No Kim Kardashian barbs here. With “Not Afraid,” Eminem seems to have finally recognized that his fans don’t need a middling, starlet-bashing lead single from their favorite rapper. The “Recovery” campaign instead begins with a vivid kiss-off whose bloodlines easily trace back to “Lose Yourself,” Em’s Academy Award-winning “8 Mile” anthem. This time, the Detroit MC fully sings the motivational lyrics, and surprisingly well. “We’ll walk this road together, through the storm/ Whatever weather, cold or warm,” he belts over rolling snares and cinematic strings, supplied by in-demand producer Boi-1da. His rhyming virtuosic as ever, Eminem makes his first verse the most lithe, his second the most self-critical and the third the most personal. While “Not Afraid” is somewhat burdened by singalong clichés, its revenge-of-the-downtrodden sentiment is a powerful one that should effectively unite all Eminem Stans-and there are many.
