detroit rapper has undoubtedly rubbed many individuals up the wrong way. One odd feud Eminem found himself in was with the contentious comedian and rapper Nick Cannon during which the latter made a Suge Knight reference related to Eminem. Akin to Slim Shady, Cannon is also not a saint and, over the years, has had various public altercations. Some have been messier than others. However, when the two agents of chaos collided, it was a sight to behold.
Cannon and Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) have always had a strenuous relationship as two individuals in the music business. Although they were never friends, due to Mathers’ goading of Mariah Carey, they quickly became enemies, and things got ugly fast. Throughout the 2000s, Cannon and the revered vocalist Mariah Carey had an on-off relationship and were a known couple. However, in 2008, the pair decided to tie the knot and become husband and wife.
Carey, akin to Will Smith, Christina Aguilera and many others, was a public figure that Mathers loved to taunt in his music. However, even after her marriage, the Detroit rapper didn’t see her marital as a deterrent but perceived it as a fantastic way he could get under her skin. With this being the case, shortly after her wedding, the ‘Stan’ rapper released a humorous yet evocative diss track entitled, ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad’. The brazen single featured lyrics such as, “Mariah, whatever happened to us? Why did we have to break up?” However, it was one very particular line that set of Cannon. During the song’s second verse Eminem can be heard proclaiming, “Nick Cannon better back the fuck up/ I’m not playin’, I want her back, you punk”.
The rappers began exchanging barbs in interviews and jeered each other publicly in passive-aggressive ways. However, all of this died down when Nick Cannon and Carey divorced in 2014. With the beef seemingly over, in 2019, during an appearance on Atlanta rapper T.I’s podcast, ExpediTIously, the Wild’n’Out host spoke about the first time he heard ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad’. Cannon detailed how he wrote Eminem a “long a** letter” and “went looking for” him.
Unfortunately, Mathers caught wind of Cannon’s gossip and took it upon himself to respond to his chit-chat and, on ‘Lord Above’ (a track from Fat Joe’s Family Ties album), blasted Cannon and Carey. Eminem went for the jugular on the song rapping, “I know me and Mariah didn’t end on a high note/ But that other dude’s whipped, that p*ssy got him neutered/ Tried to tell him this chick’s a nut job before he got his jewels clipped/ Almost got my caboose kicked, fool, quit, you not gon’ do sh*t/ I let her chop my balls off, too ’fore I lost to you, Nick.”
This track was followed by a long and extremely tiresome back and forth between the two until on December 8th, 2019; Cannon released ‘The Invitation’ his response to Mathers featuring the notorious gangster Suge Knight, an individual with whom Mathers had almost fought years prior. During the intro, Knight blasted the ‘Lose Yourself’ rapper before labelling him a “b*itch!”
The comedian dedicated the entirety of his song to Eminem’s family, most significantly his former girlfriend and daughter, as he rapped, “Call Kim, somebody get Hailey and that other kid you raising that ain’t even your baby.” Cannon claimed that Eminem’s driver has a video of him “sucking c*ck.” Nobody ever thought that Suge Knight would make an appearance during the feud. However, it seems as if the Wild’n’Out host wanted to go all out on Mathers. You can hear ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad’ and ‘The Invitation’ in the videos below.
