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Eminem premiered a teaser clip of his new video for “Berzerk,” the Detroit rapper’s first single in two-and-a-half years, on the ESPN broadcast of the Michigan-Notre Dame college football game Saturday night.
Appearing during halftime of the game on the ESPN telecast, Em — real name Marshall Mathers — introduced the clip for the song, which currently sits at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and at No. 1 on the Rap Songs chart following its debut.
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The Rick Rubin-produced tune, which features a marked sample of Billy Squier‘s “The Stroke” and exhibits a back-to-basics approach for the rapper with a guitar-driven beat, continued its old-school vibe with the video. The clip opens with a blue screen reminiscent of that when a VHS tape is paused, the song’s name flashing onscreen. The video features an array of guests — including Kendrick Lamar and Rubin himself — and finds Eminem rapping in a variety of outfits plucked straight out of yesteryear, even rocking a Detroit Pistons jersey, a shout-out to his home base.
However, the talk afterward may not be about the clip itself, but rather Em’s appearance before and after it aired, during an interview with the ESPN telecasters. The rapper appeared disoriented in many shots, chalking it up to being a bit spooked by live TV. Mathers did reveal choice details about the song and album that had already been announced prior to the interview, including MMLP2‘s slant toward its predecessor, a nostalgic revisit to one of the rapper’s more successful records.
“Berzerk” is to become the official song of ESPN’s Saturday Night Football telecast.
The song is from The Marshall Mathers LP 2, the rapper’s eighth studio album, out Nov. 5. The album is being touted as a sequel to 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP.
More from the interview:
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