Eminem gave his fans a mix of old and new during his appearance on Saturday Night Live Nov. 18. The Detroit rapper delivered a must-see performance as musical guest during the Chance The Rapper-hosted show.
While some were hoping Em would bring out his song mate, Beyoncé for the performance of his latest single, "Walk on Water," the rapper instead enlisted Skylar Grey, the new song's co-producer, to accompany him onstage behind a piano and carry the chorus. Mature and introspective, the 20-year vet displayed a rare glimpse of vulnerability as he rapped about his pressure to be perfect and his fall from prominence in the game.
The SNL audience got an extra surprise when Eminem and Grey then dove into a mini-medley of the rapper's old hits, including 2000's "Stan" and 2010's "Love The Way You Lie." Once again, Grey handled the vocals, usually sung by Dido and Rihanna respectively, while Em delivered lyrics in his signature attack-dog style.
While the show's musical guests traditionally perform twice during the program, Eminem and Grey only appeared on stage once.
This isn't the first time Eminem has graced Studio 8H. The diamond-selling MC made his first appearance on SNL back in 1999 alongside Dr. Dre for a rendition of "Forgot About Dre." This marked Eminem's seventh time performing on the comedy show.
Eminem has been stealthily promoting his forthcoming album Revival for the last few weeks. Although the LP was expected to drop on Friday, Nov. 17, this latest SNL gig is definitely a sign that more new music is on the way.
Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
