Reportedly the first rapper to headline Wembley, Eminem plays the first of two nights in a 90, 000 capacity venue, an ambitious but highly anticipated event.
Taking to the stage shortly before 9:30 pm, his entrance is preceded by a Crime and Investigation style sequel to Stan. We are exposed to a “horrendous case of obsession and revenge” which fuses fantasy with nostalgia and real life. With a voice-over typical of old school horror movies, we are presented with his 2012 cover of Rolling Stone magazine, the acknowledgement of his worldwide success, his lyrical controversy and the public’s outrage which is backed onscreen by various newspaper clippings. Perfectly sinister, Eminem’s reality then leads into the story of demented fandom. We are presented with chilling CCTV footage of Stan’s crazed brother, Matthew Mitchell, who seeks only one thing: revenge. The recording shows Matthew breaking into Eminem’s mansion and then his corpse slumping out of his car having met Eminem’s alter ego Slim Shady. The video is undoubtedly genius as for many of us it is not simply a gripping tale: it is a reminder that we have grown with Eminem throughout his lengthy career, his many struggles and as fans are part of the problem and simultaneously the solution.
In 2001, Eminem took to the stage with a chainsaw, a Friday 13th hockey mask and dungarees. Thirteen years later, he sports a Union Jack hockey mask, teasing us with hints of twisted adolescence, despite his more recent maturity. His impressive 35 track set list fuses together splendidly, offering the style of a mix tape which complements the back- projected boom box. Tracks such as Survival and the Beastie Boys- esque Berzerk fill the stadium with old- school rock and hip- hop, whilst his performance of Rap God really does exemplify his supersonic articulacy, even during a live performance. Tracks such as Square Dance and Business seem to demonstrate a still present silliness to Eminem, whilst songs such as Just Don’t Give A Fuck , Kill You, White America, Mosh, Criminal and The Way I Am are filled with such anger and venom that it is clear that these songs have lost no meaning to Eminem, nor his audience, despite many of the tracks being over a decade old. Observing the crowd, the rapper pauses and seems to revel in the sea of faces surrounding him, before saying earnestly “Hold on, let me take a minute to look at this God damn crowd, holy shit! This is why I love London. Ya’ll so angry!” Naturally, the crowd goes wild, confirming this to be true.
Towards the end of the night, Eminem’s hype- man Mr. Porter, or Mr. ‘Motherfucking’ Porter, as he insisted, suggested taking a trip back to when Eminem used to do some “fucked up shit”. Playfully, Eminem seems to agree as he addresses the audience once again and asks “I see a lot of people who appear to be fucking wasted- how many people are fucking wasted?” Much of the crowd cheers. “And how many people are just fucked up mentally?” The entire stadium roars. This is, after all, why we identify so much with Eminem: he does not judge, he only praises, for he is as flawed and insecure as every one of us. The rapper then delves into The Real Slim Shady and My Name Is, the latter of which is an anthem for thousands of adolescents. It is, ultimately, a song that unites the outraged and bitter masses regardless of race, gender or class. Both tracks are pleasingly frivolous and acidic, yet still satisfies those in the audience who are more fans of his hits rather than other songs on the album. Catering to everyone present, these tracks fit right in with The Monster and Love The Way You Lie, despite being drastically different. Some fans may have been disappointed that Rihanna was not there despite much speculation from the public, but his surprise guest Dr. Dre was more than enough to make up for it and made more sense given the iconic significance of the event. Performing Next Episode, Still Dre, Nuthin’ But A G Thang and Forgot About Dre, the crowd goes wild and Dre, as humble as ever, looks truly touched by the positive reception from the 90, 000 strong crowd.
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Finishing with I’m Not Afraid and an encore of Lose Yourself, the crowd is left with an overwhelming feeling of energy, unity and positivity, a feeling that perhaps many of Eminem’s critics would not expect.
