Credit: Alamy

While Dr Dre and 50 Cent have shared in plenty of musical and financial successes together, their relationship has, at times, been a bit strained. But there is at least one thing they agree on completely—and that’s who the greatest ever rapper is.

Both Dre and 50 believe there’s one figure that stands out from all others, and, as it happens, they both enjoy a close bond to this person. Obviously it’s Eminem.

While Dre was appearing on This Life of Mine with James Corden in 2024, he spoke of, among other things, his admiration for his one-time protégé Eminem, whom he signed to Aftermath Entertainment in 1998. He did not mince his words when it came to celebrating Em’s status.

“I think he’s the best emcee ever,” he said. “Point blank, period. Of course, there are going to be arguments about that because he’s a white guy. I don’t think anyone that’s rapping can touch Eminem on that microphone.”

While Eminem remains Dre’s most successful signing, he’s hardly the only one to become a superstar under his guidance. Dre has, at different points in time, played his part in launching the careers of Snoop Dogg, The Game, Kendrick Lamar and, of course, 50 Cent, whom he signed in 2002.

Tensions have existed between Dre and 50 at various points in time, with the latter even going public on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club in 2015 to declare that their relationship had been strictly “business.” They have since apparently made up, with 50 in recent years happily praising Dre and his musical talents. Their lives and careers are entwined in lots of ways, and, crucially, Eminem has played a big part in both.

Around the 20th anniversary of the release of Get Rich or Die Tryin’, 50 Cent’s wildly successful debut album that featured contributions from both Dre and Em, 50 took to Instagram to celebrate both of his collaborators.

“When you have a team like this it’s hard to lose, I’m so blessed to have worked with the best ever,” he posted. “You can re-write a book, you can re-write a song but you can’t re-write history. The three-headed monster: Em, Dre and 50 Cent. Boom.”

This is hardly the only time that 50 Cent has praised Eminem, going so far as to describe him as the best around in a different Instagram post. This appeared online after the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ song ‘Patiently Waiting,’ which featured Em, hit 100 million streams in 2020.

Posting a photo of the pair, 50 captioned, “This combination will always work, I think it has something to do with Em being the best rapper in the world.” He also got in a little bit of self-praise, too, noting, “but I’m not so bad. LOL.”

For all the ups and downs of Dr Dre and 50 Cent’s relationship, it seems that this is at least one thing that consistently binds them: their shared admiration for their friend and collaborator Eminem.