Anuel AA opened up about how Eminem has played an inspirational role in his music career.
In an interview on SiriusXM’s ‘CTRL-ALT D-Stroy’ show with host D-Stroy, Anuel spoke about creating “Me Contagié,” which samples the hook from Dido’s “Thank You,” famously used on the 2000 Eminem song “Stan,” while behind bars.
“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 AA was arrested on gun possession charges in April 2016, and sentenced to 30 months in prison. According to Billboard, the Puerto Rican rapper served his time in four different prisons in Puerto Rico, Atlanta, and Miami. Following an incident with a fellow inmate, Anuel spent 90 days in solitary confinement.
Anuel told Billboard about his time while incarcerated, “I kept listening to the radio, listening to what was happening in the streets. I would write.”
During his month-long stay at a halfway house in Miami, Anuel recorded 22 songs over the course of seven days, of which 12 ended up on Real Hasta la Muerte, which came out months after his release from prison.
Anuel also reflected on another song, sampling Eminem’s “Mockingbird,” which turned out to be a bit prophetic.
“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 shit, he said all that and then it happened to him.’ So it’s a really big song for me.”
Anuel credits Eminem with showing him that an artist can successfully expand their subject matter.
“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.”
D-Stroy’s full interview with Anuel will air on Tuesday (Nov. 10) at 4 p.m. ET on SiriusXM’s Shade 45.
