The simple truth behind Eminem and Tyler, The Creator’s short feud
Since entering the mainstream in 1999, Eminem has been involved in many feuds. From Benzino to Nick Cannon and Machine Gun Kelly, the Detroit emcee has recorded an unfathomable number of diss tracks. However, on one occasion, he admitted his lyrics went “too far.”
Following the release of Em’s tenth studio album, Kamikaze, in 2018, the lyricist sat down for an in-depth interview with SiriusXM host Sway Calloway to discuss the trajectory of his career and some of the feuds that have impinged on his journey.
In 2016, Eminem entered one of his most iconic battles with Cleveland rhymer Machine Gun Kelly. In his interview with Sway, Em explained how that feud came to be, disclosing, “One day…you know how you go down the f*cking wormhole of YouTube, so I see [a video named] ‘Machine Gun Kelly Talks About Eminem’s Daughter’, I’m like, ‘What the f*ck!’ So I click on it, and then he starts doing a press run about Haile!”
However, Em entered another feud—this time with Odd Future frontman Tyler, The Creator. The origin of their beef was on show for the public to see. The truth behind their feud is that the Flower Boy musician, in attempts to critique one of his idols, regularly expressed his dislike for Eminem’s newer music. In an interview with HOT 97, Tyler stated, “I’m just vocal about sh*t I don’t like!” Eminem perceived what the LA native intended to be suggestions as personal attacks. As such, he hit back at Tyler on the Kamikaze track ‘Fall,’ but in retrospect, admitted to Calloway that he went too far and transgressed the unwritten rules of battle.
On the song, the ‘Stan’ rhymer rapped, “Tyler create nothing, I see why you called yourself a f*ggot, bitch / It’s not just ’cause you lack attention / It’s because you worship D12’s balls, you’re sack-religious / If you’re gonna critique me, you better at least be as good or better.”
Tyler The Creator’s criticism of Eminem’s music began in 2010 when the Encore creator released Recovery. However, the Odd Future frontman was young and didn’t know much about what Eminem was going through behind the scenes. As such, akin to Em, he has also shown contrition about his comments. In the early 2010s, Eminem was attempting to bounce back from a relapse he had around 2005 and was finding his feet again creatively. This reality was laid bare in his Netflix documentary Painkiller, which led to a realisation for Tyler The Creator.
In an interview with Mav Carter, the IGOR creator explained how it opened his eyes, disclosing, “After watching [Painkiller on Netflix], I felt so bad about those tweets and things like that because thinking from his perspective. Someone like me publicly saying that stuff and him getting off drugs and being clean and getting to a point in his life that that’s behind him and me implying that this shit is wack – he probably felt like I was attacking him.”
He then clarified, “I love him, that dude taught me how to rap. I learned how to put words together in rhythm because of some of the Eminem stuff I was hearing and storytelling and things like that.”
Eminem and Tyler The Creator never hated each other. However, the latter (who is much younger) relentlessly criticised the quality of Eminem’s music when the emcee was at his most vulnerable and unhappy. As such, he displayed an unpleasant lack of respect and arrogance towards Em.