LunchBox Beats

Is Eminem taking the high road? As odd as it seems, that’s what the rapper did in answer to Nick Cannon’s furious blog post responding to Em’s apparent dis of Mariah Carey in a new track. Well, he’s sort of taking the high road. He still is Slim Shady after all.

During an interview with BBC Radio 1 host Tim Westwood on Saturday, Eminem explained the song that sparked the ire of Carey’s husband.

“With the song ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad,’ I kinda spazzed out on that record, but I guess I spazzed out on every record,” Em told Westwood of the Relapse track. “There’s a line on there that was a little harsh. It’s a harsh line. … But it’s like this, the way I look at it: I had no idea he was gonna take it like he took it. I had no idea Nick Cannon was gonna start wildin’ out on me. No pun intended.”

Possibly in jest, Em said his lyrics — which include the lines, “Nick Cannon better back the f— up. I’m not playing, I want her back, you punk,” and, “Nick Cannon, you pr—, I wish you luck with that f—in’ whore” — were misinterpreted. The rapper downplayed the situation, and his level tone seemed to be an attempt to diffuse any tension between himself and Cannon.

After hearing the leaked song, Cannon wrote a long, scathing post, calling the song “an act of racist bigotry” and threatening Eminem, “I’m going to make you wish you never spoke my name and regret the ungodly things you said about my wife.”

Eminem admitted that he hadn’t read Cannon’s blog post but got wind of the message.

“I heard about some of the things he was saying,” Em said. “I didn’t read his blog or anything. But it is what it is. He’s supposed to defend his wife, and I expected him to do that. But at the end of the day, it’s a line I said; it’s a song. What I actually meant to say is, I wish them the best. That’s what I meant to say. That’s the whole message of the record.

Asked how he’d feel about facing Cannon in a rap battle, Eminem didn’t take the bait.

“I didn’t plan on taking it to that level,” Em said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t. But it is what it is.”