Eminem A Racist? Source's Source Chaos Kid Says No Way

Eminem's old friend says magazine took his remarks out of context.


The friend of Eminem who helped The Source corroborate its claim that Eminem is a racist has written a letter to the magazine saying he was taken out of context and that he believes Marshall Mathers is not a racist.

The letter was written by Chaos Kid to Kim Osorio, the editor-in-chief of The Source, and was found posted on various online newsgroups.

Chaos Kid, a Detroit MC who is featured in The Source's February cover story, was Eminem's writing partner between 1988 and 1993 (see "Source Can Release Excerpts Of Eminem's Controversial Rap". He is also described as one of the kids in a rap crew called Bassmint Productions to which Eminem belonged when he recorded a pair of controversial freestyles, which surfaced in November and found Eminem using offensive language toward black people. Though Chaos Kid says in the magazine that he opted out of the freestyle sessions, his interview is used to validate the magazine's contention that Eminem is a racist.

In his letter, Chaos Kid says his words were manipulated and facts contorted to fit The Source's motives. He writes to Osorio, "I am forced at this point to recognize that there are obviously some ulterior motives/personal hang-ups/political/racial agendas going on behind the scenes at The Source and this is making it impossible for you to present the issue of these tapes in a true light that would give a full spectrum of perspective."

Chaos explains that the freestyles were called "Suckerin' Rhymes," and that they were intentionally misguided. He says their purpose was to be as "goofy/stupid/ignorant/wack as possible." He accuses The Source of making some factual errors in its reporting and failing to give his quotes proper context.

He writes of his personal experiences with Eminem during that time and says that the famous rapper never used the N-word or "any other derogatory names or made any derogatory remarks about African-Americans in casual conversation with me. In fact, we personally had conversations talking about how we hated racism and racists and both had real songs denouncing racism!!"

Chaos Kid concludes by writing that, in his opinion, "Marshall Mathers is not a racist. Although the songs were in bad taste, they were not intended to be taken seriously or even heard and do not represent the true sentiments of Eminem."

Though Chaos Kid's words seem to support the generally accepted notion that Eminem's freestyles weren't pathological or even characteristic, they differ from the sentiments expressed in Eminem's own apology issued in December (see "Eminem Apologizes For Old Track That Dissed Black Women". In a statement, Em said the offensive freestyles were motivated by a relationship with a girl gone awry and that they were written from a hurt, emotional and reactionary point of view.

Chaos Kid's letter asks for Osorio to publish a "Letter to the Editor" in the next issue of The Source to clarify his position or, he says, he'll be forced to tell "the truth" to other media outlets. Though the letter was addressed to Osorio, when reached for comment, the editor said she had no knowledge of receiving such a letter.