Dr. Umar made the headlines recently with his remarks on the infamous rapper Eminem. In the latest episode of The JBP, the 49-year-old cited racial and cultural reasons for not considering the artist as one of the greatest in his realm. The statement caught the attention of the listeners as a few of them used Michael Jordan and LeBron James as references to express their thoughts.
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During the show, Dr. Umar stated, “Let me say something to you and this is going to my African fundamentalism,” before elaborating further. “No non-African can ever be the best of anything African. It is an insult to the ancestors, it is an insult to the race and it is an insult to every black person,” the activist publicly declared.
Dr. Umar says Eminem is not one of greatest rappers of all time because he’s not African.
(: @JoeBuddenPod) pic.twitter.com/oz7PQYWALy
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) December 25, 2023
Despite the high emotions, the breakdown of his stance made little sense due to the evident discrimination. Even after entering a field dominated by a particular ethnicity, Eminem stood out through his persistence and resilience. Yet, Dr. Umar refused to acknowledge him as one of the best rappers of all time purely because of the origin of craft.
His focus on highlighting uncontrollable factors to back up his words raised a few eyebrows as fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to take a stand against it. One viewer mentioned how his words limit the likes of LeBron and Jordan from becoming the greatest players of basketball. He mentioned, “By this logic, no way Jordan or LeBron can be the GOAT, cause basketball was invented by James Naismith (a white dude)”.
By this logic, no way Jordan or LeBron can be the GOAT, cause basketball was invented by James Naismith (a white dude)
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) December 28, 2023
Another pointed out the same, shedding light on the origin of the sport. He wrote, “This is like saying Michael Jordan can never be considered the best NBA player because the sport was created by a white man”. “Do you see how stupid that sounds?”
This is like saying Michael Jordan can never be considered the best NBA player because the sport was created by a white man.
Do you see how stupid that sounds? https://t.co/1XHamrF0UX
— Mightykeef (@MightyKeef) December 26, 2023
Later, the fan extended the horizon to further establish his standpoint. He mentioned, “It also would not explain Lewis Hamilton or Tiger Woods and them being accepted as the best in a predominantly white sport created by white people”.
No only does that not matter in this context. But it also would not explain Lewis Hamilton or Tiger woods and them being accepted as the best in a predominantly white sport created by white people
— Mightykeef (@MightyKeef) December 26, 2023
These remarks from the viewers only wanted to put forward the lack of correlation between ethnicity and talent. That’s why they shed light on a few of the best athletes of all time from various sports, such as LeBron and Jordan from basketball, Lewis Hamilton from Formula One Racing, and Tiger Woods from golf. Their motive was to showcase how the origin of a game has little to do with its development, and the athlete’s success in it.
All these collectively point toward the apparent ridiculousness of Dr. Umar’s statements. His discrimination against Eminem for racial reasons was eventually addressed online through the united effort of fans. As the impact of social media came to the limelight, the absurdness of the psychologist’s words received heavy criticism.
Dr. Umar’s statements add weight to the mixed bag of opinions on Eminem
A few months back, Billboard published its list of ’50 Greatest Rappers of All Time,’ paying tribute to iconic artists. Interestingly, Eminem ranked in the top 5 of that list after securing the 5th spot. His position ahead of The Notorious B.I.G., Rakim, and Snoop Dogg amongst a few others further proved his excellence in the field.
Amidst the acknowledgment, his contributions as a rapper have always remained under question marks. Snoop’s comments in 2020 were one such instance as he did not include the 51-year-old in his top 10 list. “Eminem, the great White hope. White rappers had zero respect in rap. Let’s keep that one thou-wow. None,” he stated. The 52-year-old further played down Eminem’s achievements, mentioning, “That’s just because he’s with Dr. Dre and Dr. Dre helped him find the best Eminem that he could find”.
So, Dr. Umar was not the only person who brought ethnicity into the conversation while explaining his beliefs. In fact, Snoop even took it a step further as he expressed doubts over the rapper’s talent in his rise to stardom. Despite the concerns, the fans stick together to endorse Slim Shady as one of the best to ever do it, just as how they did for LeBron, Jordan, Woods, and Hamilton.
