6. Not Afraid
Considering how indifferently received Eminem's 2010 comeback album, Recovery, was, this is the second cut from the album to make this list and altogether the superior one. It was the lead-off single from the album, and gave notice of a change in direction in Eminem's lyrics away from cartoonish violence and drugs to a deeper mindset, which was a better fit for a man approaching his late 30's. While the production from Boi-1da was slightly tinny in places, it is at least a genuine attempt to aim for anthemic, rather than the faux-anthemic nonsense that blights many choruses within modern rap. The beat may be moderate, but the arrangement packs plenty of power, and the message is of a man growing up and aspiring to shed the skin of the character that made him, but ultimately trapped him.