At first glance, Minister Louis Farrakhan and Eminem may look like an odd pairing. But not so much, when you think about how Detroit is such a significant starting point for the Nation of Islam. Both men—Minister Louis Farrakhan and rapper Eminem—have strong ties to the city.
The minister and Eminem met in Detroit earlier this week, and according to an Instagram post by an NOI member, the meeting was “over ten years in the making.” Hajj Hasaun Muhammad, describing the meeting as “epic,” suggested that both men had been wanting to meet for some time.
“So much happens behind the scenes that I don’t post or talk about, but this one I absolutely had to. Truly epic that the two of them had dinner last night in Detroit,” Muhammad wrote.
In his own Instagram post, Minister Farrakhan described his conversation with Eminem as a “beautiful dialogue.”
No word yet on what exactly was discussed, but Eminem has always rapped about social issues. He’s from a working-class background, and because he’s white, that may allow him to share insights from a unique perspective and put a diverse face to some of the social issues the NOI is trying to address.
Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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