[Video] Eminem Interview with Zane Lowe
BBC 1's Zane Lowe is increasingly becoming the de facto interview for post-release public relations, if you're face belongs on the hip-hop Mount Rushmore. Eminem followed in Kanye's footsteps, appearing for an in depth, sit down interview with the British show host. Ever an interesting guest, Eminem opened up about the pressure of calling his latest album The Marshall Mather LP 2, what it was like to work with Rick Rubin and his own forays into production before doing a live performance of "Berzerk" in studio with a band. For his part, Em jokes that peeing on the floor might be the only way to top Kanye, I'd say the performance was pretty convincing. Check it all out for yourself below.
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[Video] Eminem & Slaughterhouse on The Backroom
Eminem dropped his latest album this week, The Marshall Mathers EP 2, a follow-up to his seminal, larger than life, 2000 album that firmly cemented the Detroit MC in the upper echelon of hip-hop and popular culture. As part of the whirlwind media attention the project has been receiving, BET invited Shady and his crew, Slaughterhouse, to the 106th & Park Backroom to spit a few freestyles and talk to Em about Kendrick Lamar. When it comes to off the cuff hip-hop today, you can't do much better than this bunch. Check out what they cooked up for the folks over at BET and what Eminem thinks of K Dot in the videos below and pick up that Marshall Mathers EP 2 via iTunes.
The Evolution of Eminem Interview w/ Big Tigger
YouTube Music Awards... Interesting
The inaugural YouTube Music Awards (YMA) took place Sunday night in New York City. The website-sponsored music awards show, touted as a celebration of the do it yourself content environment Youtube helped to foster. It was billed as the crowning moment of years worth of artists that have taken things into their own hands to make it on their own terms. From the sounds of it, the YouTube Music Awards seemed poised to crown those who had used the website as a come up. Think Mac Miller, Macklemore, Chance The Rapper and the hundreds of young artists and directors across the country using the site to get their art to the world.
Instead, the YMAs featured headliners Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga and Eminem performing while shooting live music videos with program director and legendary video director Spike Jonze. It was, in the words of one of my former Journalism professors, one of the biggest public blowjobs in the history of already blowy award shows. The awards show was, in essence, Jonze's wet dream, a grand stage for the director to remind everyone he's pretty good at what he does. Add in the fact that hosts Jason Schwartzmann and Reggie Watts rarely had any idea what to say and you have yourself a show with a production value seemingly lower than many of the videos the site hosts.
In a similar position to that of MTV on September 14, 1984 when the Video Music Awards first entered the world, YouTube finds itself as the de facto landing spot for music videos in today's media climate. Perhaps because of this distinction, the YMAs came to fruition yesterday. Jonze, earlier last week, voiced his interest in creating "live music videos" at the awards show. While playing on YouTube's reputation as an open-source type format from which anyone can make a name for themselves, Jonze missed the mark in directing videos for larger-than-life acts such as Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Eminem and Avicii; forgoing the up and comers that make the greatest use of the streaming video site.
It wasn't all bad. While the artists featured may have been different from what I had in mind when first picturing the YMAs, organizers did get plenty right. For one, by producing a live awards show, albeit a show Jonze described beforehand as one in which "We’ve been given a lot of room to make a mess,” YouTube was able to step up and prove itself a viable alternative to traditional television-an important distinction as viewers increasingly ditch the tube and cable for free streaming service via the website. Winners were also voted on by fans, a nod to the user-generated content and interaction that has made YouTube the media Goliath it is today. While Eminem interestingly won 'Artist of the Year' days before his first album in two years came out and kid's group Girls' Generation won best video, it was a good move to leave it to the fans. . . I guess.
Regardless of what I or anyone else thought of the show last night, it happened, and that's all that really matters at the end of the day. The web was flooded with fresh memes and, soon, a slew of new Jonze-directed videos. Any first run is going to be a little rough around the edges (see: early VMAs), but it will be interesting to see where YouTube takes the fledgling awards setup-to the mainstream or tailored to the users actually frequenting the site and providing much of the content. Either way, organizers of the show and YouTube can sleep easy knowing they're having a better week than former YouTube owner Chad Hurley, who got himself in Kanye West's line of fire this week, although Tyler, The Creator may feel differently (see below).
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Eminem & Kendrick Lamar: "Love Game"
It's always refreshing when the best at anything opt for collaboration and today we have a gem for you. Eminem and Kendrick Lamar teamed up for "Love Game" the latest single of Shady's upcoming Marshall Mather LP 2 release, slated for November 5. The track is as hot as you would expect from a song featuring two of the best artists in the hip-hop landscape today. Check out "Love Game" below.
Eminem: "Rap God"
Man, the internet just moves too quick. Eminem attempted to tease out his latest single, "Rap God," off his upcoming album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The plans were to release a series of clues, but the song leaked in Europe before the first hint could hit the net, thus the stream via Youtube below. The song, as far as beats are concerned, is very different for Shady, with some of the electronic and house-y elements that grew out of his hometown and now grace neon festivals across the country. As always, Em is on point with his flow, riding a frenetic beat that would give even the best MC a headache and tied tongue. Perhaps it's a beat made for a Rap God? Decide for yourself below.
Favorite Line: "I don't know how to make songs, I don't know what words to use/Let me know when it occurs to you/While I'm ripping any of these verses"
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Arcade Fire, Eminem, Lady Gaga to headline Youtube Music Awards
Oh, how the world changes. When I was in high school we were still downloading videos off of Kazaa, wondering what this Youtube thing was. Today, the seminal website has it's own award show, the Youtube Music Awards, which today announced Eminem, Arcade Fire and Lady Gaga as headliner of the event that will take place live in New York City on November 3. The show, directed by Spike Jonze and hosted by Jason Schwartzman is "a celebration of music honoring the artists and songs that YouTube fans have turned into global hits over the past year." Watch a video announcing the awards show below.
http://youtu.be/9ckE_S5Y5QM
[Video] Eminem: "Berzerk"
It looks like Slim Shady is back and in top notch form. With some production assistance by Rick Rubin, Eminem went completely "Berzerk" on his first official single from The Marshal Mathers LP 2, which has stans all over the world hyped-up to hear what he has been working on recently. The visual didn't disappoint either, doing a great job to encapsulate the nostalgic feeling the song exudes. Hilarious cameos by Kendrick Lamar, Kid Roch, The Alchemist, and more also add to its replay value. Peep below.
http://youtu.be/ab9176Srb5Y