Eminem just wrapped up a tour of Australia and New Zealand, which saw him break records in the process. In the aftermath, some footage surfaced in which Slim Shady explained why he performs in t-shirts featuring classic Hip Hop album covers.
According to Eminem, he wears the shirts to inspire fans to seek out the legendary artists’ work.
“This was called the Rapture Tour, but originally, it was going to be called the Rap Shirt Tour,” he told the audience. “And I’ma tell you why. There’s a reason I do this every single night on stage, man … Because hopefully, some of y’all might go buy their albums, might go look em’ up.”
In the video, Eminem is seen wearing a tee with Masta Ace’s SlaughtaHouse album cover on the front. During his speech, Slim Shady specifically shouted out Ace and fellow Juice Crew member Kool G Rap.
“Like a lot of you, maybe you don’t know who Masta Ace was or Kool G Rap,” he noted. “But I feel like you need to know because what they did for Hip Hop is so fucking incredible because they made it go to that next level. And these are the rappers that inspired me, man, on some real shit.”
Listen to Eminem’s entire explanation below.
