It’s not the first time that Eminem and Royce da 5’9 have teamed up together as Bad Meets Evil to pump out some great hits, but it is the first time in a long time — and this time, they’ve brought Bruno Mars along for the ride!

The video is for the song Lighters the first song off their latest album, Hell: The Sequel. And while you may expect these two hardcore rappers to come out with fists pumping and guns blazing, the video seems to be a tribute to the growth of both rappers since they last paired up in 2008, with Eminem’s original group, D12.

The video begins with Eminem sitting in his cluttered living room writing music and we’re given a sense that it’s “back in the day,” with Em donning shocking blonde locks, track pants, and all. The scene also gives off the tone of past times, when Em had yet to break out onto the scene and was frustrated with his struggling career and even more challenging life. Suddenly, he finds a trap door in his living room and after entering it, he’s taken to a dark tunnel where he has nothing but a blazing torch to guide him. And suddenly, his raggedy clothes have been traded for a leather jacket, and his hair has gone back to its original brown roots that Em has worn in the later stage of his career.

Meanwhile, Royce da 5’9″ is on his own journey in the video, going from a jail cell to the same dark tunnel, and making the same kinds of transformations along the way. Royce also wears a Detroit hat throughout the video, which is also symbolic of both rappers returning to their roots. And the entire time, Bruno Mars sits alone at his piano, tapping out the keys and crooning about lighting the sky up with lighters. At the end, Royce and Eminem come together, along with many onlookers, in a large field overlooking a valley, to see the sky fill up with glowing paper lanterns.

Check out this truly stunning and surprising piece from tough-guy rappers, Eminem and Royce da 5’9″ here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.