Some 60,000 fans crammed to catch Detroit rap titan tear through headlining Saturday set with help from Bruno Mars, Royce Da 5'9."

CHICAGO — Some of the biggest names in hip-hop have played Lollapalooza over the years, from Snoop Dogg to Kanye West, Common and the Roots. But when Eminem took the stage on Saturday to close out the second night of this year's festival, it literally felt like everybody in the house was trying to cram into the sprawling South field to catch a glimpse of the reclusive rap superstar.

With 90,000 in attendance on a steamy, muddy day, it looked like at least 60,000 or more of those bodies were packed in as far as the eye could see to get a glimpse of Em's Lolla debut. And he didn't let them down during a hit-stuffed 90-minute set that touched on every era of his decade-plus career. He had some help, of course, in the form of Bad Meets Evil cohort Royce Da 5'9," hook-mistress Skylar Grey and surprise guest Bruno Mars.


With a blockbuster movie-like fanfare fit for a king and a shout of "I'm back y'all," a super jacked Eminem took the stage in black cargo shorts, a white T-shirt and black hoodie, bouncing on his feet like a boxer ready to pounce. Feeling the massive crowd's energy, he charged into "Won't Back Down," as apocalyptic video of nuclear explosions filled the massive screen behind him.

In keeping with the series of big festival shows he's been playing this year in place of a proper tour, the rapper put his catalog on shuffle, playing bits and pieces of songs like "3 A.M.," whose low-end retained that chest-thumping, ominous Dr. Dre rumble, even in short form.

Nimble and focused, Marshall Mathers crisscrossed the stage and played off hype man Mr. Porter during "Square Dance," with each man weaving seamlessly in and out of each other's lines. Like most of the tunes, the rubber-band snap "Kill You" had the crowd singing along to the murderous chorus gleefully before the tune ended abruptly with a startling shotgun blast.

With a giant heart beating on the screen, Em raised hopes that Lil Wayne might drop in for the doomy keyboard and rapid-fire rhymes of the Recovery track "No Love," but with road dog Weezy busy rocking his own crowds, like so many of Shady's illustrious musical kin, the Young Money millionaire was there in spirit only.

The years haven't dulled the edge of the parental strife story "Cleanin' Out My Closet." But when it came to "The Way I Am," the tune had an even sharper edge, with the minor key backing track sounding more sinister, along with a sharper bite in Shady's no-apologies delivery.

The rapper quickly changed into a Bad Meets Evil T-shirt for a hookup on the low-rider anthem "Fast Lane" with partner Royce, but nobody was expecting what came next. In typical Lolla fashion, rumors of a major guest star ran amok all day, with whisperers whispering that Em's rap consigliore, Dr. Dre, might make a surprise appearance.

But it was Mars who waltzed out strumming guitar to croon the chorus on Shady's latest hit, "Lighters." The crowd did their part by holding up their Bics, cameras and phones to create a glowing, waving sea of light, as Mars brought a feathery pop sheen to the harder-edge, lightning-quick interplay between Em and Royce.

Alas, there was also no Hayley Williams when the first strains of B.o.B.'s "Airplanes, Pt. II" rolled around, with a backup singer handling the chorus instead of the Paramore singer. And though Dido was there on tape only for the still-spooky stalker tale "Stan," Em upped the drama by delivering the voice of his obsessed fan in a soft, creepy near-whisper.

With bits of Aerosmith, massive arm-waving choruses and a seductively detached persona, Eminem proved that he belongs on the stage at Lollapalooza alongside the illustrious group of rock legends that have graced it in the past. Especially since he held the rapping-along-to-every-verse crowd in the palm of his hand, even as he mocked them for getting wasted to his sobriety-celebrating Recovery album.

Aware of how important true friends are, Em also paid tribute along the way to his best pal, Proof, as well as hip-hop hook king Nate Dogg with a run through "'Till I Collapse."

For a man known to sometimes say unkind, murderous things about females, Eminem had no complaints from the very attentive women in the house when he dedicated "Love the Way You Lie" to all the ladies who've been in dysfunctional relationships. In fact, the camera frequently zoomed in on sweat-soaked, moon-eyed girls right up front who were happy to help fill in for a missing Rihanna on the chorus.

Since she was already in the area after performing an intense, cathartic solo set earlier in the day on a side stage, it was no surprise that Skylar Grey came out to sing her angelic chorus on "I Need a Doctor."

Em then brought it home with a flurry of hits, ending the set with a quick run through "My Name Is," "The Real Slim Shady," "Without Me" and "Not Afraid." By the time the lights went down after a heated "Lose Yourself," there was no doubt that Eminem came, saw and conquered his Lollapalooza debut. 

Eminem has bought a track written and recorded by UK rapper Skepta so he can release it himself.

The rapper's label Interscope obtained the rights to Skepta's new single 'Dare To Dream' and will re-record it for an upcoming release.

Interscope executive Jimmy Lovine heard the song when it surfaced online last month and reportedly immediately prompted YouTube to remove Skepta's version.

Speaking on Twitter, Skepta explained: "Just got a f*%king CRAZY email. I don't know if I should be angry or privileged. This explains why the f*%k YouTube took 'Dare To Dream' off (sic)."

He added: "Jimmy Iovine Interscope heard my new single 'Dare To Dream' and decided he wanted to sign it for Eminem hence Universal takin it off YouTube.

"I overly love the song but at the same time I do understand Eminem together with the 'Dare To Dream' chorus will be absolutely f*%king CRAZY."

Eminem recently became the first artist in US history to sell over one million digital copies of a single album with his 2010 release Recovery.

 

 

Songs from Eminem's last night perfomance at the 20th Annual Lollapalooza Festival in Grant Park, Chicago.

Although Eminem’s Recovery has been in stores for over a year, it continues to break records. Today, it was announced the album becomes the first recording to surpass a million digital sales. Congrats! Says Interscope Vice President, Steve Berman:

“Recovery selling one million digital albums is an incredible achievement by an incredible artist. I have had the pleasure of working with Eminem throughout the course of his career, and I’m delighted to be a part of yet another milestone on his amazing journey.”

Says Paul Rosenberg:

“We are thrilled to congratulate Eminem on the history-making digital sales success of Recovery. Over the years we’ve made a concerted effort to engage Em’s online fan base so this achievement is especially rewarding. Eminem made an amazing album with Recovery and the fans responded in record numbers.”

During the summer of 1998, a then teen-aged Noah Callahan-Bever, Complex's future editor-in-chief, witnessed the creation of Eminem & Royce Da 5'9"'s underground classic Bad Meets Evil. Nearly 15 years later the trio sat back down to talk about the good old days and where BME goes from here.

Story & Photography by Noah Callahan-Bever (@N_C_B)

“Y'all play ‘Corners’ in New York?”

When he said it, I had no idea what Eminem was talking about. However, I figured it out pretty fucking fast when, immediately afterwards, he threw his forearm into my back, introducing my chest and face quite abruptly to, yes, the corner of the elevator. Never a spoilsport, my 19 year-old self quickly returned the favor, throwing Em into Royce, who was catching his balance having just ‘cornered’ Skam, the elevator’s fourth occupant. Straight out of the WWF playbook the two of them then dove back at me together and all three of us collapsed into the wall, sending the car swinging wildly and bouncing around the sides of the elevator shaft. Instantly an alarm rang and the elevator, now in between the 23rd and 24th floors of this Time Square Double Tree hotel, stopped abruptly.

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Eminem and Royce teamed up with Converse for a special limited edition of Bad Meets Evil Chuck Taylors. The sneakers will be available at Boston and New York locations. A portion of the proceeds will also go to charity.

Eminem & Royce Da 5 9 were live on Youtube earlier and during the live stream they mainly joked around! They just answered a few questions, but it was cool to see them Live, anyway!

Intro Won't Back Down and 3 AM Square Dance

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After a little more than an hour of a hard-as-nails set that had the bikini-clad rumps shaking at Bonnaroo, Eminem thanked the crowd and left the stage.

Nearly 80,000 fans chanted “Shady! Shady! Shady!” in a thunderous roar for five minutes until hip hop’s angry king returned to the stage for a triumphant encore of “Lose Yourself,” capping the day rap took over Bonnaroo.
 

Saturday kicked off with Big Boi and Lil Wayne laying down early morning sets — inexplicably overlapping — shortly after Arcade Fire’s Friday night finale, and the takeover continued with Wiz Khalifa on the big stage during a hot afternoon set before Eminem destroyed his Bonnaroo debut.

These weren’t the first rappers at the four-day festival down on the farm in Tennessee. The event is known more for its granola-flavored ethos than its urban cool, but Jay-Z turned in one of the most memorable sets in the festival’s 10-year history in 2010 and expectations were high for Saturday’s takeover — the most concentrated collection of star MCs at Bonnaroo.

Big Boi mixed in his own songs with Outkast favorites. Lil Wayne played it naughty with the crowd and debuted tracks from his forthcoming album “Tha Carter IV,” rattling the port-a-potties with a thunderous bass well into the morning.

And Khalifa kept the crowd sky high by preaching the gospel of weed to a willing choir that included a man who wore a “Marijuana Cures Racism” T-shirt, dancers with flowers in their hair and joints in their hands, and girls in bikinis crowd surfing.

The day was full of odd juxtapositions. Khalifa dropped his hit “Black & Yellow” while just a few hundred yards away Mumford & Sons tore through a set of fiery folk rock as fans watched over a nearby fence and from atop ATMs. The sold-out crowd appeared to be evenly split among the two rising stars of their genres.

Later in the evening, a reunited Buffalo Springfield set up Eminem’s show with a fiery rendition of Neil Young’s “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World.” Fans rushed into the festival’s largest compound as Young’s echoing guitar died away, entering another world.
Eminem opened with “Won’t Back Down” and “3 a.m.” and never let up, featuring a mix of hits and new songs from his 2010 return to the top, “Recovery.” “It’s been a minute since I been to the South,” he shouted. “Did y’all miss us?” Eminem was in top form, fast and angry as he stalked the stage in long camouflage shorts and a black t-shirt. He thanked his fans for standing by him before launching into “Not Afraid.” Bonnaroo’s crowd may be a hippie enclave, but you wouldn’t have known it Saturday night as most fans rapped right along with Eminem, brightened the sky with lighters to the Slim Shady and Royce Da 5’9″`s “Lighters” and played along to a naughty call-and-response before “Love the Way You Lie.” (AP / Billboard)

Take an exclusive behind-the-scenes journey with Eminem and Royce da 5’9 as they discuss the making of their long-awaited collaboration as Bad Meets Evil with the upcoming release of the EP Hell: The Sequel. The project fans have waited more than 10 years for will be available June 14, but Shade 45 is the only place to hear Eminem and Royce breaking down the making of each song...