Bebe Rexha Reflects on Co-Writing Eminem and Rihanna’s Global Hit

Pop star and celebrated songwriter Bebe Rexha recently reflected on one of the defining milestones of her career during an interview with Complex, highlighting the monumental impact of co-writing the smash hit “The Monster” for Eminem and Rihanna. When the interviewer asked her to name some of her favorite tracks that she has written for other artists, she pointed immediately to that track, explaining, “Well, definitely, I always go back to Eminem, ‘Monster Under My Bad’ with Rihanna, or ‘The Monster’ they call it. It was such a big moment for me, as a writer, as an artist, because it had people in the industry take me more seriously.”

Releasing the track to another artist was a bittersweet pill to swallow at first, but Rexha noted that the sacrifice ultimately opened major doors for her career trajectory. She said, “It was hard giving my baby but it allowed me to then get into rooms with others, really big songwriters and producers, which allowed me to be around really talented people who I think force you to become better at what you do.”

Before it became a global powerhouse, the track faced skepticism from industry peers who struggled to understand its unique concept until Eminem and Rihanna stepped in to elevate it. She explained, “There’s some people who liked it but nobody really grasped the idea of it and then Eminem took it, wrote obviously all his parts, Rihanna sang the hook and they made it what its like today. They really changed the beat up and made it really special.”

Despite the initial hurdles in finding the right home for the song, Rexha shared that she always possessed an unwavering belief in its massive potential from the very beginning. She concluded, “I knew it was gonna be a hit. I knew the night I wrote it.”

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