I am phenomenal
With every ounce of my blood
With every breath in my lungs
Won’t stop until I am phenomenal
Thus begins Eminem’s anthem for the upcoming boxing-film Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
Eminem is certainly no stranger to rousing classics: his discography can safely be divided into the commercial radio-bate and the autobiographic storytelling that he wins his Grammy’s for. We are pleased to announce that this falls into the latter category.
The new single, Phenomenal is a stirring combination of the bravado of Lose Yourself, I’m Not Afraid, The Monster (‘In the waters where nobody else has gone before/ Or willing to go, uncharted, feeling is so/ Bomb, I’m feeling myself, I’m a giant/’) and the emotional depth of Mockingbird, Headlights and Stan. (I write with the left, same hand I hold the mike with/ As I fight to the death, to my last breath/ Managed to prove who the best man is)
Here you go, feel phenomenal yourself:
Eminem’s motivational poetry is perfectly suited to the Mohammad Ali of crowd-pleasing genres: the boxing-drama.
Interestingly, Southpaw was initially set to star Eminem as his grand re-entry to the world of acting after the fantastic 8 Mile, for which he won an Oscar. After he backed out of Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie (he wanted the production to move to Detroit to accommodate his schedule) this role was specifically written for him by Sons of Anarchy’s Kurt Sutter.
The title Southpaw refers to the fact that Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is a lefty, like Marshall. ‘I love that the title refers to Marshall being a lefty, which is to boxing what a white rapper is to hip hop; dangerous, unwanted, and completely unorthodox’, says Sutter.
But the ‘rap god’ chose to focus on his latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, forcing Sutter and director Antoine Fuqua to hire Gyllenhaal, who, make no mistake, is on a roll.
But encouragingly, Eminem didn’t stop contributing to the film. ‘We've assembled a great soundtrack to accompany what's sure to be one of the finest boxing films ever’, said president of Shady Records Paul Rosenberg to Billboard.So could this be the Eye of the Tiger for this generation? The film certainly looks spectacular, and might finally get Gyllenhaal that much deserved golden statue.
Southpaw stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) and written by Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy). It is expected in theatres on July 24.
And here's the trailer for Southpaw,
Eminem’s motivational poetry is perfectly suited to the Mohammad Ali of crowd-pleasing genres: the boxing-drama.
Interestingly, Southpaw was initially set to star Eminem as his grand re-entry to the world of acting after the fantastic 8 Mile, for which he won an Oscar. After he backed out of Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie (he wanted the production to move to Detroit to accommodate his schedule) this role was specifically written for him by Sons of Anarchy’s Kurt Sutter.
The title Southpaw refers to the fact that Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is a lefty, like Marshall. ‘I love that the title refers to Marshall being a lefty, which is to boxing what a white rapper is to hip hop; dangerous, unwanted, and completely unorthodox’, says Sutter.
But the ‘rap god’ chose to focus on his latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, forcing Sutter and director Antoine Fuqua to hire Gyllenhaal, who, make no mistake, is on a roll.
But encouragingly, Eminem didn’t stop contributing to the film. ‘We've assembled a great soundtrack to accompany what's sure to be one of the finest boxing films ever’, said president of Shady Records Paul Rosenberg to Billboard.So could this be the Eye of the Tiger for this generation? The film certainly looks spectacular, and might finally get Gyllenhaal that much deserved golden statue.
Southpaw stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) and written by Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy). It is expected in theatres on July 24.
And here's the trailer for Southpaw,