Melle Mel says DMX and 2Pac were both “better actors than rappers”

nme.com:

Melle Mel has commented on the late DMX and 2Pac, saying that they were both “better actors than rappers”.The legend from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five said in a recent interview with The Art Of Dialogue that in order to be a good rapper, you have to adopt a persona – and that’s the same factor is needed to be a good actor.He doubled down on his point, saying that some rap legends were better actors than they were lyricists.“I thought 2Pac was a better actor than he was a rapper,” he said of the late Californian known for his lead roles in cult classics Juice and Poetic Justice. “I thought he was a hell of an actor than a rapper.” He also commented on the late Yonkers-born DMX, who famously made his acting debut in Hype Williams-directed Belly alongside Nas.“I thought DMX was a better actor than he was a rapper,” said Mel. “It’s that persona and when you take a guy like that and you put them in front of a camera….”He continued: “He could have just stayed within himself and been more dedicated to what he was doing.”Melle Mel says Eminem is only considered a top 5 rapper because he's white.

pic.twitter.com/I5PRMqRR3G— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) March 2, 2023Elsewhere in the interview, Mel argued that that Eminem only gained the fifth spot on Billboard’s Top 50 rappers of all-time list due to his race, with Mel himself only placing 48th on the list.“Obviously he’s a capable rapper,” said Melle Mel. “If you was talking about sales, he’s sold more than everybody.