Eminem has released the first single from his highly anticipated new album featuring Beyonce, “Walk On Water.” Em addresses his current state of mind, the criticism he’s received lately, and his own fallibility as a man on a moody, piano-driven beat with Beyonce providing the chorus, a la Rihanna on “Love The Way You Lie.”
The rollout for Eminem’s new album, Revival, has been so effective in building anticipation that it’s probably a guaranteed hit in a year that’s been full of them. Nearly every major hip-hop artist, from Drake to Jay-Z, has released or is scheduled to release sometime in 2017. However, because this is Eminem, who hasn’t released a major project since 2013’s Marshall Mathers LP 2, the furor surrounding the November 17 release date has been on an entirely different level.
Beginning with “The Storm,” the BET Hip-Hop Awards freestyle that turned the rap world on its ear, the month of October turned into a long, slow reveal of what Em has planned with Revival. The album is rumored to be heavily anti-Donald Trump, as was the freestyle, a fact that’s caused some consternation among Eminem fans; the title was revealed in a cunning fashion, with a website, fake phone number, and intriguingly realistic looking ads all contributing to the metaphor of the project as a prescription pill — the imagery of which has always gone hand-in-hand with Em’s musical content.
With the level of excitement around Eminem’s latest career moves (including the release of another battle rap-themed film with music video director Joseph Khan), it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if and when his new album lives up to its title and revives Eminem’s slumbering rap supremacy. Listen to “Walk On Water” featuring Beyonce below.
