Lyrical Lemonade released Marshall’s most recent track on its first compilation album. The track was short, but it made everybody talk. What is the story behind it?
Cole Bennett had a conversation with an online reviewer, Anthony Fantano, about the album and Eminem’s contribution in particular. Talking about the Juice WRLD’s posthumous collaboration with Cordae, “Doomsday”, released a single ahead of the album, Cole explained the choice of a beat for a track extracted from Marshall’s “Role Model”:
That’s actually one of Juice’s favourite Eminem songs. He actually freestyled on that for an hour long. That’s the instrumentals he would often freestyle on. One of his favourites and one of Cordae’s favourites. An iconic Eminem beat right there, Dr. Dre produced it. It’s special.
So, how did it happen that Marshall’s verse on the same beat was released separately under the “Doomsday pt. 2” title? This is Cole’s story:
We flipped the original beat, and I sent it to Em a long, long time ago. I didn’t know if he was ever gonna do anything on it or not. As the album was approaching and we were trying to turn things in, it came in. I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t as collaborative a thing as other songs. Here’s the flip of his song, it’s the continuation of the original Doomsday, which is the flip of his original song to begin with, “Role Model”. I’ve really enjoyed some of the delivery and how it came. The Benzino thing to me is something I heard the same way as everybody else did. It was what he sent in and what was going on in that department. It has, obviously, nothing to do with me. But I think it created a dialogue. They have their own history, and it’s where he was at when he made the song. That’s what makes it special in its own way. That’s what he was feeling on that day. When he approached that song, Benzino was on his mind, I guess. To work with Em is one of the highest honours. To have him as part of this project, having him on this track, is nothing short of a childhood dream. I’m just thankful he could be part of it.
It is not entirely clear why Em’s part was isolated – because he sent it in too late or because it was too out of sync with what Juice WRLD and Cordae did on their verses. One way or another, it didn’t fit into the joint. But nobody is ready to throw away Marshall’s track when they have it ready and cleared on their hands. So, of course, Cole Bennett released it, even as a standalone number. Now, it is one of the most streamed songs on the album and the one that sparked the most discussion around, having triggered Benzino to a loud and hectic response.
Watch below:
