The Eminem Report Pt 2: A #Rapture2014 review and more

Eminem concluded his tour in the Southern hemisphere last night, with the last stop in the South African leg at Ellis Park Stadium. Playing to a crowd of 60,000 plus people (more people than at the Rugby World Cup final in 1995), he led an enormously impressive display of hip hop showing exactly why he is deserving of the Rap God title.


Sprinting to the front of the stage as the white canvas he stood behind dropped, he busted out 'Survival' and 'Won't Back Down' in quick succession. The show was extremely loud straight out of the gate, up to the point where if you were standing in Golden Circle you'd struggle to find your bearings from where one song ended to where another one began. However eventually after being punched in the face by the sound you acclimatized and fell into the rhythm of the show. The sheer shock of seeing Eminem on South African soil had set in.
Along with Mr Porter (formally Kon Artis from D12) as hypeman, Eminem slaughtered all of his best songs on stage. To keep the older fans happy songs like 'Just Don't Give a F**k', 'Way I Am', 'Kill You' and 'Stan' were welcomed wholeheartedly by those who were old enough to recite them. Eminem specifically reached out to the ladies and sang 'Love the Way you Lie' which was met with some boob flashes here and there on the big screens.

Eminem performing White America

The real winning tracks of the night however were those from The Eminem Show. 'White America' was met with a heart attack causing explosion. 'Square Dance', 'Sing for the Moment', 'Business' and a medley of 'Real Slim Shady/My Name is' that included 'Without Me' brought back the Anger Management Tour days of Eminem. There was enough old and new Eminem to go please every old fan and every new fan. Even at the age of 41, the guy is still doing what he does best.

Crowd participation during 'Lighters'

 Eminem also brought out Royce Da 5'9" to the stage to complete a pair of songs from the Bad vs Evil: The Sequel album, 'Fast Lane' and 'Lighters'. The songs from the more recent. Saving the best for last, Eminem caused some goosebumps by ending the show off with 'Lose Yourself'. Watching 8 Mile earlier in the week made me appreciate that moment even more. Even the smallest of Eminem fans would have been singing along for that.

 The MMLP2 tracks he performed impressed, especially the spray of vocals that compose 'Rap God'. He cut straight to the third verse and performed it until he spits the 97 words in 15 seconds. 'Berzerk' and the more child friendly 'The Monster' were also big hits with the crowd. The Rapture 2014 show was the hottest ticket in South Africa in a very long time. Definitely one of the greatest concerts that has been on these shores.

After the show

What's next for Eminem?

First of all, his next tour will be called The Monster Tour. This tour will consist of himself and Rihanna. They'll be hitting Detroit, New York and L.A. Some in Detroit were getting a bit annoyed with Eminem because he was touring here before they knew of the Monster Tour. They can relax now.

Also, Busta Rhymes is releasing a new album with a track that features Eminem called 'Calm Down'. This is supposedly going to showcase some Rap God speeds. The release date of that is yet to be determined, although with Busta's album launching in July, it can't be too far off from being a single.

The more interesting development is that Bizarre has confirmed that new D12 music is coming. He said, "Getting the guys all together…It’s coming soon. It’ll definitely be a new D12 album coming.”. 

So more music on the way and an American tour to keep his fans at home happy. Eminem isn't slowing down.

Were you at the show? What were your favourite songs? What were your favourite moments?