Zane Lowe is well known for his amazing interviews with musicians, and he's already lined up a first guest for Beats 1: Eminem. Lowe will be interviewing Eminem during the radio station's launch next week, though a specific time and date hasn't been mentioned. A photo shows the two of them chatting, so it looks like the interview is probably prerecorded.
Beats' founders may have had a say in this
Eminem is certainly an odd first choice. Though he was an influential rapper and a major figure in music a good 15 years ago, his most recent albums haven't been well received and his popularity has waned, to say the least. His lyrics are also rife with misogyny and homophobia, which makes him a pretty poor person to hand a microphone that's broadcasting worldwide. That said, Lowe is a skilled interviewer who's great at getting musicians to open up, so it's possible that he'll be interested in grilling Eminem on these subjects. Lowe previously interviewed Eminem on BBC Radio 1.
Lowe seems to have no problem attracting huge stars to his show — he's perhaps best known for a pair of interviews with Kanye West — but it's possible that Beats' two founders played a role in getting Eminem. Eminem has long be on or under Dr. Dre's label, Aftermath, which is also part of Jimmy Iovine's Interscope. This is an artist who's part of Dre and Iovine's musical family, so that could be why we're seeing him kick off Lowe's Beats 1 interviews rather than someone more relevant and palatable today. Nonetheless, it seems like Apple and Beats are generally smart enough to let Lowe keep doing what he does best, so hopefully there will be a steady lineup of musicians headed his way in the coming months.
Next week - My first Interview on @beats1 @eminem pic.twitter.com/lJwntalM3v
— Zane Lowe (@zanelowe) June 25, 2015