Eminem Fans Praise Rapper for Apology to Rihanna Over Leaked Lyrics Referencing Chris Brown

Eminem apologized to Rihanna in one of the songs from his new album, Music to Get Murdered By – Side B. In “Zeus,” the rapper apologized to his “Love The Way You Lie” collaborator for a leaked track in which he said he sided with Chris Brown. In 2009, Brown was arrested for domestic violence against Rihanna, whom he was dating at the time. Eminem’s fans praised the rapper for his apology.

Last year, a recording featuring Eminem rapping, “Of course I side with Chris Brown, I’d beat a b— down too,” leaked on Reddit. Eminem’s representative later told XXL the recording was over 10 years old and was recorded during the sessions for the 2009 album Relapse. “This is a leak of something that’s over 10 years old,” Eminem’s spokesman, Dennis Dennehy, said in November 2019. “After Eminem recorded it, he scrapped it and rewrote it. Obviously, he and Rihanna have a great relationship.”

In the new track “Zeus,” Eminem took full responsibility for the lyric and apologized. “But, me, long as I re-promise to be honest/And wholeheartedly, apologies, Rihanna,” Eminem rapped, notes E! News. “For that song that leaked, I’m sorry, Ri/It wasn’t meant to cause you grief. Regardless, it was wrong of me.”

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Rihanna and Eminem have worked together frequently over the years, on songs like “Love the Way You Lie,” “Numb” and “The Monster.” They also toured together in 2014. After “The Monster” became a smash hit, Eminem sang Rihanna’s praises in an MTV News interview. “The perception of the record, what it’s saying, I thought it would be a good idea to have her on it because I think people look at us like we’re both a little nuts,” Eminem said in 2013. “That’s one of the things that I was telling her in making the record. I think that people look at us a little crazy. As soon as I got the beat I just heard her on it.”

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Music to Get Murdered By – Side B is the follow-up to Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By, which he also surprisingly released in January. The new album also references the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other events from the past year. The coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement are both mentioned in “These Demons,” notes PEOPLE. “This pandemic got us in a recession/We need to reopen America,” Eminem raps. “Black people dying/They want equal rights/White people want to get haircuts.”

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