Elton John and Eminem perform 'Stan' at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California on Feb. 21, 2001. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter)
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, who is professionally known as Eminem, turned 44 on Oct. 17, Monday. In the past years, the Detroit rapper has been accused of being homophobic because of his infamous lyrics.
However, Eminem is friends with Sir Elton John, an English singer-songwriter who is openly gay and currently married to David Furnish. Just a day after Eminem's 44th birthday, John's a semi-regular show titled "Rocket Hour," in which he discusses his unlikely friendship with the "Rap God" rapper, will be aired in full on Apple's Beats 1 station.
In the show, John refers to Eminem as a dear friend that he loves. He mentioned that he agrees with his fellow Beats 1 contributor Drake, who recently claimed that Eminem was the greatest rapper of all time.
"Eminem just did a show in which Drake introduced him in Detroit as the greatest rapper of all time," John said. "It's very hard to disagree with that."
Prior to the "Rocket Hour" episode, John announced that he is set to publish a no-holds-barred autobiography. It has yet to be confirmed when the book will be released and whether or not his friendship with Eminem will be discussed in it.
"I'm not prone to being a nostalgic person," John said in a statement obtained by NME. "I'm often accused of only looking forward to my next gig or creative project."
John said it has come as quite a surprise how cathartic he was finding the process of writing his memoirs. He added that as he looked back, he realized what a crazy life he had having the extreme privilege of living.
On Oct. 17, Monday, John was at Ceasars Palace where he is enjoying a residency. He participated in his charity tennis match, which was benefitting the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Daily Mail reported.
Listen to John and Eminem's version of "Stan" here:
