To My Sober Readers

Just a quick shout-out to my readers in recovery, living clean/sober/substance-free or whatever you'd like to call it.  It's a hard path, overriding the brain's drive to engage in something that's become a habit.  (Especially when you throw in the physical withdrawals caused by some drugs).  The key seems to be not simply quitting the thing but replacing it with something (or somethings) more constructive & healthy.  Sometimes even rebuilding your life from the ground up to avoid the people & places that helped you get to that point.  Building new habits takes time & repetition so it's a long journey that's not success-only.  But just know that I see you & am proud of you. 👏🏻

If you're sober and don't condescend to or preach at people who use/abuse/are addicted to substances (there IS a difference between the three!) or support bad drug policy due to your own lack of control with drugs, even bigger props to you.  When you can live & let live without getting triggered by something that used to be your weakness, that's a whole other level of recovery. ❤‍🩹⚕

The Costs of Heterosexual Relationships for Women

For millennia, women have been sold the lie that marriage & child-rearing are the apex of fulfillment--that the nuclear family is the winning formula in life.  And for a time this setup made practical sense:  the man could venture out into the world & earn a living while the woman stayed home & tended to the duties of homemaking & raising the kids.  Not glamorous work but somebody's gotta do it.  Anything that deviates from this norm represents not only a failure of your role as a woman but a dangerous departure from Judeo-Christian values.  "Dying alone," becoming a "lonely old spinster" or a "crazy cat lady" are tropes that are frequently thrown around to scare women & girls into compliance.  

But here's a head-scratcher:  would there be a need for these scare tactics if hetero marriage & motherhood were really all that great?  Who benefits from scaring women into such unions?  Now that the average man's income can't support a stay-at-home-mom & 2.5 kids plus a dog, men are more of a liability than an asset.  The sooner women realize this the better off they'll be.  Studies consistently show that hetero marriage benefits men while harming women's health, mental well-being & shortening our very lives.  But why? 

Because marriage was never an equal or even remotely equal trade of labor, love & commitment, and we all knew it on some level while continuing to delude ourselves, telling fairy tales to cope with the cognitive dissonance the truth would bring crashing down on our thick skulls.  But at least men covered the financial aspect before late-stage capitalism made it so both partners had to work full-time just to make ends meet.  Now?  Not so much. 


What's On the Line?

Oh, only everything.  Biologically speaking, women carry the entire health burden of unwanted pregnancy/childbirth and are more readily infected by STD's from PIV sex than men are from women. Considering that 1 in 4 sexually active adults has HPV--the #1 cause of cervical cancer & the leading cause of mouth and throat cancer in the U.S.--that's pretty significant.  That's to say nothing of incurable STDs like HIV & herpes and all the resistant strains of once-treatable diseases like gonorrhea & the dreaded syphilis.  When a woman engages in penetrative anal sex as the passive partner, the risk of contracting an STD goes up to astronomical levels.  So being cheated on carries a far higher risk than just emotional ruin.  Having one STD like herpes which causes open sores on the genitals increases the risk of contracting another like HIV as well.  Many of these diseases cause no noticeable symptoms so don't assume you're in the clear just because you or your partner shows no outward signs.

While women are slightly more likely to come down with dementias like Alzheimer's Disease, we also live an average of 3-5 years longer than men (even longer now thanks to COVID shortening men's lifespans even more), which means we often play caregiver to our aging decrepit Romeos...  Romeos who statistically are 7 times more likely to bail on us if we're struck with a terminal or chronic illness than we would them if they were in the same position.  Oncology nurses across the world have confirmed this stomach-turning statistic.  All of these stressors can cause great strain on a relationship if partners aren't on the same page, chapter & verse when these situations arise.  I've personally watched both my beloved grandmothers speed up their trip to the grave dramatically while caring for a demented husband.  

Safer in His Arms?

The greatest health & safety threat to women?  Men.

Women often cite "safety" as a motive for keeping shitty men in their lives.  "I feel so safe in his arms" is a common refrain from straight women.  Indeed, men's overall boldness & impulsive risk-taking can give the illusion of bravery & a willingness to protect, but don't be fooled: many of these same men use that quick thinking to make a break for it when shit hits the fan.  Self-preservation > everything for these types.  

While men are capable of providing protection from violent attackers & intruders, they can just as easily bail in an emergency or turn their rage on us.  Just as "feeling safer" with a gun in the home is deceptive (having a gun in the home actually INCREASES your risk of dying from gun violence especially if you're a woman & a bigger, stronger, faster man wrestles it away from you), having a man in the home can work in a similar manner, creating a false sense of security while increasing your risk of being killed by male violence - strangulation, head trauma, stabbing, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, shooting & other brutal methods of killing.  Also known as domestic violence.  It's like having a pit bull/Rottweiler to protect against intruders:  Fido might be loyal & well-behaved on 99 out of 100 occasions, but catch him on a bad day & you become dog food.  These dogs also make the whole neighborhood less safe, engaging in "pack attacks" when they break free from their owners' yards in groups of 2 or more & attack or kill innocent elderly people, children, pets & able-bodied adults.  Owners are sued, the dogs are put down, the local paper writes a thinkpiece, rinse, repeat.  But laws & behavior don't change.  Just another day in 'individual freedoms over the common good' America.   

The many types of DV

Just think for a moment about who commits nearly ALL the rapes, mass shootings, terrorist attacks, gang violence, kidnappings, break-ins, armed robberies, gang rapes & other violent crimes in all societies around the world.  If not for men, women wouldn't have to watch their drinks at the bar, look over their shoulder when walking at night, lock their doors before going to bed or leaving home, have active shooter drills in elementary schools or otherwise plan their lives around random acts of violence.  We could jog freely after dark down alleyways with headphones on.  We could wear whatever the hell we wanted without being catcalled.  We could turn the primal fear centers of our brains OFF & just fucking live without being prey to 50% of the human population.  



But What About the CHILDREN?

Superhero status is earned.

But don't children need strong father figures in their lives?  How can you even have a family without a man?  One word:  Co-parenting.  Cordial cooperation in the absence of romantic/sexual activity can actually make parenting EASIER & more efficient by taking the emotional charge out of the relationship & allowing you both to focus more on the child's best interest instead of your own egotistical desires.  Less arguing in front of the kid + the potential for a more equitable division of labor.  Virtually no downsides aside from travel & scheduling.  It beats growing up in a chaotic yelling household by far, another thing I can unfortunately attest to.

Sperm banks are another great option, allowing you to choose the ideal bio parent now & find a loving parental figure naturally when it happens instead of rushing into a forced union with Mr. Right Now to appease your biological clock.  Until then you can make sure your child spends plenty of time with the positive males in your family, consumes media with strong male role models in it & participates in community activities with other boys & men you trust.  ALL of these options beat being trapped living with a biodad who is verbally, physically or emotionally abusive & models disrespectful behavior towards the child's mom in front of him/her.  There's much to be said for extended family as well.  Having loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins & half/step siblings can make a child feel more loved & secure than having only a nuclear family, especially if that nuclear family is unstable.  

The problem with men as spouses or live-in partners is that too many of them get stuck in the 12-15 year-old age range emotionally, willing victims of Peter Pan Syndrome who never grow up.  And why would they?  Their parents, teachers, coaches, religious leaders, girlfriends & wives enable their lazy immature behavior well into their 30s and beyond, often even giggling about it like it's cute.  Domestic slaves-aka-moms hand off their workloads to Sonny Boy's new bride & she picks up right where Mommie Dearest left off, washing his skid marked drawers, emptying his piss jugs, carrying the crusty dishes out of his man cave & asking 'how high' before he even has to command her to 'jump'.  He becomes just another child she has to take care of, then he wonders why she's never "in the mood" for sex.  That's to say nothing of his verbal abuse, the extramarital affairs, running her down for putting on weight after bearing HIS children & developing depression due to his lack of help with raising them.  And doing all of it in front of the kids.  

She'd be better off divorcing him, taking half of his stuff & getting child support/alimony, which she COULD do because he's cheating on her & being abusive.  But she's so beaten down emotionally she can't gather the energy or courage.  Plus she feels it would be too traumatic for the kids.  Don't they need a father?  What would his parents say, their mutual friends?  Who would get the house?  No way could she ever find someone else to love her at this age with all this emotional baggage.  Imagine starting over this late in life.  Ridiculous!  Blind dates, Tinder!  She'll die a lonely old maid with no one to care for her in her old age.

Don't let yourself get to this point, ladies:  So beaten down you can't see clearly.  Our fictional housewife/domestic slave could absolutely win in a divorce case & come out smelling like roses.  And it would benefit her kids in ways she can't even imagine.  Staying with an abuser is negligent parenting, actually.  You have a responsibility to protect your kids from verbal, emotional, physical & sexual abuse.  NOT doing so is neglect--another form of abuse.  Your kids could be taken from you in theory if CPS/DCFS was made aware of it.  Change can be scary but not as scary as a lifetime of abuse, degradation & control.  The same goes for dads--if your child's mom is being abusive it's your responsibility to take them and leave.  Once you have kids it's not about YOU anymore.  

You Just Say This Because You're a Man-Hating Lezzie!

Membership irrelevant: the tips here apply to all women.

True, I'm gay so I have no sexual use for men.  That removes exactly one need for men from my life, but I still acknowledge the need for (good) fathers in a child's life & I don't advocate killing off all males or anything stupid like that.  They are half the human population after all.  I've also been without a female partner for over 10 years before so I'm not dependent on women either.  In general I think people are far too dependent on others for their sexual and emotional well-being, particularly women. Sorry ladies but it's true.  In fact I think codependence is one of our biggest faults as a sex, the other being enabling bad behavior by staying in bad friendships/romantic relationships & putting up with abusive people in general.  (Ask me what men's shortcomings are if you'd like a War And Peace-length essay).  

If you require dick for your sexual fulfillment, may I suggest the eternally-hard vibrating or glass kind you keep in your nightstand.  It comes with 0% risk of pregnancy or STDs & won't insult you if you put on a few pounds.  There's all kinds of interesting free porn on demand these days, and even AI sex chat bots.  Get creative.  If you're the least bit bi-curious or have any kinks/fetishes, use this time to explore that side of yourself.  Most str8 men, from what I hear, aren't incredibly giving in bed anyway (sorry guys).  Limiting yourself to JUST PIV sex with men is like going to an expensive buffet and eating only a baked potato.  Sure, baked potatoes can be nice but look at all the other things you're missing out on by not even giving them a try!  More importantly, it would be a great time to get in therapy & work on building your intrinsic self-worth.  That is, getting your validation from inside rather than depending on others to make you feel like a worthy human being.  So much of our reliance on men comes from this core problem.  Give yourself the love you wish you'd gotten from your parents growing up & shower yourself with the attention you crave from men.  And put more effort into building strong bonds with the women in your life.

When you do meet up with a new man, consider carrying a non-lethal weapon like a taser, stun gun or Mace gun with you for protection & know how to use it correctly.  Talk to your doctor about the Gardasil shot & always use a condom.  Make birth control a top priority:  While The Pill is better than nothing, some other medications can render it ineffective and you must remember to take it at the same time daily.  An IUD or Depo-Provera type shot has an even higher success rate & doesn't have these issues. 

Your physical safety, preventing unplanned pregnancy & disease prevention should ALWAYS come before pleasing a man or chasing down a potential partner.  If you're a mother, your children's safety & well-being come before even those things.  Learning to weigh the costs vs. the benefits of everything you do, especially who you enter into committed intimate relationships with, is vital to creating a healthy, safe life. ♀✊🏼

(I'm not writing this to bash men but to uplift & hopefully arm my female readers with knowledge that could save their lives.  If you're a rational man you'll understand that nothing I've said here is false &, if the shoe doesn't fit you WON'T try & wear it).  

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Diss Track Review: "The Kickback"

I said I was gonna share some of the best, worst and WEIRDEST diss tracks in this series and, dammit, that's exactly what I meant.  Since the last 3 reviews were dead serious, I thought I'd lighten things up a bit with this one.  You're welcome.  😎

Melle Mel is a bonafide legend in the rap game.  The lead MC in the seminal band Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Mel gave us the timeless final verse on "The Message" (1982) that singlehandedly turned hip hop from a lighthearted form of party music to a serious form of socio-political commentary.  The song was the first rap track to ever be added to the U.S. National Archive of Historic Recordings and the 1st Hip Hop record inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  In fact, it was Mel's bandmate Cowboy who invented the term "Hip-Hop," so a great debt is owed to these men any time we discuss the art form.  

Now with that said, nobody's perfect.  Even legends have off days and make mistakes as you're about to see.  Oh-ho-hooo, are you ever about to see.  When you're around for as long as Melle Mel & continue commenting on modern acts, things can get hairy.  Times change, tastes change--what was hot in the '80s or '90s is seen as corny in the 2020s.  For some reason, Mel has had an issue with Eminem's success over the years, claiming that he would've been "just another rapper" if not for his non-melanated skin tone.  A direct quote from 2023:

“He’s white. So now if Eminem was another n***a like all the rest of us, would he be top five on that list when a n***a that could rhyme just as good as him is 35?” Mel asked. “That had records and all that?… The point is this, If I was white, I’d be greater than Elvis. N****s would be like, ‘Melle Mel is greater than Elvis.'”  (Emphasis mine).

Well somebody sure thinks highly of himself!  Of course Eminem responded, claiming we "Lost Melle Mel to 'roids (steroids)".  And that's what prompted the glorious, uproarious turd known as "The Kickback," the diss track that set the internet ablaze with reaction videos that consisted of looks of sheer confusion interspersed with loud "thuds" as rap fans hit the floor when they fell out of their chairs cackling.  And you know I'm gonna share some of my faves with you here, rap fans.  The whole incident was so shameful it was a trending/viral topic for nearly a week, which is like 6 months in ADHD internet time.  

"The Kickback" is a mercifully short track set to a beat that opens to a series of lo-fi gunshot sound effects & progresses to a treble-heavy clap that's less than easy on the ears. The lyrics are fittingly worse, with Mel literally counting from 1 to 8 at one point in the song.  (No punchline or clever twist:  Just "one, two, three, four, five... " you get the picture).  It's actually stunning how bad this fucking song is.  The mental imagery you come away with is a weird gumbo of cockroaches, bookbags, Pee-Wee Herman & pissy elevators.  But it's the overall SOUND--the cadence, beat & pressured speech that put it over the top from "Bad " to "Dreadful" to "He Can't Be Serious, Can He?"

When I say it sounds like something fresh out of 1979 or a vintage Adidas commercial starring Run DMC, well... just listen to it and you'll see what I mean.  The only halfway decent line is "got a lawyer so white he'll take your land" and that's still not too clever because it wasn't really relevant to the song (and isn't that what lawyers are SUPPOSED to do?  Win money & take your shit?).  Anyhoo, I DID laugh at "Pill Clinton" and "Pill Gates" but not because it's a hot line per se... we're laughing AT ya, not WITH ya sir.  It was so bad some online commentators were asking whether an AI bot composed the track.  (Don't do AI like that; it's still new.  This guy?  Not hardly).  I found myself questioning whether Melle Mel felle fell back into his love affair with the "White Lines"  he was so fond of back in the day (half-kidding).

There's really not much else to be said so I'mma just leave you with the song and some of the many, many reaction vids so you can judge for yourself.   Again, you're welcome.   🙃

Bri'ish brovas react to "The Kickback"

Rapper Knox Hill gives his $0.02

Top 5's & MC Hammer are discussed in this cute reaction vid

And my personal fave.

Song Highlights:

The fact that it's only 1:13 long

"The Kickback" by Melle Mel

Up Next:  "No Rest For the Wicked" by Cypress Hill

JK Rowling Worse Than OJ Simpson?

 

This meme was shared on a popular left-leaning Facebook page on the day O.J. Simpson--double murderer, domestic abuser & convicted kidnapper/armed robber--died of natural causes at the age of 76.  It was posted by a trans"woman" who I won't name here.  Really think about the meaning for a minute:  the photo implies that not only are JK Rowling & OJ Simpson 2 public figures that should ever be mentioned together in the same breath, but the former is actually a worse human being than the latter.  The poster is actively praying for her death in this scenario, displaying blatant disappointment that God took the implicitly more virtuous Simpson when He really should've killed a children's author with an unpopular opinion on an issue that directly affects her.  

This post had 2.3 THOUSAND likes and reactions, most of which were positive.  

I could write some long screed denouncing the misogyny & narcissism of modern society, but quite frankly I'm tired.  Tired of screaming into the ether about a cult that will never see itself as such & about well-meaning idiots who don't realize they're being used to champion the normalization of p3dophilia & other paraphilias so bizarre they don't even have names or associated ICD-10 codes yet.  Instead, I'll leave you with a link Rowling herself shared to Twitter/X recently.  You can make up your own mind about who the real menace to society is (if you haven't already swallowed so much of the cult Kool-Aid that you refuse to entertain opposing ideas, that is):

The Post (Urgent! Read Me)

Yet Another Unlabeled Legal High

"Use responsibly".  N***a, how?

 

My friend alerted me to these branded mushroom gummies that allegedly produce psychedelic effects & are completely legal.  They're being sold on Facebook of all places.  Classy.  Upon further research, the active ingredients aren't listed anywhere which is troubling to say the least.  Especially with all the unlisted deadly ingredients turning up in this sort of product as of late.  I'm not aware of any psychedelic mushrooms besides psilocybin and amanita muscaria, and supposedly these contain neither.  The ingredients are listed only as: 

Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Cane Sugar, Pectin, Natural Flavors, Citric acid, Sodium Citrate, Fruit and Vegetable Juice. (color).

Last time I checked, tapioca syrup isn't exactly psychedelic. These sus gummies could contain any number of research chemical psychedelics (i.e. the NBOMe family, the DOx class), synthetic cannabinoids or herbal drugs, or any combinations thereof. Which is likely why the sleazebags don't want to list what's in them. We don't know how much of the active ingredient is in each unit either. How does it interact with our preexisting health conditions, daily meds and supplements? Impossible to know because we don't know what it fucking IS. What if it contains an active ingredient the consumer is outright allergic to and goes into anaphylactic shock when exposed? Too bad because they're not telling what it is. 🤐 That also makes it impossible for paramedics or emergency medical staff to treat an overdose because they don't know what it is either!

Even if these gummies contain something relatively benign like psychedelic truffles, it would still behoove manufacturers to state as much on the label. There are infinite reasons why selling a product with an unknown active ingredient is a bad idea as stated above: allergies, drug interactions, pre-existing health conditions, etc. It's one of the first tenets of safe drug use: know your body, know your drug, know your source. Taking a known dose of a known drug is key to having a good experience, particularly with psychedelics. Taking some random hallucinogen could in itself lead to a bad trip or freakout just by psyching the individual out. Thought loops like "OMG did I just poison myself? Am I dying? What was in that?" can quickly spiral out of control and honestly, it's a legit question.

All Roads Lead Back to Prohibition

This is exactly why drugs should be legal: so greedy unscrupulous supplement manufacturers like these aren't allowed to sell "proprietary blend" poison to the public with unknown active ingredients or combination active ingredients with potent psychoactive effects . If we could legally & easily acquire real psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, LSD & mescaline from a safe source, nobody would resort to buying this Russian Roulette nonsense believing it's somehow safer than the real thing if only because it allows them to pass a drug test. The manufacturers get filthy rich and don't do prison time even when innocent people die, as we've seen with the tainted tianeptine, overdosed kratom extracts, Spice & bath salt blends. The FDA/DEA clamor for total bans but don't lift a finger to enact sane age restrictions, purity regulations or other things that would require them to actually do their job, instead turning non-violent Americans into criminals & making the prison-industrial complex rich every time they toss another substance in Schedule I. Contrary to popular belief, a known dose of pure "illegal" drugs like magic mushrooms, MDMA, amphetamine or morphine is infinitely safer than an unknown dose of a "legal high" like this, which may contain any combination of legal synthetic cannabinoids, stimulants, psychedelics, benzos, dissociatives or herbal drugs like kanna/kratom/kava. That's because LEGAL DOES NOT = SAFE. Please read that again & soak it in. Legal = "whatever toxic trash has not yet been discovered by underground chemists & turned into a profitable drug of abuse yet." Tobacco & alcohol are two of the most legal, readily available drugs in the world and they're two of the most toxic with absolutely ZERO medicinal use. Cannabis, with its myriad medicinal uses & incredible safety profile, is still Schedule I federally. Fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP & alfentanil are Schedule II. Make it make sense. You can't because, to quote the retired daytime talk cowboy Phil McGraw, "you can't make sense out of nonsense."

Greed, stupidity & entitlement to name a few thangs. 

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Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Cane Sugar, Pectin, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Fruit and Vegetable Juice for Color.

Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Cane Sugar, Pectin, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Fruit and Vegetable Juice for Color.

Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Cane Sugar, Pectin, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Fruit and Vegetable Juice for Color.

Diss Track Review: "Nail in the Coffin"

Disclaimer:  I've never been a big Eminem stan, at least not post-high school, & think his music has taken a huge nosedive in recent years.  Okay, actually everything after The Eminem Show if I'm honest.  He's been a hypocrite in many ways, making music his younger self would've mocked relentlessly (collabs with pop stars like Rihanna & Ed Sheeran and continuing to rap into his 50's to name a couple examples).  Plus there's only so much you can say about life in the trailer parks with your "blonde whore" girlfriend and Munchausen mom.  His voice is corny and the beats he attempted to make circa 2003 for the 2Pac: Resurrection soundtrack & Loyal 2 the Game album were dreadful, so he clearly can't produce.  That anti-Trump cypher thing he did in 2017 was embarrassing lyrical miracle crap just like all his other attempts at political commentary have been.  And there are serious claims (with evidence!) that he stole his whole style from one of the members of The Outsidaz rap crew while failing to work with them after they basically made him famous when he was a nobody.  

But when it comes to diss tracks, there's not a rapper alive who's fucking with him & everybody who tries ends up putting out some of the worst work in their discography, probably because they're intimidated & KNOW it's not happening.  In their weak attempts to predict his response to every line, they end up Ether'ing themselves after a 1st Round K.O. by their own hand (see what I did there?).  See:  The Game's 10-minute Single White Female-esque track & Melle Mel's side-splitting diss that sounds like it's fresh out of 1979.

If you can sit through this cringefest, you're a champ.

Granted, these rappers have valid criticisms, it's just that--actually, no they don't.  They WOULD be valid if we were talking about Vanilla Ice, Iggy Azalea or some other no-talent white rapper who made it big solely for being white & aping Black music, but that's not the case.  While Eminem has been accused of stealing the styles of other MC's early in his career and using people (namely, women & Black people) to further his brand, his talent still stands on its own, both in real-time rap battles as well as on albums and Billboard-ready singles like "Sing for the Moment" and "The Way I Am".  And raw talent makes up for a host of sins as we're about to see. 

Like it or not, Eminem truly is one of the most influential rappers of the last 30 years, with his style of complex rhyming evident in younger rappers from Hopsin to Tyler The Creator to Norwegian rapper Mads Veslelia (who I think also bears a striking physical resemblance to Mr. Shady, though he doesn't appreciate the comparison).  

"Nail in the Coffin" was the 2nd in a pair of diss tracks by Eminem aimed at Source Magazine owner-turned-rapper Benzino.  The beef is somewhat complicated but can be boiled down to this:  Benzino attacked Em for his whiteness and accused him of stealing opportunities from talented Black artists by, I dunno, being so popular?  He even called a press conference to play a snippet of a song Eminem recorded as a teen about why Black girls 'aren't as good' as white girls.  Em had previously accused Benzino of cheating his albums out of 5 mic ratings (aka the perfect score) at The Source due to his racial bias (though what was that accusation originally based on?  IDK, can't find where Benzino's 1st anti-Eminem/anti-white rapper sentiments were expressed).  Benzino fired the 1st official shots in a freestyle & the rest is history.  Thank fuck because that man can't rap.   

Press conference revealing Eminem's lost racist track 

Honestly, the lack of reaction by the public to Em's hateful song was kinda disheartening but can be explained mostly by misogyny.  If there's one thing Eminem's not afraid of, it's shit-talking women & using sexist slurs/threats of violence against us.  He's never used the n-word in his entire career & knocked it off with the homophobia after the pushback in the early 2000's, but women have always been fair game. (I listened to "Kim" and some other songs from The Marshall Mathers LP recently and... yikes.  Now I remember why I stopped listening to this artist once I graduated high school, got over my 1st immature relationship &, you know, grew tf up).  

This reflects the general public's unspoken view that misogyny is the last acceptable prejudice.  The shameful track was about Black WOMEN, therefore nobody could be arsed to lift a mic to respond.  (And honestly, Eminem isn't alone in dissing Black women in the rap world, it's just that maybe others haven't come right out and said "white girls are better than Black girls" (or light skinned women > dark-skinned women) in so many words.  Imagine if he'd insulted Black males, claiming their manhood was lesser or they were somehow "not as good" as white males.  Yeah, I don't think that would've flown.

But it also comes back to the basic tenet:  talent makes up for a plethora of sins.  And there's no denying Eminem (like other so-called "problematic" celebrity males such as Kanye, R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein & Woody Allen) is talented.  In fact that's one of the biggest takeaways from the Black girls diss track:  how far his rhyming skills had come since then.  Benzino's?  Not so much.  Take this sloppy couplet from "Die Another Day:"

You dyed your hair blond but I'mma make it red

How you gonna sell records Marshall when you're dead?
 🥴👌

...yeah.  Benzino has the Blackness & the credibility from running one of the world's most well-known Hip Hop magazines, but it all falls apart when he tries to step into the rap arena and grab the mic from a talent like Eminem, who admits "I don't know shit about no shoppin' rocks" (selling dope) & doesn't pretend to be something he's not.  He sticks to what he DOES know:  making words rhyme to a beat & rippin' bad rappers new assholes.  And how.

While there were several other minor disses back and forth after "Nail in the Coffin," none reached this level of greatness.  The beef has since been squashed, with Benzino acknowledging Eminem's greatness as an MC & his staying power in the rap game.  Edit:  Oh snap!  I take it back.  I was looking through a friend's playlist recently & spotted an unfamiliar track by Eminem  ("Doomsday Pt. 2") & did some digging.  Turns out it's a shiny new diss against Benzino circa 2024.  This, after 20 years of silence on the issue.  Looks like it was a response to Benzino's "Rap Elvis" (2024).  The reason for this new round of beef isn't known yet but be sure to check it out because this is truly one of the most hilarious, mismatched verbal slapfights of all time.  

...aaaaand again, Benzino is throwing the race/racism card at anyone who prefers Em's track, calling his fans "Saltines" (apparently not realizing that the racial term "cracker" is a reference to whip crackers, not the edible kind you enjoy with soup) & claiming they're not real hip-hop fans.  Yawn.  Brush the chip off your shoulder, bruh.

 Song Highlights:

I don't wanna be like this
I don't really wanna hurt no feelings
But I'm only being real when I say
Nobody wants to hear their grandfather rap (Nope)
And old men have heart attacks
And I don't wanna be responsible for that
So, put the mic down and walk away
You can still have a little bit of dignity

An 83-year-old fake Pacino
So how can he hold me over some balcony without throwin' his lower back out as soon as he goes to lift me? (Ugh!)
Please don't, you'll probably fall with me and our asses'll both be history

 Swear that you in the streets hustlin'
You sit behind a fuckin' desk

Talk about a mid-life crisis, damn

What you know about bein' bullied over half your life?
Oh, that's right, you should know what that's like, you're half white

Slap my mom! Slap the fuck out of her!
She can't sue you, she wouldn't get a buck out of ya
Cause you're broke as fuck, you suck, you're a fuckin' joke!
If you was really sellin' coke, well, then what the fuck
You stop for, dummy? If you slew some crack
You'd make a lot more money than you do from rap

When you was watchin' me from...
Whatever fuckin' TV he was watchin' me from
In Boston… the mean streets of Boston

And for those who don't know
Don't get it twisted y'all...
The Source has a white owner!

"Nail in the Coffin" by Eminem

Up Next:  "The Kickback" by Melle Mel