Nick Cannon revealed on the Nov. 9 episode of the On Par With Maury Povich podcast that his explosive decade-long feud with Eminem was entirely driven by the Detroit rapper disrespecting his then-wife Mariah Carey in 2009.
- Nick Cannon stated on the On Par With Maury Povich podcast that Eminem crossed a line by disrespecting Mariah Carey back in 2009.
- The long-running hip-hop dispute spanned multiple diss tracks, including Eminem’s “Bagpipes From Baghdad” and “The Warning,” alongside Cannon’s 2019 retaliation tracks.
- Despite the bitter history, Cannon has consistently acknowledged Eminem’s legendary status within the hip-hop community.
Billboard reported that Nick Cannon joined the On Par With Maury Povich podcast on Monday, Nov. 9, to rehash the origins of his famous quarrel with Eminem. “He disrespected my woman, man,” Cannon told the former talk show host. “You can’t come at my wife and don’t expect to get this work.” Cannon suggested that Eminem and Carey shared merely a professional relationship that the rapper later claimed was personal.
Cannon and Carey married in 2008. The tension ignited when Eminem implied a prior romance with the pop icon on his 2009 track “Bagpipes From Baghdad.”
Music Times noted that Carey famously denied those romantic claims during a 2002 interview with Larry King, stating they spent time together and spoke on the phone but were never truly dating. Following Eminem’s lyrics, Carey responded with her smash single “Obsessed,” featuring a music video starring a character mimicking Slim Shady.
Eminem quickly answered back with his blistering track “The Warning” in July 2009, targeting both Carey and Cannon. After that initial flurry, the public sparring went quiet as Carey and Cannon finalized their divorce in November 2016. However, Music Times detailed how the feud reignited years later when Cannon appeared on T.I.’s Expeditiously podcast, which prompted Eminem to drop a sharp verse on Fat Joe’s track “Lord Above.”
Cannon wasted no time answering that verse in December 2019 by unleashing a trio of diss tracks: “The Invitation,” “Pray for Him,” and “Canceled: Invitation,” the latter of which tried to paint Eminem as a racist using old unearthed remarks. Eminem bypassed the recording booth entirely, choosing instead to reply with a brief, dismissive post on X.
| Event / Release | Year | Key Participants |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage | 2008 | Nick Cannon & Mariah Carey |
| “Bagpipes From Baghdad” & “Obsessed” | 2009 | Eminem & Mariah Carey |
| Divorce Finalized | 2016 | Nick Cannon & Mariah Carey |
| “Lord Above” & Diss Trifecta | 2019 | Eminem & Nick Cannon |
Reflecting on his aggressive retaliation strategy during an April 2020 interview with Billboard, Cannon explained that he simply matches the energy directed at him. “I’m one of those cats that matches energy,” Cannon said at the time. “I don’t do it — I overdo it.” He likened the escalation to his high school days and the comedic crowd-work format of his improv show Wild ‘N Out.
Even amid the bitter exchanges, Cannon maintained a level of respect for his rival’s musical footprint. “If you’ve ever heard me speak on this matter, I always give that dude his props as an icon in hip-hop,” Cannon added during the 2020 interview. “If he keeps talking about me, I’m gonna keep talking back.”
