Eminem unveiled “Not Afraid,” the first single from his forthcoming Recovery album, on Thursday morning (April 29), and the track is a strong departure from the usual lead cuts Slim Shady delivers: There are no jabs at pop-culture icons, no jovial goofballing. Mr. Mathers is reflective and remorseful over the Boi-1da-produced track.

“It’s been a ride, I guess I had to go to that place to get to this one. Some of you might still be in that place. If you trying to get out, follow me,” he says, talking at the beginning of the track.

As the raps starts to kick in, Em threatens to “tear down” those who looked down on him.

“You can try to read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay ‘em/ But you won’t take the sting out these words before I say ‘em.

“I’m not afraid/ To take a stand,” he continues on the chorus. “Everybody come take my hand/ We’ll walk this road together through the storm/ Whatever weather come the war/ Just letting you know that you’re not alone/ Holla if you feel been down the same road.”

On the second verse, Em admits to some artistic missteps and declares that his last album, Relapse, was a bit of letdown.

“To the fans, I never let you down again, I’m back/ I promise to never go back on that promise,” the MC says in the song’s second verse. “In fact, let’s be honest/ That last Relapse CD was ehh/ Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground/ Relax, I ain’t going to do that now.”

Later in the verse, Em talks about his personal struggles.

“But I think I’m still trying to figure this crap out/ Thought I had it mapped out, but I guess I didn’t/ It’s time to exorcise these demons / These muthaf—as are doing jumping jacks now.”

As the song comes to a close, Em says he doesn’t want any more drama and wants to focus on raising his family.

“I can’t just keep living this way,” he sings. “So starting today, I’m breaking out of this cage / I’m standing up, I’mma face my demons/ I’m manning up, I’mma hold my ground/ I’ve had enough, I’m so fed up/ Time to put my life back together right now.”

Recovery is slated for a June 22 release.

Eminem has reportedly agreed not to perform any anti-gay songs in order to appear at the Wireless Festival next summer.

The festival was said to be concerned about protests from gay groups such as OutRage! over some of the rapper’s lyrics.

The UK-based gay rights group has been vocal in protesting against homophobic singers, most recently Jamaican stars Buju Banton and Beenie Man. It last protested against Eminem in 2001.

But when a deal was struck between all three parties was made to ensure there would be no anti-gay lyrics or protests, the singer agreed to sign up for the summer event.

According to the Evening Standard, a festival insider said: “This is a huge signing for Wireless and it will be the hottest ticket this summer.

“The organisers were afraid campaigners could potentially ruin the event. So there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and Eminem only agreed to sign up when assurances had been made that there would not be any protests.

“It was very touch-and-go but he has finally agreed to appear. Any kind of demonstration against him could have been disastrous.

“He will be bringing a huge entourage of security with him but there is still the risk that protesters may picket the hotel he stays in.”

OutRage! spokesman David Allison said: “We have a condition that he does not use lyrics that encourage or incite hatred against gay people.

“He is free to express his views on gay people, as long as he stays off the violence and hatred. He has got plenty of other lyrics to choose from. In recent years he has become quite well-behaved.”

In a song titled Criminal on his second studio album. The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem’s lyrics include: “My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/ That’ll stab you in the head, whether you’re a fag or lez/ Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest/Pants or dress? Hate fags? The answer’s yes”.

His lyrics have had an unlikely defender in the form of Elton John.

John reportedly helped Eminem recover from painkiller addiction and has performed on stage with him.

The gay singer said: “I honestly don’t think people will go out and start beating and killing people because of this album. It appeals to my English black sense of humour.”

Back in 1999, Eminem was best known as the slightly screwy, bottle-blond protégé of Dr. Dre. Ten years — and millions of albums — later, he’s about to be known as the best-selling artist of the decade.

On Tuesday (December 8), Nielsen SoundScan — which tabulates the Billboard charts — released their lists of the best-selling artists, albums and songs of the ’00s. And let’s just say the past 10 years have been very good for Mr. Mathers.

Em sold more than 32.2 million albums in the 2000s, edging out the Beatles to claim the title of top-selling artist. The Beatles ended up with the decade’s best-selling album (they sold nearly 11.5 million copies of 2000′s greatest-hits comp 1,) besting the likes of ‘NSYNC’s No Strings Attached (11.1 million copies sold) and Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me, (10.5 million). Eminem was the only artist to place two albums on the list; his The Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem Show records landed at #4 and 5, selling 10.2 million and 9.8 million copies, respectively. Interestingly, of the top 10 albums of the decade, the most recently released is Usher’s Confessions, which came out in 2004.

Top Selling Albums Of The Decade

The only areas in which Eminem or the Beatles didn’t dominate the decade were songs and radio play. According to Nielsen — which began keeping track of digital sales in July 2003 — Flo Rida’s “Low” was the decade’s top-selling digital song, having been downloaded more than 5.2 million times. It bested the likes of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” (nearly 4.7 million downloads), Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” (4.6 million) and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” (4.3 million).

And there was none of that funny downloading stuff when it came to the decade’s most-played radio songs (generational divide, anyone?) a list topped by Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” — which was spun more than 1.2 million times since being released in 2001 — and featuring names like Train (whose “Drops Of Jupiter” was racked up more than 1.1 million plays), Lifehouse, 3 Doors Down and Lee Ann Womack.

Nielsen Soundscan created the decade lists using data collected from January 1, 2000-November 1, 2009, and though figures might rise through December 31, they won’t alter the rankings.

The top-selling albums of the decade, according to Nielsen SoundScan:

1. The Beatles, 1,11,499,000 units sold
2. ‘NSYNC, No Strings Attached, 11,112,000 units sold
3. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me, 10, 546,000 units sold
4. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP, 10,204,000 units sold
5. Eminem, The Eminem Show, 9,799,000 units sold
6. Usher, Confessions, 9,712,000 units sold
7. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory, 9,663,000 units sold
8. Creed, Human Clay, 9,491,000 units sold
9. Britney Spears, Oops! … I Did It Again, 9,185,000 units sold
10. Nelly, Country Grammar, 8,461,000 units sold

The top-selling digital songs of the decade, according to Nielsen SoundScan:

1. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain, “Low” 5,214,000 units sold
2. Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis, “Just Dance,” 4,690,000 units sold
3. Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours,” 4,619,000 units sold
4. Timbaland feat. OneRepublic, “Apologize,” 4,439,000 units sold
5. The Black Eyed Peas, “Boom Boom Pow,” 4,349,000 units sold
6. Soulja Boy Tell’em, “Crank That,” 4,315,000 units sold
7. Lady Gaga, “Poker Face,” 4,200,000 units sold
8. Coldplay, “Viva la Vida,” 4,140,000 units sold
9. Taylor Swift, “Love Story,” 4,005,000 units sold
10. Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold,” 3,945,000 units sold

Few emcees have entered the game with as much buzz as 50 Cent and Eminem. Now, both big dogs are struggling to stay relevant in a cultural landscape shaped by the Web. Do 50 Cent and Eminem still have what it takes to rock the mic right? How do Eminem’s new video for “Beautiful” and 50 Cent’s new video for “Ok You’re Right” stack up against their earlier work? Air out your thoughts and opinions in the comments.
Watch both new videos and leave your mark