Eminem: a party of epic proportions
It was a show for the ages as 60 000 fans descended on Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday night to see Eminem – real name Marshall Mathers – wrap up his final leg of the Rapture South African tour.
Eminem. Image courtesy of Facebook
The gloomy weather could not dampen the spirits of screaming fans, which surprised the rapper on his first visit to the continent.
Mathers alongside his hype man Mr Porter – real name Denaun Porter – fed off the energy of the crowd starting off the set with material from his earlier albums The Eminem Show and The Marshall Mathers LP. The hip-hop star enlisted a full band alongside DJ Alchemist, who was in fine form. The set took a rock cadence with electric guitars leading for most of the show.
It was a party of epic proportions because attention was not really on rapping along to the songs, but jamming to the rock lines while waiting to join in on the chorus. The crowd in attendance was an interesting mix of the rapper’s fans who bought his first album, The Slim Shady LP, 15 years ago and young fans from the past three years garnered from his pop forays and collaborations with Rihanna and Bruno Mars.
Fans of his Slim Shady LP days tried to roll back the years and keep up with the party-hard ethos of the current crop. Porter enjoyed interacting with the audience while Mathers took a breather. Porter executed very demanding rap manoeuvres which require extreme technical ability.
Mathers also brought out Royce Da 5’9 for the tracks Fast Lane and Lighters which provided a beautiful ambiance as the house lights went out and lighters and cellphones lit up Ellis Park.
There was not a fan, old or new, who left the premises unsatisfied, as songs like Stan, Sing for the Moment, The Real Slim Shady, Monster, My Name Is and the colossal Lose Yourself – which closed off the show – were performed.
The two hours flew by so quickly, leaving the fans thoroughly satisfied but still wanting more.
Days before the concert, newspapers were informed that Eminem does not allow media to photograph his performance on show night, but that the superstar’s management team would supply pictures and video material after the show.
The SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) described the ban as unacceptable censorship.
