Most of the rappers whose names come up in Mount Rushmore debates are Black. As far as white hip-hop stars go, Eminem is almost always at the top of everyone’s list. For decades, the Detroit-born creative has kept us entertained with his cleverly penned verses, which have only evolved in poignancy as he’s gotten older. When he first came up, Slim Shady was known for splitting crass bars about women and drugs, but on “Lose Yourself,” he tapped into his more vulnerable side while converging his own personal life with the one he played out on-screen in 8 Mile as Jimmy.
“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy / There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti,” the multi-talent’s famous first verse begins. Of course, those lines have gone on to become some of his most famous, with Eminem even opening up a restaurant in his hometown to pay homage to them.
As Genius notes, engineer Steven King previously asserted that Slim “laid down all three verses” of “Lose Yourself” “in just one take.” Though impressive, the “Mockingbird” hitmaker has hinted that there’s no truth to the rumours in the past. During his 2008 autobiography specifically, the recording artist recalled the time he spent writing his bars between taking care of his then-adolescent children and filming scenes for 8 Mile.
Revisit one of Eminem’s earlier performances of “Lose Yourself” above, and find the song on Spotify/Apple Music if it’s not already part of your playlist. How old were you when 8 Mile first came out? Let us know in the comments, and find more HNHH release recommendations on our Fire Emoji update at the link below.
He’s dope, he knows that, but he’s broke, he’s so stagnant He knows when he goes back to this mobile home, that’s when it’s Back to the lab again, yo, this old rhapsody Better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him
Even before a new bunch of RIAA certifications dropped, Drake was already well ahead of his contemporaries. Late last year he passed Eminem to take the record for most certified song units as a solo artist. Now after a new wave of certifications hit to celebrate the rapper’s birthday that resulted in an even more impressive achievement. He’s now the first and only artist to ever hit 200 million certified single units as a lead artist.
Drake took to his Instagram story to share a text he received with the information. Among the new certifications are some particularly impressive album sales. Take Care was officially certified 8x platinum while Nothing Was The Same is now 6x platinum. His more recent albums are also starting to rack up certifications with Certified Lover Boy hitting 3x platinum and Her Loss right behind it with 2x. He also had numerous singles from throughout his career hitting new certification highs spanning from 2x platinum all the way to 9x. Check out the full list from Drake’s story below.
In fact, Lil Yachty and Drake may be in the very early stages of cooking something up. While Drizzy is taking a break from music following his new album For All The Dogs, the break isn’t expected to be permanent. In a recent interview, Lil Yachty entertained the idea that a collab album between him and Drake was possible once the rapper returned. What do you think of Drake becoming the first artist to hit 200 million RIAA certified single units? Let us know in the comment section below.
Even before a new bunch of RIAA certifications dropped, Drake was already well ahead of his contemporaries. Late last year he passed Eminem to take the record for most certified song units as a solo artist. Now after a new wave of certifications hit to celebrate the rapper’s birthday that resulted in an even more impressive achievement. He’s now the first and only artist to ever hit 200 million certified single units as a lead artist.
Drake took to his Instagram story to share a text he received with the information. Among the new certifications are some particularly impressive album sales. Take Care was officially certified 8x platinum while Nothing Was The Same is now 6x platinum. His more recent albums are also starting to rack up certifications with Certified Lover Boy hitting 3x platinum and Her Loss right behind it with 2x. He also had numerous singles from throughout his career hitting new certification highs spanning from 2x platinum all the way to 9x. Check out the full list from Drake’s story below.
In fact, Lil Yachty and Drake may be in the very early stages of cooking something up. While Drizzy is taking a break from music following his new album For All The Dogs, the break isn’t expected to be permanent. In a recent interview, Lil Yachty entertained the idea that a collab album between him and Drake was possible once the rapper returned. What do you think of Drake becoming the first artist to hit 200 million RIAA certified single units? Let us know in the comment section below.
You can soon vomit on your sweater, and it is remnants of Eminem’s “Mom’s Spaghetti.” The famed pasta rapped about on “Lose Yourself” will soon reach your kitchen, as Eminem has announced the pasta sauce will be jarred and available for sale.
The details “The Sauce is dropping” are on the way in the Instagram promo video. A release date of Oct. 26 was confirmed.
Eminem is a rap god, sure, but he’s also a branding god. The rapper has really leaned into the iconic “mom’s spaghetti” lyric from “Lose Yourself” over the years, most notably with a pop-up spaghetti restaurant before parlaying the concept into a permanent Detroit restaurant. Now, he’s bringing his mother’s pasta dish to the masses with Mom’s Spaghetti, a new line of pasta sauce.
Eminem announced it on social media last night (October 24), sharing a promotional video of jars of sauce hurtling towards the ground. One smashes before the video cuts to an unbroken product shot that notes, “The sauce is dropping.” This isn’t something happening in the distant future, as Mom’s Spaghetti is set to be made available on October 26 (AKA tomorrow). Em also linked to the Mom’s Spaghetti website in his bio, which at the moment has an email sign-up form to “get first access to the sauce & future Mom’s Spaghetti updates.”
50 Cent and Eminem’s close friendship is well-documented up until this point. Both have co-signed each other, featured on each other’s songs, and performed live in front of millions of people. The New York legend wanted to send his love and appreciation to his brother. He wanted to do this by posting to his Instagram and he dug into the vault for some of these photos. Others are a little more recent, with the last one featuring the two of them and Dr. Dre. It is a picture of them celebrating 50 getting his Hollywood Star for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A few of them look to be from live performances, most likely from 50’s Final Lap tour. Lastly, there are a few more from the early 2000s right around the time Cent was blowing up. It is a nice collage of images and it really shows how long this camaraderie has lasted up until this point.
According to HipHopDX, he posted this same collage on his Twitter as well. 50 writes a loving message to Em. He says, “Happy Birthday to the living legend @eminem love you to death man, God bless wishing you many more. #bransoncognac #lecheminduroi.” A few others thought of Em, including Joyner Lucas, Royce Da 5’9, and DJ Premier.
What are your initial thoughts on 50 Cent’s happy birthday post to celebrate Eminem’s 51st? Do these two have the closest relationship in hip-hop? What is your favorite memory or song from these two? We would like to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around 50 Cent, Eminem, as well as everything else going on around the music world.
On this day in Hip Hop history, we celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest MC’s of all time, Eminem. Aside from being one the most prolific pure lyricists in Hip Hop, Eminem was a pioneer for diversity in rap culture. As the first white rapper to gain international acclaim, Eminem forever changed rap and proved that Hip Hop did not exist in a ethnic vacuum. Eminem brought with him a dark and angry demeanor like nothing Hip Hop had seen in the past. Although horrorcore, the rap sub-genre riddled with violence and destruction, had already been popularized by groups like Three 6 Mafia and NWA, Eminem added an introspective twist. His lyrics dealt more with internal conflicts caused by life experience rather than the external struggle of gang culture. In honor of his bornday, we have compiled a list of Eminem’s ten greatest singles that represent all sides of his ridiculously successful career.
#10 “When I’m Gone” – Curtain Call: The Hits
Serving as what was supposed to be Eminem’s farewell to Hip Hop, “When I’m Gone” was the previously unreleased outro to Eminem’s greatest hits album Curtain Call:The Hits. Peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was obvious that it he were true to his word, Eminem would have truly been missed. Thankfully for most, he made his return to rap in 2009 with the release of his sixth studio album Relapse.
#9 “Mockingbird” – Encore
Dedicated to his daughter, Hailie, “Mockingbird” is a very personal single going into depth about Eminem’s love for and relationship with her. The track touches on themes and events in Eminem’s life regarding being a father along with his infamous relationship with ex-wife Kim. This single peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2004 Grammy’s.
#8 The Way I Am – The Marshall Mathers LP
It’s no secret that Eminem is one of Hip Hop’s most controversial figures. At the beginning of his career, his constant use of profanity and reliance on shock value built up a long list of enemies. Eminem was under constant threat of lawsuit during the early 2000’s and this particular single was a response to some of those instances specifically. As a whole, this single was Eminem’s rebuttal to Interscope Records requesting he tone down his controversial image and fold more into the pop-rapper role they wanted him to play.
#7 Just Lose It – Encore
Along with being a serious lyricist, Eminem is known for some rap music’s most comedic song/video combos. “Just Lose It” is no short of that trend. Featuring a spoof of Bad Santa, botched Michael Jackson, MC Hammer, and Madonna impersonations, and Slim Shady streaking, this may be one of his most outrageous videos. This single was one of Eminem’s international hits, peaking at #1 on the Hot singles charts of seven different countries while only peaking at# 6 in the US).
#6 Cleanin’ Out My Closet – The Eminem Show
What makes Eminem so likable is how fearlessly personal he gets with his music. It’s common Marshall Mathers didn’t have the most pleasant growing up experience nor does he have the best relationship with his mother; and, in “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” Eminem goes into detail about some of the events of his life that led to him being the man he is today. “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” was Eminem’s second Top 10 single, peaking at #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (along with being a top 10 hit around the world).
#5 My Name Is – The Slim Shady LP
Serving as Eminem’s introduction to the mainstream, “My Name Is” is one of Eminem’s most important singles. Not only is it the first to win him a Grammy for Best Solo Rap Performance in 2000, but it was his first released under Dr. Dre‘s new label Aftermath. This song can also be credited as one of Eminem’s most grotesque. This was the first time in Hip Hop artist used this tactic of shocking vulgarity to grab the attention of the masses. Since, rappers Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt have found a immense level of success from utilizing similar tactics.
#4 Stan – The Marshall Mathers LP
Although it may have only hit the 51st spot on the Billboard Hot 100, “Stan” is one of the most creative rap songs ever written. The song describes the relationship of Eminem and one of his supporters from the perspective of a crazed obsessive fan. Featuring and altered version of Dido‘s “Thank You”, the songs somber melodic tone creates a theatrical experience for the listener. The song was another international hit for Eminem, claiming the#1 spot in twelve countries and won Best International Artist Video at the MuchMusic Video Awards.
#3 The Real Slim Shady – The Marshall Mathers LP
As the first single for Eminem’s third album, “The Real Slim Shady” set the record straight as who the number one white rapper in the game was. Naturally as a byproduct of his success, Eminem had to deal with both imitators and impostors sullying his name. There had been both a rise in white rap in the Midwest and a surge of young white american’s taking Eminem’s violent message literally. With this record, Eminem again defined who he was as both a persona and an artists given listeners an authentic picture of who and what Slim Shady actually is. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Euro Hot 100, #1 in Canada, and #1 in the UK. The track also won the Grammy for Best Solo Rap Performance in 2001.
#2 Without Me – The Eminem Show
During the height of his career, it was hard to picture the rap game without his influence. His videos were clouded the airwaves, his singles bombarded the radio, and his image began to concentrate the streets as fans began to bleach their hair and wear baggy white tees at every occasion. “Without Me” quickly became an international anthem of the Hip Hop white boy. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was his highest ranking single to date. The single was also nominated for Record of the Year at the 2003 Grammy’s and claimed the #1 spot on the music charts of 16 countries.
#1 Lose Yourself – 8 Mile
With the #1 spot in 21 countries, two Grammy’s (Best Rap Song and Best Solo Rap Performance), an Academy Award (Best Original Song), and over 15 million copies sold, it is obvious that “Lose Yourself” is Eminem’s biggest single. As the theme song to his pseudo-bio pic 8 Mile (which made 242.9 million in box office), “Lose Yourself” tells the story of someone with a goal in mind that they will do anything to achieve. As one of his more motivational tracks it is easy to see it’s appeal. The song has been used in countless add campaigns, television shows, and even films other than 8 Mile.
From everyone here at The Source Magazine and TheSource.com, Happy Birthday Eminem. May you see many more years of ridiculous success.
The legacy of the cult classic movie 8 Mile won’t be touched. Eminem’s longtime manager and business partner Paul Rosenberg says that Eminem’s legendary film, 8 Mile, isn’t getting a sequel. The original 8 Mile was released back in 2002 and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself”. Rumors circulated after mogul 50 Cent claimed that he had a series for the movie in the works.
50 previewed the idea back in January while appearing on Big Boy’s Neighborhood. He said the show will further Eminem’s “legacy.” He most recently discussed the project during an interview with Men’s Health. “This shit is expected to be just as big as the feature film, just huge, it’ll be huge,” he told the outlet. “The interest in it is because the time period that 8 Mile was capturing further back, so as we move it into modern times you’ll see things about how we function now, how technology changed the way people enter the music business.” Paul Rosenberg, who was a co-founder and former president of Shady Records, clarified the situation on social media on Friday.
“Just wanna clear this up. There is no 8 Mile sequel. It does not and won’t exist,” he wrote. He didn’t mention 50’s idea for a TV series specifically. Users had mixed responses to the news. One wrote: “That’s good. Some movies are already unique. Don’t need a sequel. Except for an album called Relapse…” Another noted that the comment may not even apply to 50’s TV show. “Thank you, we don’t want that. We want The TV Show, Based off 8-Mile,” they said.
Thoughts?
Just wanna clear this up. There is no 8 Mile sequel. It does not and won’t exist.
Music videos, when done right, will always take the listening experience of a song to the next level, and Hip Hop has a number of impressive visual treats. The horrorcore rap subgenre, although not as mainstream, has some pretty iconic scary music videos that perfectly fit the October vibes. However, the macabre nature of horrorcore rap renders is not something everyone can stomach. Nonetheless, these videos have proven to be a hit with horror fans. With Halloween fast approaching, now is as good a time as any to look back on some scary music videos Hip Hop has to offer.
“Murder Was The Case” was first released as a track on Snoop Dogg’s debut studio album, Doggystyle (1993). The following year, the iconic music video was released as a short film of the same name starring the rapper in the lead role. The song on its own was already quite spooky but watching Snoop Dogg converse with the devil in the video took it up a notch. That moment, in particular, is particularly scary, and a main highlight of the video. As the two strike the deal, Snoop Dogg’s character resurrects, spending the rest of his life in servitude to the devil.
“Martians Vs. Goblins” – The Game Ft. Lil Wayne & Tyler, The Creator (2011)
This song was released as a part of The Game’s fourth studio album, The R.E.D. Album in 2011. The Game and Tyler, The Creator star as two patients in a psychiatric hospital. Wayne holds down hook duties yet doesn’t appear in the music video. “Martians vs. Goblins” contains some attention-grabbing controversial lyricism from the MCs involved. The video is also expertly done and just as captivating, albeit quite unsettling to watch.
The music video for Geto Boys’ classic song is simple but brilliant. The video follows a narrative structure spelled out by the song’s lyrics. Each member of the Geto Boys recounts their individual encounters with fear and paranoia. While the narrative style is vivid and immersive, the Geto Boys’ accentuate their anxieties in the song’s visual accompaniment. Keep your doors locked when you watch this scary music video, as it’s visually dark and mesmerizing.
Doja Cat recently released her latest album, Scarlet, after dominating 2021 with Planet Her. Doja was clearly in her horrorcore rap bag, and no other song proves it as much as “Demons.” As a standalone audio track, the song encapsulated high-octane rage. However, when paired with the music video, “Demons” becomes quite the spooky rap offering. Doja herself stars as a demon in the music video, and she delivers a very convincing performance. “Demons” is certainly one of the scariest music videos that deserves a play this Halloween.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 27: Musician Kanye West performs onstage during the 2010 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 27, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Horror-themed music videos are often controversial, and this music video is not exempt. “Monster” is one of the standout tracks from Kanye West’s critically acclaimed album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The music video stars West, Minaj, and Jay-Z, and utilizes horror-inspired, gothic themes. It is dark, scary, and contains some disturbing imagery that took inspiration from movies like American Psycho and Saw. “Monster” is widely renowned for Nicki Minaj’s iconic rap verse, but her cameo in the music video was equally exciting. Moreover, due to widespread backlash of the controversy, the video was banned on MTV and later, removed from Kanye West’s official YouTube page.
The cinematography of Eminem’s “3 a.m.” music video is expertly done. If it intends to terrify, then it is successful, because the video dishes out a palpable sense of dread and danger. Bones, blood, and dead bodies are shown in flashes, which somehow makes the images last longer in viewers’ minds. The found footage-style recording of Eminem in the woods heightens the spookiness of the video, making it quite scary. At times, the images are graphic, so viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Scary music videos are widespread in music, and the horrifying visuals of “Meat Cleaver” extend far beyond Hip Hop. In fact, it opens with a disclaimer, warning viewers about what they are about to see. Brotha Lynch Hung is widely regarded as a legend in the horrorcore rap scene, and some even regard him as the originator of the subgenre. The rapper has many unsettling tracks, but “Meat Cleaver” definitely ranks amongst his most disturbing. The scary clip contains the most graphic visual content on this list and is certainly one of the creepiest music videos you will see anytime soon.
Nashawn Breedlove, best known for his role as battle rapper “Lotto” in the 2002 hip-hop movie 8-Mile, sadly passed away at age 46. Breedlove died at his home in New Jersey, leaving behind a legacy of powerful performances on screen and in the rap battle scene. R.I.P Nashawn Breedlove aka ‘Lotto’ On September 24, 8-Mile actor […]
