Eminem is one of the most impressive rappers around, and arguably one of the best of his generation. He has an incredibly unique style, that’s incredibly technical, rhythmic, and specific to him, spitting them so fast that you can’t help but be a little impressed, even if you don’t listen to him on the regular.
However, even creative geniuses find their inspiration somewhere. And Eminem isn’t any different. Although it can sometimes be easy to overlook, Eminem has actually sampled quite a few classic rock songs throughout his discography. All kinds of artists from Queen to Aerosmith have made appearances in Eminem’s music.
Sometimes the samples are subtle, whereas other times they stand out as a part of the picture of the work. Regardless, it’s fun when artists find inspiration in one another and play off each other. So, here are five of those times that Eminem chose to do just that.
5 classic rock samples in Eminem songs:
‘Till I Collapse’ samples ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen
This is one of the more subtle samples, especially as the main melody and hook differ from the original song. The part that gets the sample, however, are the iconic claps that you can recognise anywhere if you listen closely.
The song itself is pretty standard for him, which makes it all the more impressive that he snuck the sample in there and used it so creatively. By the looks of it, Eminem is something of a Queen fan.
‘Rock Bottom’ samples ‘Summertime’ by Janis Joplin
This is a song in which you can hear the sample a little clearer than you could in ‘Till I Collapse’. The melody at the beginning samples the song, and you can hear it clearly as he starts off the opening lines. When the beat drops and he goes into the verse, it’s a little harder to tell, though.
Again, this song shows that Eminem is a master of utilising the samples that he wants in creative and subtle ways, which is no doubt pretty impressive, especially when it comes to crossing genres.
‘Rhyme or Reason’ samples ‘Time of the Season’ by The Zombies
This song is one of Eminem’s most intense in terms of rapping, and it also happens to be one of the songs that shows off the sample he uses the best. The instrumental track behind his rapping is nearly identical to the instrumental of the song.
It is interesting to note how much he changes up the mood of the track just by adding vastly different vocals. Although it’s easy to spot the sample, the songs couldn’t be more different from one another.
‘Beautiful’ samples ‘Reaching Out’ by Queen and Paul Rodgers
Like I mentioned before, Eminem is apparently quite the fan of Queen. This track also lets you into the world of the sample pretty easily, starting off strong with an intro that uses ‘Reaching Out’ as its main focal point before he starts rapping on the first verse.
Considering the tone of the song, the sample he used is quite fitting. Again, those who don’t know the original might not catch it as a sample, but if you do, you literally can’t miss it.
‘Sing for the Moment’ samples ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith
Probably one of the most iconic samples you could think to use for a rap song. The melody opens the song with the iconic guitar part, and carries the instrumentation throughout the song. Although it might not strike anybody as the perfect choice for a rap song, it actually works incredibly well, and made for one of Eminem’s best tracks.
Of course, they had to stick a rap beat over the melody in order to carry his flow, but it all meshes together extraordinarily well. It’s enough to make one think that maybe more rappers should think about using classic rock samples in their music.
