Photo: WENN
Eminem is a man without need for an introduction. So I won’t bother.
Last night, Marshall Mathers became the first hip hop artist to ever headline the prestigious Wembley Stadium, a venue normally reserved for the pinnacle of rock acts. He was preceded by Danny Brown and Odd Future, both of whom could have benefited from upping the volume dial slightly, as is often the case in such huge venues. Neither did themselves any harm though, Danny Brown in particular will have left London with a fresh new following in the UK. Such was the nature and prestige of the show, people had travelled from up and down the UK to be there.
The scene was well and truly set for Eminem to take to the stage at approximately 9.30pm - a short film gave us a brief outline of the troubles and turmoil lingering around Eminem’s past, focusing on the controversy of his early releases and his battle with addiction, before he took to the stage and showed everyone how far he’d come since those darker days. He opened with ‘Bad Guy’, the first track on his latest LP, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (MMLP2), and barely paused for breath throughout the opening, steaming through tracks such as ‘Won’t Back Down’ and ‘3am’.
The set moved at a relentless pace, with tracks being plucked from every point in Eminem’s expansive discography, without an excessive focus on the MMLP2, to the relief of some. Speculation of potential guest appearances had been rife in the build up to the show, and it was legendary producer Dr. Dre who took to the stage about mid way through the set. He spit his way through ‘Still Dre’, ‘Nuthin But A G Thang’ and ‘Forget About Dre’, before modestly stepping off the stage with a big grin on his face.
‘Love The Way You Lie’ was dedicated to the ladies of London, whilst ‘Not Afraid’ was aimed at anyone there battling addiction, before a medley of classics, (‘My Name Is’, ‘The Real Slim Shady’, ‘Without Me’), started to bring the night to a close. Taken from a time “When I use to get fucked up”, in the words of the rap great.
There were a few down points to the performance; Mathers prowls across the stage and raps with such squeaky clean precision that he can, at times, appear cold and mechanical, without any real emotional involvement in the performance. Although that is, in a way, criticising him for rapping too well. Also, I can’t have been the only one hoping for a rendition of ‘Guilty Conscience’ upon seeing Dre and Eminem rapping side by side, but that was their choice to make.
One of the greatest rappers there will ever be concludes his two nights in London tonight (12 July). It will undoubtedly be another display of ruthless rap efficiency which will leave the sell out Wembley crowd slack-jawed and mesmerized.
Eminem played:
'Bad Guy'
'Square Dance'
'Won't Back Down'
'3AM'
'Business'
'Kill You'
'White America'
'Mosh'
'Evil Deeds'
'Rap God'
'Marshall Mathers'
'Don't Give A Fuck'
'Still Don't Give A Fuck'
'Criminal'
'The Way I Am'
'Dead Wrong'
'The Next Episode'
'Still Dre'
'Nuthin' But A G Thang'
'Forgot About Dre'
'Love The Way You Lie'
'Stan'
'Sing For The Moment'
'Like Toy Soldiers'
'Forever'
'Berzerk'
'Survival'
''Till I Collapse'
'Cinderella Man'
'The Monster'
'My Name Is'
'The Real Slim Shady'
'Without Me'
'Not Afraid'
'Lose Yourself'
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