After topping the charts with their 2010 hit "Love the Way You Lie," Eminem and Rihanna reunite in his career-spanning video for their latest hit "The Monster," the second official single off rapper's eighth studio album "The Marshall Mathers LP 2." Directed by filmmaker Rich Lee, the clip sees the 41-year-old rapper reflecting on his career and life, recreating scenes from iconic moments in his career including the videos for "My Name Is," "Lose Yourself," and "The Way I Am." Solid visual for a solid song.
We hear Eminem attacking his internal demons on his verses whilst Rihanna embraces her inner monster on the hook. The Folk-flavored, EDM-amplified production was supplied by New York-born DJ and producer Frequency. Eminem said that it wasn't just Rihanna's vocal gifts that persuaded him to link up with her again. "The perception of the record, what it's saying, I thought it would be a good idea to have her on it because I think people look at us like we're both a little nuts," he told MTV News' Sway. "That's one of the things that I was telling her in making the record: I think that people look at us a little crazy."
We hear Eminem attacking his internal demons on his verses whilst Rihanna embraces her inner monster on the hook. The Folk-flavored, EDM-amplified production was supplied by New York-born DJ and producer Frequency. Eminem said that it wasn't just Rihanna's vocal gifts that persuaded him to link up with her again. "The perception of the record, what it's saying, I thought it would be a good idea to have her on it because I think people look at us like we're both a little nuts," he told MTV News' Sway. "That's one of the things that I was telling her in making the record: I think that people look at us a little crazy."
The song, a career highlight and a personal rhyme about his history, focuses on Eminem's ongoing struggles with fame, and his desire to live a normal life. "It was this thing where I want this attention for this music, but then I want to be able to go in public, and I want to be able to eat a f***ing sandwich and be left alone," Eminem admitted during an interview with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. "I've never been an attention seeker, and [rap] seems like a hell of a career choice [for me], but... that's not why I do it, just to get attention. I don't like to go in public and walk around and be like 'Here I am.' It's not what I want."
The promo opens with Eminem sitting in a therapist office as Rihanna - complete with cropped black hair - plays his therapist as she scribbles notes on a pad. A TV nearby plays retro Eminem clips on a loop as Marshall Mathers, the man, appears to slip into a state of hypnosis. Down the rabbit hole he goes or more accurately a free-falling elevator shaft. As he tumbles, visions of Dr. Dre, 8 Mile, Elton John and several iconic moments from his career flutter by. In the end, Eminem comes face-to-face with his formerly drug-addicted self, choosing to turn around and walk the other way.
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