'Till I Collapse

"Till I Collapse" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his 2002 Grammy-winning album The Eminem Show. It is the 18th track on the album, and features rapper Nate Dogg in the chorus.

Background

The song samples the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat made famous by the rock band Queen on their song "We Will Rock You" (1977).

Although it has never been released as a single, it has recharted on a few occasions when other Eminem albums have been released.^[1] In 2012 it was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for digital sales of 2,000,000 copies in the United States.^[2]

In the second verse, Eminem makes references to several rappers who he believes are the best in the industry. The list, in descending order, is Redman, Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., André 3000, Jadakiss, Kurupt, Nas and himself.

While performing in Chicago in 2011, Eminem said that this is one of his favorite songs he has done.

Critical reception

David Browne wrote that this song is about underrating Eminem himself: "In songs like the trudging 'Till I Collapse (...) he tells how persecuted he's been by the government, how his lyrics are constantly misinterpreted, and how I'll probably never get the props I deserve.^[3] DX Magazine called this song "massive hand-clap driven beat."^[4] Steve Juon wrote favourable review: "Wrapping up the album are "Till I Collapse," another surprisingly militaresque track."^[5] Kris Ex described "'Till I Collapse" as an "all paranoid horror-movie instrumentation bottomed with arena-rock grandeur."^[6]

Use in popular culture

Although "'Till I Collapse" was not released as a single, when the single "Shake That" (also featuring Nate Dogg) was released in 2006, several Eminem songs recharted that same week, including this one. It charted in the UK at number 192 on 15 April 2006.^[1] In 2008, it appeared in HBO's Oscar De la Hoya - Manny Pacquiao 24/7. In 2009, its popularity was revitalized when it was used in an advert for the then-upcoming game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It raised digital download sales of the song worldwide considerably,^[7] but in Britain, the song sold so many copies after this advert was aired that it recharted that week (21 November 2009) at number 73, a new peak.^[8] During the 2010-2011 NBA season, the song was used during the Cleveland Cavaliers' team introductions. Shane Mosley used this song as an Entrance theme with his Bout with Floyd Mayweather as did Shane Carwin for his bout against Junior dos Santos. Major League Baseball pitcher Jesse Litsch used the song as his entrance music during the 2011 season.^[9] The song has also been used in the credits of the Season 8 premiere of Entourage. "'Till I Collapse" saw another resurrection in September 2011 with its feature in the trailer and soundtrack for the film Real Steel. The song was also used in trailers and TV spots for the Oliver Stone-directed film Savages.

Chart positions

Certifications

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Chart Log UK: E-40 - E-Z Rollers". zobbel.de. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
2. ↑ riaa.com
3. ↑ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,254406,00.html
4. ↑ http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.164/title.eminem-the-eminem-show-advanced-copy
5. ↑ http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2002_05F_emshow.html
6. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-eminem-show-20020606
7. ↑ Billboard database query. Billboard.com. 25 December 2010.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Chart Stats - Eminem - "'Till I Collapse". Chart Stats. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
9. ↑ "Blue Jays Walkup Music". Walkup Music. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
10. ↑ "Irish Charts - Week ending 20th September 2012". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012. 
11. ↑ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=Eminem

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics