On Tuesday a federal court judge granted Eminem an injunction against The Source,blocking the hip-hop publication from releasing a CD containing a controversial freestyle by the rapper.
Last month the magazine’s owners, Ray “Benzino” Scott and David Mays, held a press conference to expose the old recording in which a young Marshall Mathers talks disparagingly about black women. The Source’s owners said a CD of the freestyle would be included in their February issue, due on newsstands January 13.
Eminem admitted to making the song in anger and issued an apology. In a statement released two weeks ago, he said, “I did and said a lot of stupid sh- when I was a kid, but that’s part of growing up. The tape of me rapping 15 years ago as a teenager that was recently put out by The Source in no way represents who I was then or who I am today.”
Attorneys for Em and his Shady Records imprint filed papers for the injunction in Manhattan on Monday, citing copyright infringement. Em is also seeking unspecified damages.
Although many people in the hip-hop community have chosen to either forgive and forget or flat out not get involved in the Eminem fracas, The Source has continued to press the issue, branding Slim Shady a racist and a thief of hip-hop culture and promising an exposé on the rapper. Eminem, meanwhile, dissed Benzino and The Source on tracks that hit the Internet and mixtapes recently.
A spokesperson at Eminem’s label, Interscope, had no comment Wednesday (December 17). A Sourcespokesperson had no comment on the injunction but said the release of the February issue would not be delayed.