Marshall and RihRih team up again for new track whose pop bounce belies the introspective verses.
The first time Eminem and Rihanna hooked up, they drove fans nuts with their #1 record, “Love the Way You Lie.” On Monday (October 28), the hitmakers clocked in another duet that’s sounds sure to drive fans crazy.
“The Monster” begins with acoustic guitar plucks and an on-the-money hook from Rih. “I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed/ Get along with the voices inside of my head/ You trying to save me, stop holding your breath,” she sings on the track, which debuted on Shade 45 this afternoon. “And you think I’m crazy, well that’s nothing.”
The pop-bounce of Em’s new The Marshall Mathers LP 2 single may be a little different from what fans are used to hearing from the Detroit rapper, but the subject matter isn’t. Once again, Marshall finds himself coming to grips with the fame that he’s accumulated since he dropped his major label debut, The Slim Shady LP, in 1999.
Fourteen years later, the superstar MC still hasn’t gotten used to it all. “I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek/ Oh well, guess beggers can’t be choosy,” Em says, kicking off his first verse with a reference to his October 2000 magazine cover.
As much as Em battles with the world around him, he acknowledges the beast within on the song. He also throws a nod to unsung 1980s hip-hop heroes Ultramagentic MCs. “Kooky as Kool Keith,” he says, shouting out the group’s standout member and noted rap weirdo.
Em raps that he hopes to one day lead a normal life, but dismisses the notion in the same breath: “Call me crazy/ But I had this vision that one day I’ll walk amongst regular civilians.
The track ends with no lyrical resolution, but builds to a grand musical finale. As the tension gets thick, the song’s pulsating drum beats faster and harder as Rihanna sings at a heightened pitch and Em helps with background vocals.
“The Monster” stands out from of all the other previously released MMLP2 tracks and ultimately serves a different purpose. While “Berzerk” and “Rap God” speak directly to his rap audience, this new track shows the album’s true pop potential.
