IDK brings together a pair of Detroit legends — Eminem and the late J Dilla — for the first time on the rapper’s new single “Welcome.”
Slim Shady contributes the chorus over a hard-edged, choppy Dilla beat while IDK shows off his dark lyricism on the all-Motor City affair; in the music video, IDK is driven around by Nissan, the son of D12 rapper Proof, who collaborated with both Eminem and J Dilla.
However, despite the Detroit ties, “Welcome” marks the first time that Eminem has appeared on a Dilla production; the producer born James Yancey died in 2006 from complications from lupus.
“When I first started working on this music, I remember looking up at my ceiling and saying ‘thank you’. I was speaking to Dilla because it felt like everything that could have been, in a way, started to clear itself organically. I knew this was an important opportunity and a statement for hip hop itself,” IDK said of the track in a statement. He recorded it shortly after completing his debut mixtape, Even the Devil Smiles released in January. “I had received [the beat] from some people from the Dilla estate. The prospect of doing some music came up in a conversation with Dilla’s brother and a close friend.
“The first rap album I’ve ever owned was 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. A Shady Records release,” he added. “The first raps I made it a point to memorize were Eminem raps. I’ve been at it for some time now, so to be at the point in my journey seems surreal. I’m excited for this next chapter in my career.”
In an accompanying mini-documentary, IDK travels around his native Motor City, even stopping at a local record store where Dilla used the shop; the proprietor tells IDK that the late producer used to play hide-and-seek with her now-grown kids at the store. Next, IDK visits Eminem in the studio, where the two rappers shared stories about their artistic drive:
“Welcome” is the introductory single from IDK’s upcoming album, his first under a new partnership between the rapper, Shady Records, and Interscope Records.
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