14 DAY TRIAL // Fans must remember the long-standing “feud” between rapper Eminem and diva Mariah Carey, although what started it might still elude most of them. Since Em brought it back a few months ago, right before the release of his comeback album, “Relapse,” Mariah is now fighting back with a new video for her first single off her upcoming material, “Obsessed.” Not only does the singer make no secret of who she is targeting in the song, but the video also sees her dressed up as an Eminem-lookalike in what is her funniest work to date, MTV says.
The video premiered on Yahoo Music a day earlier than announced and, so far, has generated nothing but positive reactions with fans and critics alike. While the song might not be one of Mariah’s best, they say, the video shows that she too can have moments when she doesn’t take herself too seriously, at the same time proving that, if parody is what Eminem wants, two can play that game. Described as “as subtle as being hit by a bus” by critics, the video has Mariah dressed as a very eerie Eminem-like stalker who eventually finds his tragic end by, well, being hit by a bus.
According to MTV, the clip was shot at the Plaza Hotel in New York under the direction of none other than Brett Ratner of the “Rush Hour” fame, who also did “Heartbreaker” and “Touch My Body” for Mariah. As also noted above, reaction to it has been wonderful so far, especially since, unlike Eminem, the diva keeps the attack somewhat veiled, in that not once does she call the rapper by name. Granted, it does not really take a genius to understand who she’s talking about, since the hooded “stalker” bears a very striking resemblance to Em, save for the goatee.
“‘Obsessed’ is the first single from Carey’s upcoming album ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,’ which is set to hit stores on August 25. Though Carey doesn’t mention Eminem’s name specifically, there are a handful of lyrics that suggest that the song is a response to Em’s ‘Relapse’ track ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad,’ on which he raps about taking Carey back from her husband: ‘Nick Cannon better back the [expletive] up,’ Em warns the actor/musician on the track. ‘I’m not playing / I want her back, you punk.’ (Carey has denied Eminem's claims that they dated for six months.)” MTV writes.
In her turn, Mariah too launches against the rapper, branding him “obsessed” and basically living in a make-believe, alternate reality. “Why are you so obsessed with me / Boy I wanna know / […] It’s clear that you’re upset with me... Why are you so obsessed with me? You’re delusional / Boy, you’re losing your mind... It must be the weed, it must be the E / ‘Cause you be poppin’, you get it poppin’.” Mariah sings.
As fans must remember, when Eminem’s “Bagpipes from Baghdad” leaked on the Internet back in May, Carey’s husband, Nick Cannon, told him off by challenging him to a man-to-man type of thing (although he failed to mention specifically what he had in mind). Days later, the rapper dissed Mariah again during a radio interview, revealing private details from their so-called six-month affair, and then publicly apologized for offending the two.
Below is the “Obsessed” video. Enjoy.