Eminem vs. Dr. Boyce Watkins Beef, 'White Privilege' Blast, Not King Of Hip-Hop Over Jay-Z: Will 'Rap God' Elvis Comparison Spark Diss Track? [WATCH]

According to renowned economist and social commentator Dr. Boyce Watkins, Detroit native Eminem is definitely a "talented" rapper. But still, the infamous "Rap God" is clearly a product of "white privilege." Do MstarsNews readers agree?

During a recent interview with VladTV, the Syracuse University scholar explains why he would never deem Slim Shady the ultimate "King of Hip-Hop" (via HipHopDX):

"I like Eminem though as a rapper... The first time I ever heard him back in the 90s, I thought he was a great artist. Eminem is as true of a lyricist as you're gonna see. And he's also great because he shows respect to those who came before him. So, he's not Iggy Azalea or whatever. He's a guy that I think at the core of his heart he's not a wigger, but he's not a white boy. He's just who he is. And to me, I think that Eminem to some extent is a little bit of a product of white privilege for two reasons."

He then continues:

"One, he does get a little bit of that Elvis effect... You're a white rapper. You're as good as the black guy. People are gonna love you more because you're white...The other thing about Eminem that I think is an artifact of white privilege is that Eminem gets something that a lot of black artists don't get. He gets to be a pure and true artist. Eminem, if you listen to his music, he raps about everything that's in his soul and in his spirit. There's not sort of this very programmatic, predictable, continual music that comes from him. Where he's always talking about the same thing...And so, what I see with a lot of artists who've become corporatized is just sort of the same old stuff. And it gets old after a while."

Interesting... wonder if Em will mention these comments in an upcoming diss track?

But the MMLP2 superstar did out-sell fellow rapper Jay-Z... does that make a difference? Apparently not - the "King" should be determined by the "purist" hip-hop "community," not album success:

"Album sales should never define who the best artist is," Dr. Watkins muses. "There are some artists who are so extraordinary that they can sell one record and everybody would still consider them to be among the best...If you're looking at it in terms of who the king of Hip Hop is, I think that would be decided more amongst the Hip Hop purists, the Hip Hop community."

Watch the full interview below, and share your thoughts in the comments section afterwards!