A week has passed since Eminem took the stage alongside Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium to perform “Renegade”. It is clear that this show will find its place in hip hop history, but even today, journalists, podcasters, and fans are still dissecting the night.
It is not surprising that YouTubers and podcasters who have already given Eminem his flowers spoke very positively about the performance. However, even more interesting was hearing words of acknowledgement ffrom voices that usually have little praise for Marshall.
Joe Budden
The ex-Slaughterhouse MC left Shady Records under a cloud, and he has a bone to pick with Eminem. Calling him a hater would be unfair, as he lets a positive comment about Eminem’s music slip once in a while even if reluctantly. However, this time his reaction was enthusiastic. Recapping Saturday’s show on his podcast, Joe was straightforward.
“Marshall came out, that was great. He’s such a fucking technical mastermind on that stage. During ‘Renegade’, Jay’s mic sounded off. I saw Jay kind of looking like he was struggling with the in-ear a little bit during ‘Renegade’. Bad time for that to happen, with all the stories we’ve gotten about Jay and Marshall on ‘Renegade’. And here comes out Em who can be heard perfectly”.
Budden started rapping Em’s verse himself:
Since I’m in a position to talk to these kids and they listen
I ain’t no politician, but I’ll kick it with ’em a minute
“At Yankee Stadium!”, Joe finished, feigning exaggerated annoyance. “Nah, he gotta chill out! Somebody fucking throw something at him! He gotta relax a little bit!”
Joe’s final verdict was, “They killed that! And they did the same thing where Em is rapping over a Jay beat, and Hov is rapping over his beat. They killed that!”
Rory and Mal
Meanwhile, Joe’s former co-host went on a journey that night that changed his perception of the song.
Initially, Rory resisted the widespread “narrative that Em completely smoked Jay on ‘Renegade’”. He saw this collaboration as a meeting of two equal talents. “Em went crazy, don’t get me wrong”, he said on his own podcast with Mal. “They both showed up with different perspectives. No fucking way I could say that Em washed him”.
Yet, after seeing Eminem perform it live at Jay-Z’s show, Rory changed his mind. “I’m coming in here to apologise”, declared Rory to his audience. “After seeing it live… Nah, Em kinda washed him”.
“Em did not miss a fucking syllable live”, Rory said. “Em is such a good live performer! When you heard those verses live, Em’s hit crazy. He hit every fucking word”.
His co-host, Mal, was less surprised because he already had a high opinion of Em’s skills. Mal pointed to two things: Eminem’s performance and what he does with his rhymes. “Him, Black Thought – when you see them rapping live, and you see their breath control, how they are able to hit every syllable… Just remembering these lines, not stumbling over them!”
Rory was even more impressed by how Marshall continued to rap after his bars were over: “He was helping Jay, he was rapping Jay parts!”
DJ Akademics
DJ Akademiks, another media figure with a massive following, could not deny what he was hearing. However, he brought Drake’s name into this conversation for no good reason while explaining how “Renegade” became a verb in rap debates. While watching clips from Yankee Stadium on X and live streaming his reaction, he gave his audience a quick version of the song’s history.
“Historically, people used to say ‘get renegaded’, which was this idea that the way Eminem cooked on the track he outshined Jay-Z. I kind of beg to differ. I don’t think Jay-Z was that bad on the track compared to Em. I know it’s Em and, obviously, Jay is Jay, but people used to use that as a term. Like ‘Ethered” is a term. Same as ‘renegaded ’, which means you got your track completely stolen. I think at this point we can say ‘Draked’ because when Drake’s on your track he steals the track too”.
After that quick history lesson, Ak revealed why he paid so much attention to the performance so closely: I want to watch how people react to Eminem popping out and do his verse”. After a minute of nodding along, Ak heard what he was looking for: a loud, visceral reaction from the crowd. “Shout out to Eminem man, absolutely shout out to Em”, Akademiks finished.
Benzino
Still, not everyone was ready to give Eminem credit. Benzino provided the most hilarious example. A man who cried because every interviewer had been asking him about Eminem went to find a fan video in which over 45,000 people were singing “Lose Yourself” word for word. And after that, without any prompt, Benzino left a comment denigrating not even Marshall personally, but 45.000 Jay-Z fans: “They all sheep”. At least Benzino is consistent.
Even 25 years later, “Renegade” still provokes strong reactions. Not all of them are positive. But the praise coming from the camp that does not usually support an artist is an occasion worth remembering.