Not Afraid by Anthony Bozza

Author:Anthony Bozza
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Blink Publishing
Published: 2019-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

The finished nine-track EP was released in June 2011, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold 171,000 copies in its first week and was certified gold in August. For the most part, the EP received positive reviews because there is no denying the stylistic chemistry between Eminem and Royce. On the EP’s first single, “Fast Lane,” the pair are in top form, showing off the horrorcore-laced boasts and second-to-none verbal proficiency they are known for. The hook, sung by Sly Jordan, is delivered in classic G-funk style, à la the late great Nate Dogg.

The song “Taken from Me” sees both rappers lamenting those in their lives who take advantage. In Royce’s case, he calls out his older brother and their problematic relationship.17

I ain’t tryin’ to say something I’d regret

So I’mma just stop chasin’ the pain

And let you deal with the fact that we don’t get along

’Cause I got a big face in the game.

Em’s verses confront his relationship with those who steal or leak his music as well as fans who are critical of the changes in his content and delivery in recent years.

You might not think it’s that big of a deal

To steal from me, but music’s all I got

Aside from my daughters, not to sound like a martyr.

Hell: The Sequel was Eminem’s gift to the hardcore fans, because it provided an opportunity for him to become Slim Shady once more, with an equally gifted accomplice riding shotgun. It was a safe place for Shady following his exorcism on Relapse. Enough time had passed and enough reinvention had been accomplished that Em was able to put on his old costume for this reunion with an old friend. Whereas Relapse was a painful dive into Slim Shady’s serial killer pathology, on this outing, Em/Shady seemed genuinely happy to be exploring his old stomping ground, no doubt energized by the tangible creative electricity of his partner in rhyme. While just about any other rapper alive would fall flat alongside Eminem unhinged, Royce, never a sidekick, always an equal, holds his own. Even on songs like “Reunion,” with the type of nightmarish nursery rhyme melody that typically accompanies Shady’s darkest exploits and sickest lyrical moments, Royce’s storyline is equally compelling and twisted. The song tells the tale of a hapless girl who makes the mistake of thinking that Marshall/Shady is much nicer than he seems on record, while Royce describes a vicious fight between his wife and his mistress in a club. The language here and throughout the album is as unflinching, misogynist, and violent as the deepest depths Shady has ever plumbed, and as a result some saw the EP as a “step back for both rappers.”18 It was, of course: it was the culmination of a relationship that was cut short thirteen years earlier. A. T. Horton put it best: “Eminem and Royce da 5’9” are perfectly capable of standing on their own, but it’s clear that even after all these years, they inspire something special in each other.

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