Legendary rapper Grandmaster Caz recently shared his thoughts on the latest exchange between Eminem and Melle Mel.

Melle Mel has spent enough time slandering Marshall in his interviews, but Em’s short reference to him on Ez Mil’s single “Realest” verse really got under Melle Mel’s skin.

The veteran rapper took the case seriously and, in the old-school tradition, decided to respond to a diss with his own diss. The audience held their breath in anticipation of a titanic response, but it was only Titanic in how fast it sank down.

Many respected figures in the game were disappointed with the situation, as after years of promising to defeat Eminem in a diss battle, Melle Mel only produced more embarrassment for the culture. Now, Grandmaster Caz has joined their ranks.

In a conversation with Sean Bigga on The Bigga Picture podcast, Caz acknowledged his respect for both artists. He highlighted Melle Mel’s lyrical prowess, stating he was the only rapper Caz ever felt the need to surpass:

I respect Melle Mel to the fullest. Lyrically, he’s the only person I ever thought I had to be better than. Everybody else, I thought I was better than them.

While Caz didn’t know about Melle Mel’s diss track beforehand, he expressed support for his right to express personal opinions. However, he criticised the quality of the response, suggesting Melle Mel could have done better.

He did not consult with me as far as Eminem thing. I didn’t really ask him too much. He did not really take it that seriously. He was like, “I’ll bust Eminem’s ass”, and I’m like, okay, you supposed to believe that. But as far as him actually doing the answer, I did not know he was going to respond to it. First of all, Em was responding to him. Mel was like, “Fuck, chill what? That’s my opinion”. And everybody else out here giving their opinions, saying whatever they wanna say, how the fuck you gonna tell Melle Mel he can’t say what he wanna say? I backed him up on that. I didn’t get the opportunity to see what he was going to do. It just came out. Even if I heard it, I couldn’t say, “Nah, that’s whack”. But I probably would have. I would have had to say that ’cause that’s my dude. I have no doubt that if he took his time and then came up with some shit, then niggas be like, “Oh shit, Mel”. But he just did something real quick and put it out there and it was not flattering to him. You don’t respond to Eminem like that. Especially if you’re saying that you are going to bust his ass.

Caz went on to praise Eminem’s lyrical skills and acknowledged his contributions to hip-hop, emphasising Eminem’s rise from the Detroit underground scene. He believes Eminem deserves the recognition he receives and doesn’t consider him an industry plant.

If that was me, it would have been different. I’m not saying I’d bust Eminem’s ass, but I would went as hard as I could possibly go to get that nigga. And then if he got me after that, yo, you got it! But I already respect Eminem as a lyricist. I wouldn’t even question him being nice or whether I’m better than him or not. There are a lot of niggas that are better than me. You better be better than me! I drew you a blueprint!

Overall, Caz seems to advocate for peaceful respect between the artists while acknowledging the sincerity of Melle Mel’s initial opinion. But he personally doesn’t share it:

He really believes that Em is touted the way he is because he’s a white rapper. That makes him even more accomplished at a black thing, which hip hop is proposed to be. I’ve always accepted Em as a dope ass fucking lyricist. If you can do something that I can’t do — I applaud you. MC Serch could not do what Eminem did. He’s dope but he just fits into the fabric. Em looked too white. They called him a wigger because he was doing black things, but he looked like a white person. Serch got his jewelry on. He got haircut like black people and shit like that, and white people didn’t want him. [Eminem] is the quintessential white hope for rap. All he gotta do is be good. He just excelled and was just more than good. He paid his dues in hip hop. He is not an industry plant. This nigga comes from the street. He comes from Detroit. He comes from the circle of niggas who did this street shit, mixtapes, all that shit, he paid his dues.

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