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Eminem’s beef with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon escalated earlier today when his latest dis track “The Warning” was unleashed on the masses. The bile-filled rant was recorded in response to Carey’s “Obsessed,” which most people believed was about the rapper even though both her and husband Cannon have categorically denied that that song and video are aimed at the man born Marshall Mathers. “The Warning” represents a return to beef for Eminem, which was a cornerstone of his early career. In spite of (or perhaps because of) his staggering success, the early part of his career always saw him involved in some public feud or another, be it with the Insane Clow Posse, Christina Aguilera, Ja Rule, Benzino or Everlast.
But in 2004, Eminem very publicly decided that he was going to put beef to rest for good. In an interview with MTV News’ Sway, Em discussed the nature of his feuds and how easily they escalated. “We started inheriting each other’s beef,” he told Sway. “50 inherited mine, so now he can’t be on the cover of The Source magazine ’cause I got this beef over here. He’s being attacked by Ja. Ja is saying things about me, then all of a sudden comes out and says a line about my daughter — and when it got to that level, that’s when it got crazy to me. That’s when it got crazy. But ‘Toy Soldiers’ is a song saying how serious the beef can get, and people can die over this sh–.” Indeed, the track and video “Like Toy Soldiers” (from 2004’s Encore) attempts to put everything to rest and allow for all parties to walk away with dignity.
But now Eminem is back on the offensive, taking down Carey and Cannon on the Relapse track “Bagpipes From Baghdad” and now with “The Warning.” It seems as though he’s reversed his stance from a few years back. “You know, we’re not really looking to start no beef,” he told Sway. “We’re usually not the beef-starters, despite the little stabs taken at pop singers and all that stuff. That’s not real beef; that’s ha-ha-ha funny.” It seemed like this particular feud started out in the “ha-ha-ha” mode, and considering the savagery of “The Warning,” let’s hope it remains that way.