Guts Over Fear

Guts Over Fear
feat. Sia
publication	August 25, 2014
length	5:01
Genre (s)	Hip hop
Author (s)	M. Mathers , S. Furler , L. Resto , E. Haynie, J. Hill
Producer (s)	Emile Haynie, John Hill, Eminem (Co)
album	Shady XV

Guts Over Fear (English for: " Courage instead of fear ") is a song by the American rapper Eminem , in which the chorus is sung by the Australian singer Sia . The song was released on August 25, 2014 for download only and is the first single from the compilation album Shady XV from Eminem's label Shady Records .

content

Thematically, the piece is about Eminem's self-doubt in retrospect on his career. He raps in the first verse about his insecurities and how he had to adapt to the critics. Sometimes he wonders whether he should draw a line, but rapping is the only thing he can really do. He is afraid that he will run out of topics and that he will keep reporting the same thing in different ways in different songs. Even before he became famous, he had to change his style, as everyone compared him to the rappers Nas and AZ . Although his lyrics were for entertainment only, Eminem was blamed for everything negative by the critics. In the second verse, Eminem raps about his difficult childhood, which was marked by self-doubt and anger. He was able to express his negative feelings in the songs, but it hit him very hard when people protested his lyrics in public. Today he makes more serious music and makes fun of other celebrities less, for example in We Made You . He wanted to strengthen his listeners and, above all, outsiders who were going through something like him back then, with his music. The refrain sung by Sia emphasizes the fear of creating monotonous music without variety. But she appeals to courage that should conquer fear and silence the critics.

production

The instrumental of the song was produced by the American music producers Emile Haynie and John Hill in collaboration with Eminem, who acted as co-producer.

Music video

On November 24, 2014, the video for Guts Over Fear , filmed by Syndrome , was released.

It shows excerpts from the life of a young man who works as a dishwasher in the kitchen of a restaurant. He also pursues his passion, boxing. At home he has an argument with his pregnant girlfriend because they cannot pay the rent. The man's father, who is an alcoholic and spends all day in the pub, also reproaches him. After his father is arrested by the police, the man also gets in trouble at work, whereupon he quits his job. From now on he focuses entirely on boxing and trains all night. At the end of the video you can see him on TV walking into a boxing match.

single

Cover design

The single cover shows the blurry image of a rainy street on which cars with headlights are driving. The white lettering Eminem , Feat. Sia and Guts Over Fear .

Chart successes

Guts Over Fear entered the German charts on September 5, 2014 and reached the highest position at number 35. Overall, the song stayed in the top 100 for eight weeks. The song was particularly successful in the UK and France, where it was ranked 10th.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	35 (8 weeks)	8th
Austria (Ö3)	53 (2 weeks)	2
Switzerland (IFPI)	30th (4 weeks)	4th
United Kingdom (OCC)	10 (5 weeks)	5
United States (Billboard)	22nd (3 weeks)	3

Awards

In 2018 Guts Over Fear was awarded a gold record for more than 500,000 sales in the United States .

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
United States (RIAA)	gold	500,000
All in all	1 × gold	500,000

Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards

The equalizer

Even before it was released for download, excerpts from the track were used in the trailer for The Equalizer .

Web links

• Lyrics with interpretations on rap.genius.com (English)
• Music video on YouTube.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lyrics
2. ↑ music video
3. ↑ Single cover
4. ↑ international chart tracking Guts Over Fear
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
6. ↑ US: Gold