Nearly 2 weeks ago (8/3), the Internet went wild after a statement by Hot 97 personality Ebro Darden that he had been speaking with Drake about his ongoing feud with Joe Budden, and suggested that Eminem might enter the war of words, on Budden’s behalf. “I told Drake that I heard the rumor was Eminem was going to gear up to come after him,” Ebro said on his morning show. “He laughed. He was like, ‘That’s not gonna happen.’ He’s like, ‘He’d never do that. And if he did, I got something for him, too.’” When the statement got out, it took on a life of its own, as publications and social media exploded over the prospect of a Rap battle between Drake and Em. While the Budden/Drake exchanges that had taken place over the last 2 months had been fascinating to Rap insiders, a beef between two of the biggest artists of all-time would have been a whole other story.

Joe Budden Disses Drake For 6 Straight Minutes…And It Gets Really Personal (Audio)

The day the “news” broke, there were clear indications that there was no veracity to the story. Eminem’s longtime manager and business partner tweeted “Slows news day I see,” just hours after Ebro’s broadcast. And, some publications pointed out the litany of compelling reasons why it would not make sense for Eminem to insert himself into the battle. A few hours later, even Ebro, himself, tweeted “It was such a joke and people ran with it… Slow news day. Drake got too much respect for all that…” and “Facts we was joking…Talked about in jest & fools jumped out the window. I ain’t even think it was a big deal.” However, the speculation and conjecture continued for several days thereafter.

Drake Responds To Joe Budden & Pumps Up The Beef (Audio)

Even as recently as yesterday, some online publications have pontificated about the prospects of a Rap battle between Drake and Eminem, but tonight all rumors were put to rest. During the Detroit stop of his “Summer Sixteen” tour, Drake brought out the city’s hometown hero, Eminem. Bowing several times to him, Drake called Marshall Mathers “the greatest rapper to ever get on a microphone.” Em returned the favor saying “It’s an honor to share the stage with this man right here.”

What Makes Eminem The GOAT To So Many?

As has been the case for the last several years, the moment was captured by social media:

While Eminem’s appearance likely finally will quell the rumors about him verbally attacking Drake, his sharing the stage with Budden’s current nemesis is likely to raise a whole host of other questions. As many know, Budden is a member of the group Slaughterhouse, along with Royce 5’9″, Kxng Crooked and Joell Ortiz, which is signed to Eminem’s Shady Records. Though Eminem may have been making a statement about his standing with Drake, others may see the move as an act of disloyalty to Budden.

Joe Budden Discusses The Weird Direct Messages Drake Has Been Sending Him (Video)

The implications likely were not lost on Drake, who has proven to be a crafty adversary. Rather than going directly at Budden, Drake has been like a sniper, taking surgical shots through perceived subliminal references that his allies deny even exist, and sending cryptic direct messages to Joe that Budden considers to be “passive aggressive.” It could certainly be seen as a feather in Drake’s cap to not only destroy the rumor that Eminem would intervene on Budden’s behalf but have a highly public showing that Em is his ally. It will be interesting to see if and how Joe responds to this latest development.