Eminem Books Three Nights on Kimmel, "Relapse" Radio Special

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David Letterman nabbed U2 for a week-long residency on his show in March, and now Jimmy Kimmel's getting one of rap's biggest and most reclusive stars to hype up his late-night program. Nine-time Grammy winner Eminem, who releases his new LP, Relapse, on May 19th, will be performing (albeit in pre-taped fashion) on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live on May 15th. According to a press release, the rapper will be debuting new material from the album, his first in four years. The following week, Eminem will be back for two more appearances, booked for May 19th and May 22nd, when Em will perform two tracks live from Detroit.

In related news, more information is surfacing regarding some of the special guest appearances we might expect on Em's new one. According to NME, one of the more unusual guest spots comes from Dominic West, the actor best known for his role as sullen detective Jimmy McNulty in HBO's defunct cop drama The Wire.

West appears in the album's opening skit, called "Dr. West," as a doctor who discharges Eminem from a rehabilitation clinic. Of course, West's medicine man tries to facilitate the rapper's relapse, by advising him to "take a drink" to "take the edge off" if he finds himself tempted by booze outside of recovery.

On Thursday, Sirius XM announced that it would be airing a three-hour with Eminem called "Shade 45 Presents...Eminem: The Prelapse Special." It will air May 15th at 8:00 p.m. on Sirius channel Shade 45, and, according to a press release, Em will take listeners on a guided tour through the making of his album, and will give a track-by-track analysis of the record.

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Song Stories

“Karma Chameleon”

Culture Club | 1983

Boy George has said this song was about standing by what you believe in. However, at the time, he was involved in a secret affair with Culture Club drummer Jon Moss. "Now people can understand the songs better," he said. "They were written about my relationship with Jon, and they were also written about being a gay man in a homophobic world." The lines "If I listen to your lies, would you say/I'm a man without conviction/I'm a man who doesn't know how to sell a contradiction," described his life at the time, he said. "I was selling this big lie."

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