Paul Wall On Avoiding The Race Card, "You Can't Compare Me To Eminem Due To His Success & Style"

Southern rapper Paul Wall recently opened up about avoiding comparisons to fellow white rappers like Eminem and Vanilla Ice and said his upbringing played a large role.

Paul feels his Texas roots helped him avoid being stereotyped as just another "white rapper."

"Everybody raised me to believe I was a kid and an individual. So me being White or any other characteristic didn't define who I was," he explained in an interview. "So I didn't carry myself as a White person. I am who I am. I also think I'm wise enough to know you can't compare me to Eminem due to his success and style. Also my sound was different. Coming from Texas there's a large Mexican and Jamaican population so it's multiracial. So my fan base is extremely multiracial so that has something to do with it, too."
Last year, Eminem talked about being blindly compared to then-newcomer Asher Roth.

"Asher Roth, I haven't had a chance to, like, really get into everything, like, really get into what he's about, because I've only heard a couple songs," Em said in the May 2009 issue of XXL Magazine. "There was talk about people saying he sounded like me, and he was doing this and that and, you know, trying to take what I do and do it. You know, sh*t like that. I've heard things. But the stuff that I've heard from him honestly, which certainly isn't enough for me to make my own opinion and say, 'Yeah, he does sound like me' or 'No, he doesn't.' But the couple of songs I've head, I don't really think he does. You know what I mean? He's doing his own thing. I can respect it, too, because at the end of the day, I think he's dope."

In the past, rap mogul Jay-Z has talked about moving away from the standard "black music" stereotype in hip-hop.

"On the show as well were Third Eye Blind and Kelly Clarkson," Jay explained talking about a 2009 Arizona concert. "I thought that to be the oddest pairing ever but, soon realized, it's what I've always professed. There is no such thing as black music or white music only good or bad music. It's stupid cool to like things that are not like you, and that goes for outside of music. If you're an African American you can have a Jewish friend...I think concerts like this should happen more often...I'm putting that into the universe..next up Taylor Swift and Uncle Murda!!"

Paul Wall is currently preparing the release of his new album, Heart of a Champion.

Fresh off a month-long tour with former partner-in-rhyme, Chamillionaire, Houston rapper, Paul Wall, is all set to drop his 4th major label album, Heart of a Champion, on June 29th through Swisha House/Asylum Records. Almost half of the tracks featured on the album are produced by long-time friend and Expensive Taste band-mate, Travis Barker. The album will also feature several songs from Expensive Taste, the group which includes Skinhead Rob (Transplants) in addition to Paul and Travis.