Moby has changed his tune on Eminem.
Twenty-five years after the artists began beefing, Moby confessed that his perception of the Detroit rapper has drastically changed. Moby explained his current position in a recent interview with The Times, saying Eminem deserved flowers for his political takes, including his criticism of President Donald Trump.
“As time has passed, Eminem’s proven himself to be very progressive, very smart,” Moby told the outlet. “When he speaks out against Trump, against ICE, I’m like, ‘Wow, kudos to you.’”
Eminem unleashed on Trump in his 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher, “The Storm.” The Grammy- and Oscar-winning MC blasted POTUS’ as "a kamikaze who will probably cause a nuclear holocaust,” and criticized Trump’s stance on gun reform as well as the police brutality and racial inequality demonstrations within the NFL. Em also issued a statement for any of his fans who supported Trump: “You’re either for or against/And if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split on who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for you with this: Fuck you.”
“Eminem’s followers… they’re middle America and very inclined towards supporting Trump,” Moby continued. “No one’s surprised if Mark Ruffalo or me or whoever speaks out against Trump.”
The feud between Moby and Eminem seemingly began in 2001, when the former criticized the rapper’s lyrics as misogynistic and homophobic. Eminem fired back in “Without Me,” the lead single off his 2002 album, The Eminem Show.
“Moby? You can get stomped by Obie!” Em rapped on the track. “You 36-year-old bald-headed f–, blow me!/You don't know me, you're too old, let go/It's over, nobody listens to techno.”
Moby revisited the diss in a 2014 Reddit AMA, insisting “Without Me” was one of his favorite Eminem songs. Why? Well, he said he liked that the track gave him “amazing free publicity.”
“I think apart from his misogyny and homophobia, he’s an amazingly talented rapper,” Moby wrote about Eminem. “And it’s amazing to me that he’s had such a long and successful career. So kudos to him.”