Bad Meets Evil is essentially Eminem and Royce da 5’9″ working together as a group. In their song Lighters, the two rappers collaborate with Bruno Mars. The song is an official single from Bad Meets Evil‘s debut EP Hell: The Sequel.

In an interview, Eminem said that Bruno Mars was not in the original cut of the song. Instead of Bruno Mars, the Bad Meets Evil duo had a rough chorus and a different beat. When Bruno Mars came in to work with them on the song, the pop and R&B singer made changes and wrote his own hook and small verse. According to the interview, Royce da 5’9″ and Eminem wanted to make a different song different from the styles of the rest of the album.

What makes Lighters different is that it isn’t the usual raw and straight-up rap song. It isn’t as shocking or as angry or as in-your-face as most rap singles. And with Bruno Mars’ soul-infused hook in there, Lighters takes on a pop value that makes it easier for the non-rap listeners to enjoy. As gooey as some critics may find Lighters alternative take on the rap sound, one can’t deny that it works for the listener.

I mean, really, the average listener won’t really care that the song takes on some soul and synthpop influences; that would just be in the nice-to-know territory. What matters more is that the song is enjoyable and I have to say engaging. The rap verses might turn off some of the more conservative people because of the R-18 lyrics though, but the lyrics tells the two rappers’ stories about overcoming hurdles, which then progresses naturally to the hook’s more celebratory, if not halfway inspirational, theme.

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