By Ezra Marcus
Eminem will always have a soft spot in his heart for the little guy.
His latest video for his 2014 single with Sia, “Guts Over Fear,” depicts a day in the life of a maudlin late-career Eminem protagonist—working class, struggling with anger issues, trying to do right.
Related: Stream & Download Shady Records’ Expansive ‘Shady Classics’ Mixtape
Our hero is a waiter by day and a local boxer by night. We see him filing for welfare and arguing with his pregnant girlfriend and fighting with his landlord. He has a drinking problem, and his life seems caught in an endless loop of struggle.
He hits rock bottom when an accident at work costs him his job. He ends up back in the ring, taking out his frustration on his opponents.
Typical of the emotional milieu of Eminem’s particular brand of blue-collar sentimentality, he successfully channels his anger into success in the ring—the video ends with him on TV, heading into a new boxing match. Essentially, it’s 8 Mile.
Eminem’s Shady Records career retrospective Shady XV, which features “Guts Over Fear” alongside a myriad of other Shady recording artists, is in stores now.
Read more on Radio.com
- P!nk Calls VMAs ‘Gross and Embarrassing’
- One Direction’s ‘Drag Me Down’ Ousted As Spotify Streaming Record Holder
- Vince Staples Wants Miley Cyrus to Apologize to Kendrick Lamar
- Miley Cyrus’ Producer Oren Yoel Discusses ‘Dead Petz’ and Madonna Comparisons
- Keith Richards: Metallica, Black Sabbath Jokes, Hip Hop for the Tone Deaf
