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Ed Lover has issued his take on the debate it sparked Dr. Umar Johnson reflection by Eminem position in Hip-Hop, asking about the speaker's own credentials.
Veteran Hip-hop media personality Ed Lover not only disputed Dr. Umar Johnson about Eminem only being relevant in hip-hop because of “white supremacy” during an appearance on Joe Budden's podcast, but he also questioned the motivational speaker's background. . He did it on his own Come on son podcast Sunday (Dec. 31), the final episode for 2023, saying, “Dr. Umar, please. Please. What I want to know is, where did you get your PhD?'
“What makes you a doctor? And then, where did you come from and what makes you a[n] beginning in Hip-Hop, Ed Lover said before adding: “Now Eminem doesn't need Dr. Umar to tell him he is one of the best ever because we already said that. Hip-Hop is for everyone. Hip-hop may have been created by black people, but the love of music, melodies and rhymes has spread around the world.”
The previous YO! MTV Raps the host continued with his point. “It's like saying [Big] Pun can't be one of the greatest of all time because he's not African-American, because he's Puerto Rican. Fat Joe doesn't deserve to be in Hip-Hop because he's not African-American. You were not there, Dr. Umar, respectively. You weren't there.” Ed Lover closed by referring to his resume. “I wasn't even there at the beginning of Hip-Hop. I went on in '89, I was able to show these videos and help spread the gospel of Hip-Hop throughout the world, they respect me much, much more than you, Dr. Umar.
The comments of Dr. Umar has caused a stir with other notable cultural figures, with MC Shan himself calling out the often controversial speaker in a 13-minute video posted on YouTube. “You just make everything a struggle, n—ah,” he began. “It's not all fucking racing stuff. Eminem — muthafucka, you know that n—a nice. He deserves to have a slot in this game,” he stated.
