I never heard of Bad Meets Evil before. The rap duo that is made up of Eminem and Royce da 5'9 apparently had a song on Em's first album, and then broke up after Royce had a falling out with Eminem's group, D12. And now they're back with a new EP coming out called Hell: The Sequel. 

The lead single "Fast Lane" is classic Eminem - fast spitting rhymes a clever wordplay. And the video is pretty cool, with animated lyrics acting as props and visual gags throughout the video.

Here's my beef. I'm sick of all the homophobic and misogynistic talk. I know that's a hip hop standard and it's all just posturing. And usually, I turn a blind eye to it.

But, then when the whole last half of the song is them talking about the penises, masturbating and ejaculating - it all starts to sound really gay. And, suddenly, all that posturing seems like a front for what's really going on.

Dr. Dre has released another video from his long-awaited album Detox.

"I Need A Doctor", which features Eminem and Skylar Grey, starts off pretty dramatically, with Dre on a cliff remembering highlights of his life. At first I thought he was going to jump. But, instead he races his car down a windy mountain road and has a pretty epic crash.

Flash forward 10 years to Dre recovering in a futuristic medical facility with Eminem pacing nervously while a girl (not Skylar) floats around like that chick in 300. Eminem basically raps about how important Dre was and still is to him. At first I thought it was self-indulgent, but when I realized that the whole thing was a metaphor for the long hiatus Dre took, and that Eminem was being sincere, it seemed sweet. 

But, the sweet quickly turns bitter when Dre wakes up and blasts his verse, where he slams everyone who turned their backs on him and lost faith in him over the years, citing Eminem as the only one who stayed by his side. Damn. I wouldn't want to be in his bad books.

The video ends with Dre visting the grave of Eric Wright, better known as Easy-E, who was Dre's mentor. 

I'm not sure what prompted Dr. Dre's trip through nostalgia, but it's touching.

It seems that DJ Earworm is making a bit of a New Year's tradition by releasing amazing mega mash-ups of the year's biggest pop hits. And this year, he doesn't disappoint.

Relive some of the biggest chart movers in one fun and easily-digestible track, including hits from Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Rihanna, Taio Cruz, Enrique, Eminem, Gaga and many many more. So well done!

When I was younger, probably around 13 through high school, I was heavily into alternative rock music. But, every now and then, a catchy pop song or dance track would be a hit and I would love it. But, I'd keep quiet about it.

See, at the time I didn't know I was gay. (WHAAAAA?!?!?!) But, I also didn't want to risk being perceived as gay for liking Madonna or a new song by Janet or a really Euro sounding song by Ace of Base.

In high school, if you were a GUY, you listened to hard music. Hip hop, traditional R&B, or straight ahead rock. There was no real room for a guy to admit to liking the Backstreet Boys or Culture Beat's "Mr. Vain". Somehow, the ginos were able to get away with liking dance music while they were tooling around with their cars. But, since I wasn't white, I couldn't quite pass for a gino.

I admit that my memory is very, very faulty. Thus, I cannot recall if there was a specific incident of me begin teased for liking a particular song. All I know is there was a feeling that I had of keeping my guilty pleasures under wraps. Therefore, my binder was covered with lyrics by the Smashing Pumpkins (who, in hindsight, is pretty gay) and my locker had pictures of whoever was the cool alternative band of the moment. 

For shame, my love for Madonna was my big gay secret. Though, to this day, I could never figure out how Notorious B.I.G's hit "Mo Money Mo Problems" was acceptable among my straight peers, considering the sample was Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out"...

The point of this post, though, is that I find it very interesting that today, many urban acts are now basing their sound on the same Euro dance beats that I secretly liked as a teen. Usher, Black Eyed Peas, Flo Rida, even Eminem, are drawing on dance elements for their new sound. 

So, the music that I enjoyed every now and then as a teen, but kept hidden for fear of being teased in high school, is now the music that is openly embraced and enjoyed by the masses.

The macho hip hop world that intimidated me as a teen is coming out of the closet, so to speak. 

And on the flipside, we have openly gay rapper Cazwell, becoming a bit of a cult phenomenon for marrying solid hip hop beats and rhymes with very homosexual content. 

I wonder what my 15-year-old self would have to say about this. Something tells me he'd breathe a sigh of relief. And maybe he'd include a picture of Madonna among his locker collage.