In a new interview on Apple Music 1’s Rebecca Judd Show, Ed Sheeran revisited the first time he stepped in the studio with Eminem, revealing that it was more about geeking out over video games and Marvel than music-making.
Describing his hard rule about meeting his musical inspirations — “never ever meet your heroes unless they want to meet you” — Sheeran discussed the time producer Rick Rubin asked if he wanted to be introduced to Eminem when they flew to New York to attend a Saturday Night Live taping years ago.
“I said, ‘No, I want to get the point where Eminem wants to meet me,'” Sheeran said he told Rubin. Later on, Sheeran got a chance to record with the rapper born Marshall Mathers, and said that during their first session, almost no business got done at all. “Had I gone in and done a selfie, it would have been a completely different vibe,” he told Judd.
“[The studio] was in Detroit and I was playing a gig in Detroit. And yeah, I arrived,” Ed said of their initial hang. “He’s got loads of games consoles there. He loves games. I actually bought him a Nintendo 64 with [GoldenEye 007] on it as a gift. I just stepped in there. Actually, first time we met, we didn’t make music. I hung out there for about four hours, and we just spoke Marvel and Avengers for about four hours. And then the next time I went back, we made a tune. The first tune we made, I was in Mexico and his producer flew to Mexico, and I did the hook there and stuff.”
Judd then cued up “River” from Em’s 2017 album Revival. They teamed up again in 2018 on “Remember the Name” from Ed’s No. 6 Collaborations Project and “Those Kinda Nights” from Shady’s 2020 Music to Be Murdered By.
The singer also talked about the special bond he has with his brother as an adult, and why he always shows young fans a video of him from 2014 playing the early song “Addicted.” According to Sheeran, “I don’t think I could actually technically sing until 18 … I don’t think anyone’s actually ever born with talent — you have to practice and you have to hone it.”
On Wednesday (Aug. 11), Sheeran confirmed that he’s got a “Bad Habits” remix coming with British rappers Tion Wayne and Central Cee.
Check out a clip of the chat here and the “Habits” remix tease below.
ME ED SHEERAN, X CENTRAL CEE OUT 2MRO pic.twitter.com/66Nn3CAdKj
— T Wayne from the 9 (@TIONWAYNE) August 11, 2021
