Cornell, a legendary grunge guitar player and vocalist, did not pay attention to genre limitations. So he loved Eminem and passed this love down to his kid.
Commemorating the great musician who would have celebrated his birthday this week, his widow Vicky Cornell and his daughter Toni took over the SiriusXM studio to share with the world some of the songs the Soundgarden frontman loved. “Not Afraid” was on the playlist, and Vicky told a story about the track and how it connected Chris with his young son:
Chris had an eclectic taste. There was no such thing for him as a specific genre. If he felt an artist was great, he listened to their music. It didn’t matter. Chris loved Eminem. He thought he was an amazing artist, and we would play “Not Afraid” in the car, and little Christopher suddenly started singing, and it was his favourite song. So daddy and he would get into the car, and immediately Christopher would be like, “Put on ‘Not Afraid’!”. And he would sing it, and they would sing it together, rap. He was very young, and it was one of those special songs that we played around the house, and he thought he was amazing.
Tragically, Chris Cornell took his own life in 2017 in Michigan. No music was enough to keep him fighting. But for many Eminem fans, “Not Afraid” remains the track that gives them strength and motivation to live.
Watch Eminem — “Not Afraid” (Official Video) below:
