Eminem Makes His Escape in “Phenomenal” Video

When artists stay at the top too long, they get picked apart. So whether or not you believe Eminem's songwriting skills have atrophied--or whether you see someone falling down a pit of technicality and verbal athleticism--he's at the very least gotten predictable. It's not necessarily his fault: the same thing happened with Lil Wayne and countless others before him. You start to understand the machinations, and the spontaneous feel of the early work can't be recreated. Thankfully, Marshall today (Oct. 1) steps way, way out of the box, dropping a seven-minute epic to accompany "Phenomenal," his hit single from the Southpaw soundtrack. The music comes and goes, but the storyline is this: Em wakes up in what appears to be a hospital bed, fights his way through a dozen security guards, weaves his way through a city, only to be confronted by a mysterious man who offers an ill-defined way out. The rapper balks, but is unsure where--or who--he is, so he carjacks Randall Park, hops in a helicopter, and eventually just hangs out with Dre. All, apparently, thanks to the Apple Watch.