Eminem’s backing act goes to pot
ALTHOUGH rapper Eminem, who has kicked a drug habit, flew under the radar in Cape Town this week, the same could not be said for his support act, Action Bronson, who was so open about his drug use that he lit a joint on stage.
Eminem played to about 35 000 people at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday before taking to the stage at Ellis Park last night. The rapper, who has battled addiction to prescription drugs, is now clean.
On Wednesday, he was open with the crowd about his past drug use, saying: “I see a lot of people here who look like they’re f**ked up on drugs. I’ll take you back to a time when I used to get f**ked up.” He then launched into one of his hits, The Real Slim Shady.
Bronson, a former chef from Queens in New York, makes no bones about his drug use.
Wednesday’s on-stage joint, enjoyed while wearing a Springbok jersey, was not his first. Last month, he shoved a security guard in Portland, Oregon, who tried to stop him from smoking on stage, and last year he went on stage with a bag full of jars of medical marijuana, which he handed out to the audience.
He took to Twitter this week, first declaring an “SOS” for weed in Cape Town and then tweeting pictures of the bags he had subsequently purchased.
On Tuesday he tweeted: “Just took shrooms [psychedelic mushrooms] and went to Nobu. Hahaha that was intense.”
Bronson also tweeted about shark cage diving and a visit to Mzoli’s, a braai and party spot in Gugulethu township.
He uploaded a photo on Instagram of himself and a US graffiti crew, who all had their faces covered, with an Action Bronson mural painted on a Cape Town wall behind them.
Bronson and Eminem’s band have been staying at the fivestar One and Only resort.
Eminem was spotted there on at least two occasions this week, but it was unclear whether the notoriously private rapper had been staying there. Rumours suggested that he was living in a private Hout Bay home.
One staff member, who said Eminem had come to the hotel for drinks with the band after the show on Wednesday, described him as “scruffy”.
Eminem went on stage in Cape Town wearing his trademark hoodie and cap, despite soaring temperatures. Sweating profusely under heavy lighting, at times with two barrels of fire next to him, he eventually removed the hoodie.
He interacted regularly with the crowd, at one point declaring he was “romantic as f**k”.
He performed songs from across his discography, but he had the crowd in a frenzy with some more of his biggest hits, including Stan and Without Me, all in quick succession.