Eminem and Rihanna: The Monster Tour

Alexander Volz

The Eminem X Rihanna Monster Tour will be arriving in Pasadena on August 7 and 8. The tour is named after the duo’s song, which appears on Eminem’s latest album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The album was considered by most critics to be his most well-balanced album, combining the Slim Shady shenanigans that he is known for while evolving as a mature artist. MML2 also featured the singles “Berzerk,” “Survival,” and “Rap God,” as well as tracks being produced by Rick Rubin.

“Berzerk” is a great song that sounds like the Beastie Boys or a call back to old school hip-hop and it’s nice to hear Eminem do something more traditional than the pop singles he has been pumping out lately. On previous tours in support of the MML2 album, Eminem has had the likes of Chance The Rapper, Action Bronson, Tyler the Creator & Earl Sweatshirt, and Kendrick Lamar for opening acts.

Eminem has come a long way from doing songs like “97 Bonnie and Clyde” and “Kim,” which are almost unbearable due to the intensity of the lyrics and the dark subject matter. Now his songs are featured in trailers for kids movies. As an artist who has always held his middle finger up to pop culture and what’s pop, Eminem has been able to rack up an insane number of awards and accolades, including an Oscar.

It’s interesting to hear Eminem perform songs with Rihanna like “Monster” and “Love the Way You Lie,” because if Rihanna had been around in the early 2000s she would’ve easily been fodder to Eminem in the same way that he attacked Britney Spears and N’Sync. She is the fastest and youngest artist to achieve 13 number one singles, and she already has a Legacy and Influence section on her Wikipedia page. Like Eminem, Rihanna has an odd way of wanting a private life while also being very public about it in her music, with songs like “S&M,” “We Found Love,” and an album titled Unapologetic, which only makes people think of her on-and-off again relationship with Chris Brown.

Unapologetic was a huge hit and featured the singles “Diamonds,” “Stay,” “Right Now,” and “Jump.” In support of Unapologetic, Rihanna launched the 777 Tour in which she played seven different concerts in seven different countries while traveling on a Boeing 777 twin jet. Monster is a great name for the tour, not in the traditional sense of a scary, terrible entity but more in the Frankenstein sense of a monster, as both performers are a mixture of light and dark, and terribly tortured by fame.

The Monster Tour will invade Pasadena’s Rose Bowl August 7-8.