Eminem Changes Direction on ‘Not Afraid’

Eminem is officially back and the rumors are true: He's spitting really hard. Em's first single off the much-anticipated 'Recovery,' entitled 'Not Afraid,' premiered this morning (April 29) during Angela Yee's Shade 45 radio show. It has since been blowing up the Internet. The Boi-1da-produced song finds Em retreating from the goofy rhymes featured on last year's 'Relapse' in favor of some dense lyricism and introspective emotional honesty.

"To the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back," he raps. "I promise to never go back on that promise/ In fact, let's be honest/ That last 'Relapse' CD was 'eh'/ Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground/ Relax, I ain't goin' back to that now."

The focus of the track seems to be that Eminem is now ready to control his own destiny. He admits that he went off the range for a few years, but now he's ready to embrace the power of being a beloved artist that has sold more records than anyone during the past decade. You can tell Em is serious because of how different 'Not Afraid' is compared to past lead singles, which tended to be funny, pop culture-orientated party tracks. Over a simple yet regal beat, Shady leaves the wacky voices in the past to create something more in line with a serious, sober artist ready to tackle a new era of success.

Head over to Rap Radar for a download of 'Not Afraid' and some interview snippets.