Marshall Mathers aka Eminem and rapper/host Nick Cannon couldn't be further apart as entertainers. One is a foul-mouthed MC with Grammies, an Oscar and 100 million-plus in album sales under his belt, making Slim Shady one of, if not, the biggest player that the hip-hop game has ever seen.
In the other corner is Nick Cannon, a rapper most known for his hosting gigs on America's Got Talent and his very own improv-comedy show Wild N' Out. With a squeaky clean image and a high-profile wedding and subsequent divorce with singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon has seen his share of highs and lows.
A common ex and a lot of bad blood
It would be safe to presume that the paths of these two unalike entertainment personalities would never cross. However, it seems having a common ex leads to a lot of bad blood being spilled. Mariah Carey and her rumored short-lived romance with Eminem is the linchpin that brings this story full circle. Here is a break-down of the rap feud that Cannon won't put to rest.
The powder keg of controversy sitting dormant (2002-2008)
During this period both artists traded insults on wax, sometimes name-dropping while other times sticking to subliminal insults. Eminem claims to have been in a short yet contentious relationship with the singer and proves his side of the story with voicemails from the singer/actress.
Mariah Carey maintained her narrative saying she had only met and spoken to the rapper on call a few times saying that cannot be considered a relationship. The singer went so far as it insinuates that they had never been intimate in one of her songs.
Wedding bells and rap-disses (2008-2009)
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon tied the knot on April 30, 2008. The couple would spend the next six years married to divorce in 2014. Eminem, after a decade of releasing lackluster projects, knowing the insurmountable expectations of his fan base releases 'Relapse' on May 15, 2009.
On one of the tracks, Eminem starts to spill the beans of his relationship with Carey, dissing the married couple on the song 'Bagpipes in Baghdad'. "Nick Cannon, I wish you luck with the f- cking whore" he raps on the song, letting the pair of them know how he feels.
Despite Slim Shady's tongue lashing, it has to be said that the track was playful for his standards as his next track addressing the couple would be far more combative in nature.
'The Warning' shots (September 2010)
Eminem keeps quiet for a whole year after the release of Carey's video and ignores her husband's attempts at calling him out on social media. Nick Cannon uses then-popular social media website Tumbler to go after Eminem, asking to rap-battle him on his show, which is a request he has constantly made.
The song oozes acid, playing voicemails between verses while Shady describes his whirlwind romance with the singer. It was here that most people thought the feud had ended with Eminem having the final say with verses like "Shut the f-ck up before I put up all the phone calls you made to my house when you were "Wild N' Out" before Nick, when you was on my d--k and give you something to smile about."
The feud makes a comeback (September-2019)
Cannon speaks on a podcast saying that he tried to reach out to Eminem and squash the beef. He says, he wrote a letter in good faith hoping to stop the firing of insults a decade prior.
Cannon social media and musical response (December 2019)
Cannon goes in on an all-out assault on the rapper releasing a diss-track "The Invitation" while talking trash about the rapper on his other social media accounts. Eminem responds with two tweets on December 10. Canon closes the feud with another diss-track 'Invitation: Cancelled', uninviting the rapper to show while going at him.
