Eminem stepped out Thursday in a rare public appearance to honor his friend and fellow rapper 50 Cent as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Stepping up to the podium in front of the W Hotel near the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street during the ceremony, Slim Shady paid tribute to 50 and his career in a speech. The outing marked the first time the rapper has been photographed in public in more than a year.
“Out of all the things that I don’t remember about 2002, I have a very clear memory of the first time I met Fifty,” Eminem said, according to E! News. “I think one of the things I noticed when he first walked into the room was his presence, right, because it just kinda felt like he’s gonna be a star, like just the way he carried himself, swagger, everything. It just seemed like he was the whole package. What’s crazy about it to me is the charisma and the personality matched the intensity of his music and that first album is so classic.”
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The rapper went on to recall that he was “so excited” when he first met 50 that he “started rapping all his songs to him and I didn’t really let him talk.”
“I kinda was trying to show him how into him I was,” he joked. “But I think I might have probably overdid it.”
Eminem went on to recall how his friend and producer Dr. Dre, who was also in attendance on Thursday, was also impressed by 50.
“I knew that the dude sitting in front of me sitting across from me was just different. It just seemed like, I don’t know man, something, just something about him just drew you in and I think Dre and me knew that…if it worked on us, that it was gonna work on the rest of the world,” he said. “I’m glad we trusted our instincts.”
While Eminem said that he was taking the podium because his fellow rapper is a business partner, he also said he was honoring 50 he is “is one of the best friends I’ve known in the world.”
“I would say it’s much more fun to be his friend than it is to be his enemy, ’cause this guy is f–ing relentless. And he won’t stop,” he said, referencing the rapper’s many feuds, which he has vowed to end. “And the same way that he’s relentless in his battles, he’s also relentless in his business. He’s an artist, an entrepreneur, an actor, a director, a producer, he can juggle, he’s great at Scrabble. He pretty much does it all, and he’s also helped me through a lot of hard times in my own life and he’s always been there when I need him.”
While 50 Cent was busy receiving the major honor, Eminem has also been busy with his own career. Earlier this month, he released his newest album, Music to Be Murdered By.
