Anuel AA Reveals How Eminem Inspired His Music and Career

Anuel AA has opened up about the influence Eminem has had on his music career, crediting the rap icon with inspiring him to explore different subjects through his music.

During an interview on SiriusXM’s CTRL-ALT D-Stroy” with host D-Stroy, the Puerto Rican rapper discussed creating “Me Contagié,” which samples Dido’s “Thank You” hook, famously used on Eminem’s 2000 hit “Stan.” Anuel revealed that he recorded the song while serving time in prison.“Eminem was a legend,” Anuel said. “I did the ‘Stan’ hook in Spanish when I was in prison, and that’s a big-ass song in my career. People related a lot to it.”

Anuel also reflected on another deeply personal record he made using the beat from Eminem’s “Mockingbird,” dedicated to his mother and detailing his struggles before finding success. “I did a song for my mom with the ‘Mockingbird’ beat,” he said. “It’s a song talking about my life, about the struggles before the success.” He added, “It’s one of those songs where people listen and they say, ‘Oh s–t, he said all that and then it happened to him.’ So it’s a really big song for me.”

Anuel went on to explain how Eminem influenced his approach to songwriting, showing him that music doesn’t always have to revolve around commercial hits, relationships, street life, or diss tracks. “Eminem is a really big inspiration for me in my whole career,” he said. “With Eminem, I learned you don’t just do music for girls, commercials, or street songs, or diss songs, but you could do music, too, for your mom, for your daughter.”

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