The final instalment in an effort to catalogue every Eminem feature throughout the course of his career.
Eminem is one of the most technically proficient MCs to ever get behind a mic-- his aggressive flow, distinct enunciation and lyrical acrobatics set the rapper apart, although it hasn't been overnight, rather, it's been an extremely well-documented build in his discography of studio albums, freestyles, and track-making features. The release of Em's 2013 The Marshall Mathers LP 2 maintained the rapper's penchant for deeply personal, confessional-style tracks interwoven with rapid-fire pop culture references. Following the success of LP 2, the now-sober rapper sunk back into a certain well-known exclusivity when it comes to deciding whose track he would hop on.
Regarding his return to critical and commercial acclaim, Eminem was rather humble in terms of where he'll settle in the annals of hip hop history. "Hopefully when all is said and done, people see me as just an MC. That’s pretty much all I can ever ask for," he said in a 2013 interview with Complex. "I know that when songs cross over and they have some type of appeal that goes to certain stations and certain stations play ’em and then it’s like, “Aw, what the fuck? This isn’t hip-hop.” How do I say this? I don’t really have no control over that once I release my music. Regardless of what it is or what it’s about, every song that I do I always try to push lyrically. I would never try to compromise and just say, “This beat sounds like it could have commercial appeal to it. Let me write this kind of hook and fucking wing it.” I’m not just trying to sell records or trying to make a radio record."
This week, we check out Slim's enduring reverence for lyricism in the features he doled out from 2014-2017, as get even more hype for his much-anticipated forthcoming album drop, especially when it feels all but confirmed with an SNL appearance lined up for November 18 (lest we forget his rumored album release date is the 17th).
Previously:
2014
Busta Rhymes - Calm Down (feat. Eminem)
"Calm Down" paired two of the greatest internal-rhyme rappers of all time, Busta Rhymes and Eminem, over a Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle"-sampled track. After Scoop DeVille showed Busta the beat, the Brooklyn rapper approached Em for a feature, sending the rapper his work thus far so Shady could feel out the vibe of the track. "Originally, the song was like three minutes and eight seconds. I had two 16-bar verses on it and the hook that's there...[but then] Eminem's verse comes on and it's like 42 bars," Busta told MTV News at the time.
Speaking to Complex about the genesis of the six-minute track, the "Break Ya Neck" rapper revealed that the healthy competition between the two MCs propelled the continued exchange of bars. "Because we’re known for pretty much fucking everybody up when we get on records with other artists, it became a competitive process...I went back and I wrote 50 bars. We then scheduled a mix session for the song and when I got to Detroit, he listened to my verse, heard that it was 50 bars, he went back and turned his 42 bars into a 60 bar verse. At that point I went back and turned my 50 bar verse into a 62 bar verse. And then Em made his verse a 64 bar verse. [Laughs.] It started off from just doing a dope, high energy hip-hop record into us respectfully competing and damn near battling each other."
With the two rappers "bringing out the best in each other," "Calm Down" proved to be a 7-month labor of love that was well worth the wait-- and you won't even notice the lack of chorus. ""It turned from a song to a piece of art," Busta reiterated. "Just a fundamental hip-hop record."
Shady Records - SHADY CXVPHER (feat. Eminem, Slaughterhouse & Yelawolf)
To generate hype for the the 2014 two-disc Shady XV album featuring both new tracks and an anthology of their greatest hits, Slim brought together Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf for "SHADY CXVPHER." While not an official studio feature (as it is Em's own label and track) the rapper's aggressive callouts in his acapella verse can't pass by unnoticed, and with limited outings feature-wise in 2014, this one posse cut is extra necessary.
"I think of all them times I compromised my bottom lines/And thought of rhymes that sodomized your daughter's minds/Then I'm like dollar signs/But I may fight for gay rights especially if they dyke/Is more of a knockout than Janay Rice/Play nice, bitch, I'll punch Lana Del Rey right/In the face twice like Ray Rice in broad daylight," Em rapped, breath marks barely noticeable in his relentless lyrical assault.
Trick Trick - Twerk Dat Pop That (feat. Eminem & Royce Da 5'9")
Trick Trick, the self-titled mayor of Detroit, brought Shady on the bill for "Twerk Dat Pop That" to fill out the Detroit trifecta alongside Royce Da 5'9". The party track has an insanely catchy hook and showcases vintage Eminem, letting loose and spinning out his verse sans the trademark growl that became prevalent in Shady's past eras. "I’m in VIP with no ID with a pint of beam/Lightin' cheeba wylin’ the fuck out like Bieber at nineteen/Or Ice-T in the in the 90s/Frightening in some Nikes slut, nice D’s/There a slight breeze? Don’t like me? Well then bite me," Em rapped, setting the tone for his flipped out bars.
2015
D12 - Devil's Night Intro (feat. Eminem)
D12 dropped their first release in over four years, The Devil's Night Mixtape on the (very fitting) night before Halloween in 2015. Em provided the themed intro for the release, spitting two minutes of acapella bars following an eerie, discorded entry beat: "Like I'm ejaculating and nutting, come catch the clap like you're patty caking little dumpling/Or brace yourself like a cast and be the last to make an assumption/I'm back/Like I'm in the bathroom taking a dump and it's back in the day or somethin'/I'll shit on you, devil's night, how's that for a introduction?"
This was Eminem's only appearance on the D12 offering, much to fans' dismay.
Dr. Dre - Medicine Man (feat. Eminem, Candice Pillay & Anderson.Paak)
Eminem dug deep for inspiration on Dr. Dre's "Medicine Man," off the OG's Compton body of work, switching up his flow to take listeners back to his early work-- giving off a distinct "Rabbit Run" vibe at its opening. Mixing shock rap lines depicting rape and violence with clever double entendres and word play, Shady's verse is an unquestionable standout addition. Candice Pillay, who lends her vocals to the track's hook had this to say about Eminem's spot on the song: "If you listen to 'Medicine Man' compared to everything else on the album, it's a very different record. I feel like it's a younger generation's record. Of course, Dre loved it. And the only person who could fit on that record is Em. He gave us a plethora of stuff to choose from and then he went back and forth. And then we finally went with the verse that you hear."
Tech N9ne - Speedom (WWC2) (feat. Eminem & Krizz Kaliko)
There's no questioning the high cost of an Eminem spot on any rapper's track-- a price tag that is surely swallowed by MCs eager to secure Shady's unique flow on their album. Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne revealed that landing Em for "Speedom," which would be the two technical MCs first time on wax together, only cost him a feature of his own: "[Eminem] did the verse for nothing but a swap," Tech told BET. "I was flabbergasted, 'cause I know it costs so much to get Eminem and he’s worth every penny, and for him to say, ‘I just want a song from you for this,’ that made me feel really beautiful that he felt like that about my music."
The verse is a spastic exploration of pill-popping chaos, as seen in: "In the habit of grabbin' a mic and babblin', I dabble in lights/But I might just swallow my fuckin' Ritalin tablet after the night/I'm grabbin' it right from the medicine cabinet/'Cause that's what it's like and attack it like a Dracula bite."
The Weeknd - The Hills (feat. Eminem) [Remix]
Slim was the rather surprising feature (but still a coveted one) for the official remix of The Weeknd's radio-crushing "The Hills." Slowing his usual double-time tempo to match the chilled-out R&B vibe of the track, Em picks up the bootycall theme of the chorus with: "But you just want a little company/And you just really wanna thrill seek/Said you left him for good this time/Bullshit, what your friends do, spill beans?"
Yelawolf - Best Friend (feat. Eminem)
Yelawolf only had one rapper in mind when he was feeling out features for his Love Story album: Shady Records' own head honcho, Eminem. Their collab came naturally, Yelawolf told MTV News, and the two meshed perfectly regarding the theme and tone of the track. "The song was already really strong, and I knew that I was touching on something that was serious -- or, to me, it was. The melody in the song, it came together, and I just thought, If Marshall, if he gets on this and understands this concept, that it would be outta here. So I just crossed my fingers and sent it to him. Luckily, he understood it perfectly, and obviously killed it." Eminem kept true to his usual fast-paced lyrical barrage, while Yelawolf switched it up by singing the hook and the chorus.
2016
KXNG Crooked - Welcome To Planet X (We're Coming For You) (feat. Eminem & The Observer)
KXNG Crooked, along with Eminem and The Observer unleashed a serious banger in "Welcome To Planet X," the tone-setting track off of Good Vs. Evil. Set in an alternate, mirrored reality, Em and Crooked l team up to lyrically construct a world in which the oppressed take up arms against their oppressors, over even the smallest of injustices. KXNG Crooked further explained the theme to Billboard, stating: "I love this record because it touches on topics like the destruction of the middle class, the plight of poor people and it has the presence of my superstar homie Eminem, which forces people to pay attention to the issues the song tackles. Thanks Em!"
Em sets the scene in the intro, delivering in spoken word: "I live in a world that's different than your world/Your world still believes in things like free speech and democracy/Those things don't exist in my world anymore."
Skylar Grey - Kill For You (feat. Eminem)
Eminem hopped on yet another Skylar Grey track for the the Bonnie and Clyde interpretation of "Kill For You." "Since the first day I started writing 'Kill for You,' I thought the Bonnie and Clyde message would be more powerful as a duet. I was stoked when Marshall put a verse on it," Grey told Rolling Stone of the collaboration. "Just a few days before I had to turn in the album I let Marshall know my thoughts and asked if he wanted to give it a shot. I didn't expect him to do it especially with he time restraint, but thought it was worth asking. A few days later he turned in the final mix/master with his verse on it. I had never heard his verse before we sent the album to print." Em takes the role of a master manipulator in his verse, boasting that he can get an unnamed woman to do his bidding. "Who tries to take your man from you/It's blasphemy, another casualty, you'll go whatever route/Whatever you have to do, you blast for me, I never doubt, that."
Royce Da 5'9" - Rap On Steroids (feat. Eminem, Black Thought & Assassin) [Leaked Version]
We're including this as an almost-Eminem feature in 2016. When a snippet of this song first leaked, it featured Eminem trading bars with the track's collaborators at the end, while Royce would tease that a proper Eminem verse would be the third and final one on the record. We're not sure what happened behind the scenes, but when Royce's album, Trust the Shooter, did drop, Eminem was not actually featured (although he does handle production). We may still receive the verse one day, packaged on another song, who knows.
2017
Big Sean - No Favors (feat. Eminem)
Shady proved yet again that he's always ready to drop a feature for a rapper from the 313. Off of Big Sean's fourth studio album I Decided, "No Favors" debuted at an impressive No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Big Sean was more than appreciative of Em bending down to dip on the track, which itself had been long-rumored: "He was the only person I heard that could be on that song to keep it honest," the rapper revealed to Zane Lowe. "It kinda reminded me of why I am such an Eminem fan, and why I fell in love with Eminem's work. The way he's unique -- he's special ... When he did this verse it brought that feeling right back to me. Like, this is like a brand new energy." Shady drops his voice for his hard-punching bars, lowering his register to match the track's dark beat.
With 2017 almost a wrap, who would you like to see Eminem collaborate with 2018? Let us know in the comments.