Eminem, "Not Afraid"

The video for Eminem’s new song came out over the weekend. The song is good. The rat-a-tat marching band snare seems to be a natural fit, and Em’s rapping sounds more honestly engaged than it has for a long time. The singing? I… don’t know. The melody is catchy, I find myself humming it a lot. But I’m not completely sold on his voice. Like, maybe he should have asked Dido or Stephen Tyler or Martika to hit the high notes for him. Also: he seems so very, very serious right now. His face is so tight. The song is about his recovery from drug addiction, so it makes sense; and, again, it’s good to hear him sounding focused. But here’s hoping his future material finds some room for levity, too.