From the start of his career, Eminem has never been afraid of speaking his mind, attacking pop stars in the industry, his ex-wife and his own mother but now the rapper is now extending a heartfelt apology to his mother with the music video for "Headlights."
The music video which was directed by Spike Lee, was released on Mother's Day and is an emotional and heart wrenching explanation of the relationship that Eminem has had with his estranged mother, Debbie Mathers over the years.
"Headlights" feels like a short film that Lee has worked on and takes place almost entirely from the point of view of Debbie Mathers. The video shows the many stages that this relationship has gone through, including clips of the "Cleaning out my Closet" video which directly attacked Eminem's mother.
The powerful moments in this video are simple and truly tell the story of the lyrics that feel like a personal letter that Eminem has written to his mother. Moments like when his mother thinks he sees her son in the park and it turns out to be a total stranger or when she repeatedly tries to visit her son but it is turned away feels real and the weight of this relationship can be felt in frame of the video. These scenes are heart wrenching.
The "Lose Yourself" singer is known for being very open and honest through his music and fans appreciate that they can connect with the artist on such an intimate level. This music video is just another example of Eminem being open and honest with fans, even if it was painful for the rapper to explore musically.
The lyrics to "Headlights" has power and emotion behind every word and fans feel the weight of every word when Eminem performs the song. What Spike Lee has done is translate that emotion and heartfelt guilt into a video that feels real, honest and emotional. This is sensitive and personal material for the Eminem and that comes across in the video.
It is not over the top and feels like an honest apology from Eminem to his mother.
The song and video conclude with the line, "I'll always love you from afar cause you're my momma." Eminem has gone on a personal journey that has taken him from cleaning out his closet to reflecting on the headlights of his past.
Watch the music video for "Headlights" here: