Eminem Reveals Who Inspired His Return To Blonde Hair: “I Was Like, ‘I Haven’t Had It In How Many F**king Years?'”

Less than 48 hours before The Marshall Mathers LP 2 hits store shelves, rap star Eminem has revealed what person ultimately encouraged him to pull the trigger and resort back to his iconic blonde hair.

According to Slim Shady, longtime manager Paul Rosenberg co-signed him to go retro with his throwback look.

“Um, I’ll say that one was [manager Paul Rosenberg’s] idea. In the earlier stages of the record and developing this sh*t I had thought about it. And once the songs started to come together and the picture got a little more clear of what it was gonna be, he hit me with the idea and I was like “Yo, you know I thought about that, right?” And he was like, “Well you know, why not?” And I was like “I don’t know how it’s gonna look. I haven’t had it in how many f*cking years? Five, six years.” I was like, “I’m so used to it being dark,” you know. So I just tried it. And I was like “F*ck it.” (Rolling Stone)

Despite the eyebrow-raising move, Shady denied his new hairstyle had any serious impact on the new tunes.

“Not really, honestly. Because I already had most of the songs. And I don’t know if I’m gonna keep it like this or how long I’m gonna keep it. But for right now it is what it is. And I feel like it may fit and maybe people will understand when they get the record.” (Rolling Stone)

Em’s retro look has even caught the attention of Slaugtherhouse’s Joe Budden.

Thus far, Em has dropped a few singles for the lyrical nerds, including the most recent “Rap God.” “I think this [album] is for rap fans,” Joe Budden explained. “I think that he’s been inspired as of late and I know he’s been working really hard. I know he has an overabundance of records to choose from and they’re all rap. You can tell that even from the records released like ‘Berzerk’– a real old school Beastie Boys kinda feel, and ‘Rap God’ — where he’s just rapping for six minutes straight.” “He even dyed his hair back to blond, so he’s going back to an earlier time, and I think fans will look forward to that.” (MTV)

The rap star showcases the hairstyle in his recently released “Berzerk” music video.

Eminem released a music video for his new single “Berzerk” this afternoon, and featured in the video is a slew of celebrity guests such as Kendrick Lamar, Rick Rubin, Slaughterhouse, and Kid Rock. In true Eminem style, he leads off his album with a fun kind of kooky single that may not even sound like anything else from the rest of the album. The exception was his last album, which led off with the serious and inspiring “Not Afraid.” The video is even a classic look for Eminem as he goes back to his Slim Shady days where his hair was dyed blond. He brings back the familiar whiny and playful flow on the song. Recently Eminem’s rapping has been a lot more aggressive. (Christian Post)