Sep 23, 2015 It was a huge change from Relapse and Eminem in general. I loved that song. Constantly played it. That song is the GOAT in terms of promotion, sales, marketing, style switch, production change. For that point of time, the song was just amazing. Now that I think about that time.
Sep 23, 2015 This was my whole thing. I didn't even really know what rap/hip-hop was till I heard Recovery & Not Afraid. I loved the sound of Em & the flow on the entire album, I'll admit it's choppy & not well built at times, but I feel that's what he almost wanted. This is the song/album that got me invested in hip-hop and birthed my love of Eminem. His songs/albums from 1999-2004 will always be 100% better, but this is what got me into him and rap.
Sep 23, 2015 That's really cool how we got into rap the same way. I had heard of Eminem before, but rap never really interested me. My friends from school listened to rap, and I had heard some of Eminem's hits like Mockingbird and Lose Yourself, but I stuck with rock and *cringe* pop music on the hit radio stations. I really liked the sound of Not Afraid, and as a young kid in high school, the message appealed to me. I listened to Eminem more and found more songs that I kind of knew, and before I knew it, my iPod was filled with all of his albums and features.
Sep 23, 2015 Same. I loved it. It was probably my favorite all time when it dropped. I listened to that non stop until Recovery came out. Still a great song. Recovery still a great/classic album for me too. f--- the haters
Sep 23, 2015 Off the heels of Relapse and the infamous Arabian accent, fans had no hope in Eminem's next project. Other than Beautiful, he literally disappointed Stans in every way possible. Expectations were at an all time low. Eminem then announces Recovery and drops a single: Not Afraid. It was as close to Lose Yourself 2 as we'll ever get. Fans went nuts. Celebrities were tweeting lyrics. Everyone loved it. It became just the 16th song to debut #1 on Billboard's Hot 100. Obviously looking back, it's filled with corny lyrics and forced inspirational metaphors. But in 2010, Not Afraid was what the Stan brigade needed. I listened to it on repeat for a week, mostly just ecstatic Eminem released a normal sounding song again (the same way I'd feel about a normal release today). Not Afraid is overcriticized. I prefer this type of Eminem over Phenomenal, but that's just me. f--- off if you're going to act like you didn't enjoy Not Afraid at its release.
Sep 23, 2015 That's awesome man! Basically the same with me. I was kind of bullied a bit in high school/middle school too so when I first heard his song Not Afraid it spoke to me a bit. Started trying to find out more about him and just continued to love what I was hearing.
Sep 23, 2015 I wanted to love it. But I didn't. Never liked the beat, the strained singing or the jabs at Relapse. I actually don't mind the corny verses, he pulls it off here through sheer commitment, but musically the song just isn't easy on the ears.
Sep 24, 2015 I loved it than i hated it and now I love it again those flyin' scenes in music video tho... holy s--- that was awful, very amateurish
