Eminem quiet on details of next tour
Less than a week before the start of his "Home and Home" tour series with Jay-Z, Eminem is staying tight-lipped about his plans for the stadium shows, which commence next Thursday and Friday at Detroit's Comerica Park before switching to New York's Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13-14.
Less than a week before the start of his "Home and Home" tour series with Jay-Z, Eminem is staying tight-lipped about his plans for the stadium shows, which commence next Thursday and Friday at Detroit's Comerica Park before switching to New York's Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13-14.
"I don't want to get into it too much," Eminem told Billboard.com. "I don't want to give anything away. But . . . I think it'll be good."
He does, however, allow that his song selection "will probably be all over the place" rather than concentrating on "Recovery," his double-platinum latest album that's still sitting atop the Billboard 200.
Eminem - who will perform with a nine-piece band that includes hype man Denaun Porter of D12, DJ Alchemist and "Lose Yourself" co-writer Luis Resto on keyboards - added that he "won't even allude to" possible guest appearances at the show, even though rumors have everyone from Rihanna, his duet partner on the current Hot 100 No. 1 "Love the Way You Lie," to Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Drake making the scene in some way or another at the shows.
Nor would he say if he and Jay-Z are planning to do anything together, although he promises there won't be any kind of battle attitude between them. "Nah, I don't think it'll be anything like a competition," Eminem said.
Eminem is also slated to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12 in Los Angeles and has another concert lined up for the Epicenter Festival on Sept. 25 in Fontana, Calif. Plans for other shows and even a tour, however, remain up in the air. "I'm taking everything as it comes . . . a step at a time and seeing what the next thing's going to be," Eminem explained.
It has been determined, however, that "Recovery's" next single will be "No Love," his Just Blaze-produced collaboration with Lil Wayne. "I did a song with Wayne called 'Drop the World' for his ['Rebirth'] album," Eminem noted, "and we had just agreed to do an even swap, so I wanted him on my album. I kind of waited, and when Just Blaze had finished that beat, we jumped on it."
Even though "Recovery" is continuing its dominance with no signs of letting up (it's been No. 1 for seven nonconsecutive weeks), Eminem is also looking toward his next recording project. Though he said there are 25-30 tracks he completed besides the 17 that made the album, Eminem is also "in the studio probably about five days a week. I'm always working. I don't have any plans as far as when I would put another album out or anything like that. I just make music and always like to write just to stay mentally on my game."
He also said he would "definitely like to get back into" acting eight years after his star turn in "8 Mile." Though producers of the new ABC police drama "Detroit 1-8-7" have made some public overtures toward him, there are no commitments to anything yet.
"As busy as I am with the music and recording albums and things like that, I've kind of taken an obviously long break from" acting, he said. "If there's a role, something that actually hits me, . . . then I'll do it. But I haven't had any scripts or anything sent my way that feel like that yet."
Eminem, Porter and Alchemist were judges for the final round of the Red Bull EmSee: The Road to 8 Mile national rap competition, held Thursday night at Detroit's St. Andrews Hall. The winner, an 18-year-old Detroit MC named FowL, will get the chance to record with at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica, Calif., with "a headlining producer" who has not been specified.