Bark + Bite

Bad Meets Evil see the light at the end of the tunnel in "Lighters" video

"It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine," Biggie reflected on his breakout hit "Juicy."

Rappers often have a habit of reflecting on their humbler, scrappier days in song. Jay-Z, for example, still regularly sprinkles lines about his days as a drug dealer in his music, even though that was nearly 20 years ago. It might seem formulaic, but telling the story of the underdog is kinda what hip hop does best.

Bad Meets Evil, the stage name for the pairing of Royce Da 5'9", honors this tradition by painting the story of their early days in the struggle and transitioning to the light at the end of the tunnel. It's an obvious metaphor for fame and success but the heavy-handedness of the metaphor doesn't take away from the beauty of fulfilling the dream in the least bit.

Watch the video for the Bad Meets Evils song featuring Bruno Mars below

Rihanna and Eminem reunite for "Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)"

It was so good the first time that Rihanna and Eminem decided to do it all over again. Rihanna flips the script this time and takes the lead on part 2 of their collaboration "Love the Way You Lie," which will appear on Rihanna's new album, Loud. This time, Rihanna plays her vocals a lot more delicately, detailing an abusive love that hurts her but delights her at the same time. Eminem steals the show though, with a creative verse that starts out pleasantly but then rapidly turns volatile and unstable.

Contrary to what some people may say, Rihanna isn't glorifying or excusing domestic violence. She's detailing the sick justifications and internal rationalizations that often run through the mind of a woman involved in an abusive relationship. And Rihanna should know, since she admitted to briefly getting back together with Chris Brown after their public spat made international headlines. She could've done a politically correct song wrapped in "girl power," but instead, Rihanna remained true to the gray areas of her life.

Listen to Rihanna and Eminem's take two of their hit song below

Eminem and Rihanna burn the house down in "Love the Way You Lie" video

Love is a crazy thing, and people in love can be an even crazier thing. Eminem and Rihanna tackle domestic violence, an issue that hits home for both artists, in the video for their hit collaboration "Love the Way You Lie." The pairing, which seemed like an odd fit at first, works well, producing one of Eminem's most compelling videos in recent years. Putting away the clown act has truly done wonders for him as a recording artist.

Watch Eminem and Rihanna star in the "Love the Way You Lie" video

Everybody loves Rihaninem

Photo credit: Rapradar.com

What happens when the Rihanna reign joins with the Eminem Empire? Rihaninem Royalty. Rihanna and Eminem's collaboration, "Love the Way You Lie," from Eminem's latest album "Recovery," has shot up the charts with lightning speed to the #1 spot. That makes 7 #1s for Rihanna, if you're counting. The pair got together in L.A. to shoot the video with director Joseph Kahn, who said he was called to do an "emergency" video treatment last week. Above is a shot from the set of the shoot.

See? Eminem CAN get along with a pop tart when he wants to.

Eminem is the new Susan Boyle, sells over 700k

Photo credit: Wireimage

What was that about nobody besides Susan Boyle and Miley Cyrus selling albums, T-Pain? Slim Shady smashed in the building like the Incredible Hulk selling a whopping 741,000 copies of his latest album, "Recovery" last week. In comparison, Miley Cyrus' latest album sold a modest 110,000 copies its debut week, so T-Pain's little theory has been totally fubarred.

And the good news keeps on rolling for Eminem. His collaboration with Rihanna has spread faster than the Swine Flu to debut at No. 1 on the Digital Songs chart with 338,000 downloads sold. Drake's half a million debut was impressive, but Eminem is showing how a veteran can push his weight around.

As if things couldn't get better for Eminem, remember that enormous show at Yankees stadium he scheduled with Jay-Z? Demand was so high that it sold out in minutes, making the two rappers inclined to add a second date to accomodate fans. Are you reading this, people? Eminem and Jay-Z are selling out stadiums. Can Soulja Boy and Waka Flocka do that? Of course not.

Watch this performance below of Jay-Z and Eminem doing "Renegade" from Letterman for a preview of their upcoming stadium tour

The rap gods Drake, Kanye, Lil' Wayne and Eminem come together for "Forever"

Who on earth has the power to coalesce four rap gods on one track? If you thought Jay-Z, you were close but wrong. The answer: LeBron James. For his upcoming documentary, "More Than a Game," the basketball superstar was fortunate (or wealthy?) enough to get this all-star collaboration on the soundtrack and so far, it's been a runaway success. The song has been at the top of the iTunes charts for the past week, this even AFTER Kanye's mic snatching PR nightmare. The verses bat from rapper to rapper, like a hot potatoe, with each rapper dropping electrifying line after line, attacking the beat with a ravenous hunger — especially Eminem.

So what a huge let down that with all that star power on one track, the best video that critically-acclaimed music video director Hype Williams could put together is his usual purple/blue-hued clip show mess. Watch the video for "Forever" below.

Mimi needs to strike back at Slim Shady

(Photo credit: Photo by PR Photos)

Mariah Carey finally responded to Eminem's million and one disses to her in song and in interviews with her kiss-off song, "Obsessed," in which she talks about a clit flea that she just can't shake. He tells everyone they're dating, he hovers around her, he can't keep her name out of her mouth. He is, as Mimi says, "All up in her George Foreman."

The music video though was the real kicker: Mariah DRESSED UP as Eminem, pulling from 8 Mile wardrobe and recreating the 'Stan' bedroom with pictures and memorabilia plastered all over.

Well, it appears Eminem has seen the video and he's not a happy camper. Em has taken to the Internet and unleashed a blistering "diss" track called "Warning," skewering Mariah and her lil' boo Nick repeatedly. If you haven't heard it, listen to it here.

Mariah needs to emancipate Mimiquisha STAT and smack this fool down HARD. Eminem has bullied and pushed around women in pop music for years, grabbing attention, fame and success on the back of his foul mouth and misogynistic ways. Someone needs to push back and Mariah should dig her Gucci heels in his soft ass. Lyrically, Em's diss song undoubtedly has some wins. He's a gifted lyricist so that's to be expected. But why is a so-called rapper beefing with a pop star over a relationship they both admit was casual and ancient history? Why is Eminem STILL plugged in to Mariah's George Foreman, firing up burgers and Hamburger Helper?

Here are 5 things Mariah needs to do in her next diss track to Em: 1. Ask him if he calls his daughter Hailey a 'slut bitch cunt' 2. Trash the sales of 'Relapse' 3. Tell him that his miserable ass would be better served pursuing new girlfriends instead of stalking the almost-were's in his life. 4. Say he had dingleberries. Even if it's a lie, it'll get the lols. 5. Say that if he doesn't cut out his beefin' ways, he'll end up six feet under like his friend Proof.

Bark + Bite is firmly on Team Mariah in this one!

Eminem is served an ass dinner with a side of tomatoes

The best thing to happen on last night's MTV Movie Awards was seeing Eminem get "assed" out by Sasha Baron Cohen as Bruno. Watch.

The douchebag rapper, taking himself super seriously exclaimed, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!" and stormed off like a diva. Wah, wah. The guy who pranks and pokes fun at everybody is super sensitive whenever the joke's on him.

But I wonder if he wasn't in on the gag to begin with? Bruno was hurtling down from the ceiling for a minute and there was plenty of time for the Detroit rapper to jump out of his seat, or at least throw up his arms and shield himself. Plus, his "bodyguards" sure seemed lax about the whole thing. If it was really unplanned, I think they would've sprang into action more quickly and protected their boss as soon as they perceived a threat.

What probably happened was MTV approached him with the setup of Bruno falling on Em for laughs, but Em never banked on Bruno putting his anus right under Eminem's nose. That smells of Sasha Baron Cohen's improv genius.