Top 10 Eminem Feuds

Eminem’s hate for Christina Aguilera goes back a long way. The feud started when Christina Aguilera put Em on blast for marrying Kim, the same woman he raps about murdering in the song “Kim.” Em fired back on “The Real Slim Shady”, insinuating that Christina had had oral sex with Carson Daly and Fred Durst, and that she’d given him an STD. Christina called his disses disgusting and untrue, and the feud seemed to die out. But in late 2018, Em released a freestyle in which he rapped about touching her “massive” breasts and having sex with her using . . . a “plastic spoon”. Christina fired back on Andy Cohen, telling him to “get a new gig.”

It’s pretty safe to say that Em was not a fan of George Bush’s policies. There were various not-so-subtle clues littered throughout his songs, including “Square Dance”, where he states his intention to “ambush the Bush administration” and “mush the Senate’s face.” Things got a little more obvious in the protest song “Mosh”, where Em encouraged his fans to rebel and “stomp”, “shove”, and “mush” Bush. Eminem was even investigated by the Secret Service thanks to his line “I’d rather see the President dead” in the song “We as Americans”. This reportedly happened again after Eminem famously dissed Donald Trump at the 2017 BET Awards.

In 1999, Eminem ignored House of Pain’s Everlast backstage at a concert, kicking off a feud of epic proportions. Everlast wrote a few sly bars referencing Eminem and his daughter Hailie, and if there’s one thing Em hates, it’s mentioning Hailie. Em launched an all-out attack with the diss track “I Remember”, targeting Everlast’s age and heart attack. He rapped that he was laughing when he heard the news and “just wish the cardiac woulda murdered you”. Everlast released a diss track of his own titled “Whitey’s Revenge”, which spawned yet ANOTHER song from Em called “Quitter”. It looked like things were headed towards physical blows before the feud just kind of…fizzled out.

This one probably didn’t go the way Eminem was hoping. At the 2001 Grammys, Moby accused Em of misogyny, homophobia, racism, and anti-Semitism. In response, Eminem singled Moby out in “Without Me”, calling him old and irrelevant, and suggesting that his protege Obie Trice would “[stomp]” him. Things got super awkward at the 2002 VMAs, where Em called out the “little Moby girl” and threatened to hit him. It produced a chorus of boos, and Em had to practically shout the rest of his acceptance speech. Meanwhile, Moby took it all in stride . . . wondering why Eminem was using homophobic slurs, while also telling Moby to “blow [him]”.

In the late 90s, Canibus was in the midst of an intense rivalry with LL Cool J, and rumor had it that Eminem had written LL’s diss track against him, “The Ripper Strikes Back”. Although Eminem denied it, Canibus went on the offensive. He resurrected the character Stan and took shots at Em in his album “C! True Hollywood Stories”. Em shot back in songs like “Square Dance” and Xzibit’s “My Name”, where he called Canibus a “bitch in a can.” But the true fire came with the diss track “Can-I-Bitch”, where he mocks Canibus’s low album sales, rapping “I think it went lead or double copper-wood.”

The groundwork for this feud was laid back in 2000, when The Source gave “The Marshall Mathers LP” a measly two out of five. Fast-forward a few years, and Eminem and Source co-founder Benzino are in a war-of-words, with Benzino threatening Eminem’s daughter in the diss track “Die Another Day”, and Eminem clapping back with “Nail in the Coffin” and “The Sauce”. Things escalated when Benzino used The Source to release an old, racist, song of Eminem’s called “Foolish Pride”. Em was forced to apologize, blaming the racism on ignorance and a bad break-up. He sued The Source for defamation, but his claims were dismissed in federal court. Benzino has since apologized, and honestly it seems like everyone came out worse from this one.

According to Eminem, he and Mariah Carey dated back in 2001; but Mariah has always denied the claim, and her song “Clown” was widely interpreted as a clapback. In response, Eminem made her a gag on his Anger Management tour, playing Carey’s alleged voicemails and pretending to vomit. He then released “Bagpipes From Baghdad”, dissing both Mariah and her new husband Nick Cannon. Mariah shot back with her song “Obsessed”, complete with a music video featuring an Eminem lookalike stalking her. Nick wrote a blog post warning Em about possible repercussions, and the two exchanged diss tracks, before the feud abruptly came to an end.

It all started with a flyer. Back in the 90s, Eminem falsely advertised that Insane Clown Posse would appear at his record release party. Violent J of ICP wasn’t happy about the name drop and told Eminem “Hell no”. Em retaliated with jabs at ICP in tracks such as “Get U Mad” and “Till Hell Freezes Over”. ICP bounced back with the diss track “Slim Anus”, and believe it or not, it only got more juvenile from there - with both parties making blowup dolls of each other. It all culminated in Em brandishing a gun at an ICP associate, for which he received a year of probation. Luckily, the beef was eventually settled over a bowling game. No, we’re not making that up.

It was one of THE music rivalries of 2018. Back in 2012, Kelly Tweeted that Eminem’s 16-year old daughter was hot, then claimed that Eminem had subsequently banned him from radio station Shade 45. In response, Eminem dissed Kelly on the track “Not Alike”, and Kelly clapped back with “Rap Devil”, which quickly went viral. It included shots at Eminem’s age and the grand insult that . . . his beard was weird. Em’s rejoinder, the famous “Killshot”, eviscerated Kelly and broke YouTube records. Kelly certainly hasn’t forgiven him, Tweeting that Eminem’s refusal to perform the song at a Brisbane concert was just to avoid putting fans to sleep.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Limp Bizkit

Will Smith

Cage

This intense rivalry started when Eminem signed 50 Cent to Shady Records. 50 and Ja were beefing, and Ja wasn’t happy that Em signed his rival. The typical back-and-forth followed, until Ja crossed the line by suggesting that Eminem’s then 7-year old daughter Hailie would grow up to be a crackhead and a slut. Em absolutely annihilated Ja with his response diss track “Doe Rae Me (Hailie’s Revenge)”, which together with 50 Cent’s track “Back Down” left Ja Rule reeling. Em morosely reflected on his victory in “Like Toy Soldiers”, regretting the energy he put into it; buuut at least we still have the music!