Redeem now - A newly leaked snippet from what is purportedly an old Eminem track is causing controversy because of a line where the rapper sides with Chris Brown and says he would beat "a b----" like Rihanna.
- The verse was originally recorded for Eminem's 2009 album, "Relapse," according to comments on Genius, and the artist B.o.B. later repurposed the song for his 2011 album as the track "Things Get Worse."
- One Eminem fan on Reddit posted the seven-second snippet, which features the line "Of course I side with Chris Brown, I'd beat a b---- down too."
- The B.o.B. version isn't much better, with Eminem issuing poorly aged disses against artists like Natasha Bedingfield, Dakota Fanning, Angelina Jolie, and more.
- But the violence against Rihanna alluded to in the snippet isn't hypothetical. In 2009, Brown was charged with felony assault as photos of Rihanna's swollen and bruised face leaked.
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A newly leaked snippet from what appears to be an old Eminem track features a line about siding with Chris Brown after he assaulted Rihanna in 2009.
A Reddit user posted a seven-second snippet, titled "(SNIPPET) Eminem - Things Get Worse (Rihanna Diss)," of what seems to be an unreleased version of what would become B.o.B.'s 2011 track "Things Get Worse." In the snippet, Eminem can be heard saying — between voiceovers meant to prevent copyright infringement — "Of course I side with Chris Brown, I'd beat a b---- down too."
Since the song appears to have been illegally obtained, Insider can't link to it — but it was still up on the r/Eminem subreddit as of Monday, and the lyric in question has been making the rounds on Twitter.
According to comments on Genius, "Things Get Worse" was recorded over a cast-off track Eminem wrote for his 2009 album, "Relapse," which was released months after Brown was charged with felony assault. Brown was accused of leaving "visible injuries" on Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time, resulting in her hospitalization. He later pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal.
Rihanna and Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, have since worked together multiple times, most notably on the songs "Love the Way You Lie" and "The Monster" in 2010 and 2013.
Mathers' career has been full of controversies stemming from his depictions of violence against women. "Things Get Worse" contains multiple references to female celebrities — including Dakota Fanning, who was 16 in 2009 — being sexually abused and murdered.
The song also disses Angelina Jolie, Jessica Simpson, Carmen Electra, Natasha Bedingfield, and Mathers' mother, who filed a slander lawsuit against him in 1999 over lyrics on the "The Slim Shady LP." Mathers was also sued by his ex-wife, Kimberly Scott, over a 2000 song called "Kim" that describes the rapper violently killing her. Both suits were eventually settled.
The biggest difference between Mathers' usual violent lyrics and the newly leaked snippet is the expression of support for an actual incident of domestic abuse, as opposed to hypothetical depictions of violence against women.
A BuzzFeed News report published late last month said that last year Mathers was interviewed by the Secret Service about lyrics alluding to killing Ivanka Trump.
Representatives for Mathers didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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Anyone affected by abuse and in need of support can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233). Advocates are available 24/7 and can also be reached via live chat on thehotline.org or by texting "START" to 88788 or "LOVEIS" to 22522.
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