With Revival, Eminem has managed to make the 20-year mark as an MC. His first project was 1997’s Infinite, a relatively unheralded lyrical exercise that flew under the radar. Nothing about his career has been unsung since, as he’s sold millions of albums and been a cornerstone of hip-hop since dropping his Slim Shady LP in 1999. Few other MCs have had his longevity, especially in terms of being top tier stars for the whole time. Jay-Z is a prominent example, and one that Eminem told Vulture that he looks to for motivation.
“It’s cool that a younger generation can look to me and Jay and say, ‘holy s*it, a career doesn’t have to be a five-year run,’” he told the outlet. “I know I look at Jay to see what he’s passionate about. I’m right there when he puts out something new. I want to see where he’s at, then I use it to see where I’m at.”
Perhaps that’s why Revival came out in the same year that Jay-Z dropped 4:44, and covers similar ground as far as fatherhood, and our tumultuous political climate.
Eminem also spoke heavily on Trump in the interview, noting that he thought Trump may be a welcome radical to the political arena before he called Mexicans racists and thieves. He dislikes Trump for making it “acceptable for the white man to feel oppressed,” and laments that “this is a guy who was born rich, who says he got a small loan from his father of a million dollars. Where I come from, a small loan is five f*cking bucks.“
As much as he hates Trump though, he says he feels a tinge of sympathy for his supporters:
Trump had me so mad with all his bullshit that I was thinking, I hope everybody who voted for him gets f*cked and learns a lesson. But that was wrong. I don’t want any voters to get f*cked; everyone’s trying to improve their lives. I just feel mad that Trump’s sold people a dream that’s never coming true. I want the division in this country to stop.
Hopefully, that division will weaken as more prominent people like him speak up on systemic racism like he did on Revival, specifically “Untouchable.”
