Ed just landed a Time magazine cover, and his story includes a moment of reflecting on working with Eminem — and how unlikely it might have looked back in the day.
While chatting about his music and fame, Ed brings up how surprising his career must look to anyone who knew him growing up:
“If you went back to any high school in Great Britain and said, ‘Who’s gonna rap on a song with 50 Cent and Eminem?’ You probably wouldn’t point to this specky ginger kid,” he says, smiling”.
Classic Ed — down-to-earth and totally aware of how far he has come.
But his bond with Em runs deep. As a kid, Ed had a stutter, and it was Eminem’s music that helped him overcome it. His speech therapist suggested he try rapping along to Em’s songs, and it worked. Years later, that same kid ended up in the studio with his rap hero.
They’ve now teamed up on two tracks, “River” and “Remember the Name”, and there might be more on the way. Ed shares a passion for collecting audio cassettes with Marshall and they exchange some finds. Ed has even said Eminem is one of only three artists he would listen to for the rest of his life. Fan to friend to collaborator. Does not get more full-circle than that.
