He’s a 37-year-old rapper who’s sober, optimistic
and ready to fess up to past mistakes — including last year’s “Relapse”
album, which he’s now describing as “ehh.”
The
star appeared on his Shade 45 satellite radio channel Thursday morning
to debut “Not Afraid,” lead single from his upcoming album “Recovery,”
due for
controversial Eminem: Over an undecorated beat and with a
straightforward vocal timbre, he raps about facing down the demons of
substance abuse, meeting his responsibilities as a father and moving
ahead to a brighter life.
“I just can’t keep living this way/ So starting today I’m breaking out of this cage,” he rhymes.
In a chorus embedded with a buoyant African music
lilt, he declares: “I’m not afraid to take a stand/ Everybody come take
my hand/ We’ll walk this road together, through the storm.”
“Not Afraid” is distinct from Eminem’s previous lead
single efforts, which have been lighter, more comedic affairs. The
song’s uplifting vibe — perhaps his most positive career track yet —
may also explain why he ditched plans for a sequel to last year’s
“Relapse,” a dark exploration of drug use and psychological struggle.
The new song also acknowledges the mixed reception
to that comeback record — calling it “ehh” — and the much-derided vocal
style that dominated it: “Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground/
Relax, I ain’t going back to that now.”
In an accompanying interview with host
Eminem said “Relapse 2” was ditched because he’s embraced a new musical
direction with his recent material. Most of the cuts recorded for
“Relapse 2” have landed “pretty much right in the trash.”
“I kind of went back to the lab on that whole
concept as I started working with different producers,” he said. “The
overall sound and everything changed, and I kind of turned the corner.”
Eminem confirmed a lineup of “Recovery” producers that includes
“That’s one of the cool things I got a chance to do
by working with a variety of producers,” he said. “There’s not just one
overall sound or one anything to the album.”
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