Eminem Plans To Invest Heavily In Genius

Genius's march toward rap-game authority is poised to take a giant leap forward. Eminem has confirmed his plans to invest in the lyric and annotation site, partnering his Shady Records operation with the website with an undisclosed infusion of cash.

Billboard broke the news, and noted that Eminem will now join Nas and Pharrell as a Genius stakeholder. "Eminem will continue annotating his newly released music on the site," the magazine noted. Following the investment, Genius will also function as Eminem.com's official lyrics engine (and do the same for all of Shady Records' sites).

“Coming up we would always obsess over the lyrics from our favorite MCs. Picking everything apart, trying to get into their heads,” Eminem said about the new business move. “I still do that today and Genius helps to make it a worldwide conversation. Pretty amazing to me.” Billboard also quoted Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s manager and Shady Records co-founder, as stressing: “Genius provides an avenue for fans to dig deeper into their favorite songs, but more importantly, it gives artists a way to communicate their artistic intent directly to those fans. For an artist like Eminem, the intricacies and nuances in his lyrics are very layered and his art is a perfect fit for this type of tool. We’re excited about what this partnership brings for both sides."

Genius changed its name from Rap Genius in the summer of 2014 and has raised over $40 million in capital.