Diss tunes part 1: Evidence - The search for Bobby Fischer

Back in probabley '96 I ordered a bunch of records from Hiphopsite.com and following their recommendation I included a 12" and an E.P. by a new rapper called Eminem. As a white dude who had been into Hip Hop for a very long time I was sceptical about the hype that Eminem was starting to get. There was talks of various labels starting a bidding war trying to sign him but at this point the only material he had put out the 'I just dont give a fuck' 12", the Slim Shady E.P. and the Infinite LP. All of which were produced with help from The Bass Brothers and fellow D12 members Kon Artis, Proof and Eye-Kyu, along with fellow rapper Three. Eminem was the rising star on the indie/underground scene. But at the same time there was another white dude making a name for himself on the same scene, Evidence.

Evidence was a part of Dilated peoples an Inide group with strong credentials. Its members, DJ Babu from the DJ crew Beat Junkies; Evidence; and Rakaa had joined together in 1992 and released "Third Degree" (1997) and "Work the Angles"(1998) on ABB Records, developing a solid fan base in the underground hip hop community. They had previously recorded an album titled "Imagery, Battle Hymns & Political Poetry" that was never released (1995), although many fans still have it on bootlegged tapes. The group eventually signed with Capitol Records and released The Platform (2000) to more critical acclaim.
Around the time that the group were rising they Eminem was signing to Dre's Aftermath and a beef was brewing between Em and House of pain front man Everlast. Eminem was notified while on the Anger Management Tour that former House Of Pain member Everlast had mocked him on a song. Everlast claimed that while passing by Mathers in a hotel lobby, Mathers gave him a "weird look." In all honesty its a stupid reason to start a beef but things soon got even more silly. Everlast was featured on a Dilated peoples B side; 'Make your ear drums pop' remix where he kind of dissed Eminem, check the verse below;

I read the New Testament and gave it up for Lent
All the places I went just to pay my rent
Used to keep me bent, on a ritual daily
Cock my hammer, spit a Comet like Haley
I'll buck a three-eighty on ones that act +Shady+
I'm original like Grady, check my Sanford, Son
You know you ain't the one that rep peckerwood status
I'll bust that ass, keep your eyes on the floor
What you comin here for, son you know the law
Let's take it back to the house, slide off your blouse
Lift up your skirt and expose your panties
For the world to see, you can't rep it like me
I'm Communist, terrorist, vandalist
Catalyst, scandalous, masacous, never miss battalist
You must be crazy, or just plain dumb
You might catch a beatdown now where I come from
It's like that

Yep apparently thats all it takes to be called a diss, I figure if its going to be called a diss for something as silly as that why not diss him for real? Taking offense to this, Eminem and D12 quickly began work on a retaliatory song, "I Remember." This prompted Everlast to record "Whitey's Revenge." Eminem and D12 then responded with the song "Quitter." Then Eminem and D12 came forth with a song called 'Girls' which had the lines below aimed clearly at Dilated Peoples just because Everlast happened to diss Eminem on a Dilated track. Remember that no one from Dilated at this point had dissed Eminem;

I'd have never involved my crew if it wasn't for Pupils
Peoples, whatever your backpackin cypherin name is
Had I not opened a magazine and seen what you sayin and
I'da never involved you, but you had to add your two pennies
Now I gotta go grab my shitlist and add some new enemies
Hit the studio and I'll admit, I had a few in me
F*ck it, I roasted you, I ain't mad at you any
But let it be known that song was never released, it leaked
I'da never gave you that much attention intentionally

So Eminem went and dissed Dilated despite Eminem and Dilated having freestyled on the Wake up show years before together. So Evidence then felt he had to diss Eminem and diss him he did. No half arsed, is he or isn't he dissing for Evidence. He went and tore Eminem a new ass hole, check the lyrics below;

[intro: rakaa iriscience]
Yo.. it’s like this man
Every once in a while when motherfuckers pop off at the lip
Somebody get brought into this shit
That don’t have nuttin to do with this shit right?
But none the less
You wanna start lettin off buckshots, cats gotta retaliate
Y’all callin out ev? well you got him

[evidence]
Yo, a blonde fag took my kindness for a weakness
But instead of comin hard threw a weak diss
Twelve of his friends at first I was speechless
Is it cause you lack pussy or lack uniqueness?
It’s always your type, itchy and quick to bust off
Ruin the party, "soliloquy of chaos"
In this verse, jumpin jacks a little warm up
There’ll be no bullshit, there’ll be no hit chorus
Diss my crew? yo, you won’t go far
The truth is I’m about as much from detroit as you are
I’m rackin up points, shit cat I’m scorin
You ain’t a true tiger, liar, you from warren
A trailer trash town where daddy stuck it to ya
That’s why you hate your mother cause she never tried to stop it
Twenty years later you’re still out of luck
I met this chick you took home on tour, but couldn’t get it up
Alert! alert! you internet geeks
Eminem is just like you, weak between the sheets
Dr. evil, tryin to steal my mojo
I’ll fuck you up, plus look better in photos
I know what it is, you envy what you hate
I’m what you used to be, you was me in ninety-eight
Hungry for props, and ready to rock
Except your stage show is so weak you always just ready to rot
Fuck your pace walkin forth at best
(at) that rate on tour dates, hope you never run out of breath
It’s such a shame your uncle ronnie’s not listed
I’m a geek? you jock fred from limp bizkit
Production time; I heard you’re makin beats
But don’t program the drums, don’t program the keys
Don’t program the bass, producer? liar!
Doin that shit’s like hirin a ghostwriter
You might as well you little fake chino xl
You’re target practice - strictly blast these empty shells
{*crowd roar* it’s an upset, you lose the title!
But first lose the haircut, you’re bitin george michael
Next topic, time to stick the knife in
Slaughter your daughter, ah fuck it throw your wife in
I’ma do ’em, do ’em ’til nothin left
The way I’m murderin you now they probably avenge your death
You blind bitch, I’m about to rub it in
Go sell millions of records, you still don’t own your publishin
You ain’t hip-hop, you pop; extra popular to little girls,
Kids, and the trenchcoat mafia
So here it comes, a blast from my crew
You bout to get chopped by a man named babu
The funniest part? let me say this ’fore I’m through
I haven’t even begun to start, I saved the best for part two

{*babu cuts and scratches these samples*

"faggot, no comp rapper on a quest" -> ll cool j
"hi!" -> eminem, "bitch shut the fuck up!" -> eazy-e
"if you take offense fuck it, got to be that way" -> krs-one
"i thought I oughta tell you, better yet warn" -> mc lyte
"suckers get eliminated fuckin with dilated" -> cypress hill
"nevertheless, I’ll say it again" -> slick rick(? )
"bitch!" -> n.w.a.
"soundclash with us, you flirt with disaster" -> dilated

"trick or treat..."

Well as you can see Evidence didn't fuck about, he just came out and dissed Eminem for real. Surprisingly enough Eminem didn't reply and I think the reason for that is that he knew he had met his match. Evidence killed it with track and Babu's cuts just made it even worse. For so many reason Evidence was right but the main one being that Eminem had sold out he sumarised it perfectly with the line "I know what it is, you envy what you hate, I’m what you used to be, you was me in ninety-eight". Eminem had sold out to Dre and I can't blame him to be honest I would have done the same had anyone offered me the sort of money he got from working with Dre. However I would have loved to hera Eminem had he not gone to Dre and stayed in the underground. Can you imagine a Hip Hop scene where Eminem was underground and produced by the likes of Premier, Pete Rock, El-P, Havoc, Large Professor, Rza, Madlib, MF Doom, Jay Dee or even someone like Necro who would have been so suited to Eminem's style. Either way the Evidence diss track; 'The Search for Bobby Fischer' was never officially released and I only managed to pick it it up on a bootleg 12" which I have ripped and uploaded for your pleasure. Check the link below for the DL.


The Search for Bobby Fischer.