Over the course of his 26-year career, Eminem has been embroiled in some of rap’s most infamous feuds, proving time and time again that he’s one of the greatest when it comes to verbal fighting. We take a look at each of his sonic foes in this section.
Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera disclosed the information during her MTV special What A Girl Wants after Eminem married longtime girlfriend Kim in a private wedding in 1999, and also warned women about the consequences of physical abuse in relationships. Em was irritated by her spilling the beans, and he vented his feelings on ‘The Real Slim Shady,’ saying, “Little bitch put me on blast on MTV/’Yeah, he’s cute, but I think he’s married to Kim, hee-hee,’/ I should release her audio on MP3/And show the whole world how you got Eminem VD (Argh!).” Before responding with her own diss album, Aguilera and her team denied the song’s assertions that the singer had been intimately involved with Eminem.
Machine Gun Kelly
Machine Gun Kelly said he was prohibited from participating on Eminem’s Shade 45 radio station after a (now deleted) tweet in 2012 in which he referred to Em’s daughter Hailie Jade as “hot as fuck.” In a 2017 L.A. Leakers freestyle, he mentioned the ban and fired a subliminal shot on Tech N9ne’s ‘No Reason (The Mosh Pit Song),’ before Eminem retaliated with a few jabs on ‘Not Alike.’ Machine Gun Kelly retaliated with ‘Rap Devil,’ a song that slammed Eminem on all fronts, slamming his character, his history, his age, and even his selfie game.
Eminem returned eleven days later with ‘Killshot,’ an unbroken lyrical barrage. He laughs at MGK’s man bun, brands him a Stan, and even brings up MGK’s ex-girlfriend Halsey, in addition to branding him a “tatted-up mumble rapper.” MGK launched a couple more minor shots, but Eminem declared he was “moving on” from the beef on ‘Unaccommodating,’ a tune off his 2020 surprise album ‘Music To Be Murdered By.’
Will Smith
Will Smith beat Eminem to win the Best Male Video award at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. In his acceptance speech, he stated that in order to sell records, he did not need to use profanity or threaten people. “Will Smith don’t have to cuss in his raps to sell records/Well, I do, so fuck him and fuck you too,” Em rapped on “The Real Slim Shady,” implying that the remark was directed at him and Dr. Dre. “Dissed by Eminem but didn’t bother him/Yup well he classy/Big Will just did another 20 mill’,” Smith responded on ‘Mr. Niceguy’ five years later.
Something Smith said to Em before he joined with Aftermath, according to DJ Jazzy Jeff, may have sparked the feud. During a recording session in Philadelphia, the Bad Boys actor walked in on Jeff and Em. Em’s ‘Just the Two of Us,’ afterward dubbed “97 Bonnie & Clyde,” was played by Jeff. “You’re either going to be the biggest flop in hip-hop, or you’re going to be the biggest thing that we’ve ever seen in hip-hop,” Smith said bluntly. Eminem, according to Jeff, “never forgot that.”