 The annual E3 Expo seems to throw the biggest events in Los Angeles every summer. After nabbing both Eminem and Jay-Z last summer to promote the release of "DJ Hero," Activision threw a star-studded E3 party on Monday night (June 14) ... with Eminem headlining.
The Detroit rapper's set was full of surprises, as he rocked the stage at Staples Center. Right from the jump, Em had the best of both worlds -- his D12 partner Denaun Porter served as his hypeman while Travis Barker backed him on the drums alongside a live band.
He kicked off with a performed of "Won't Back Down," off his upcoming Recovery album, which Em announced would drop June 21, a day before its original date.
Eminem followed with performances of some of his recent features, including B.o.B's "Airplanes (Part II)" and Drake's "Forever."
He then dedicated his single, "Not Afraid," to his longtime loyal fans, while a full orchestra emerged on both sides of the stage to help the band, as well as an entire gospel choir.
Em's next song included a surprise. "Before I get into this next song," he said, "I wanna bring out a very special guest." Shortly thereafter, singer Rihanna appeared onstage with her new candy-apple-red hair to help Eminem on their collabo track "Love the Way You Lie", off the upcoming Recovery.
From there, Em thanked the crowd and exited backstage. But, his band stayed on, and slowly started playing the opening notes of "Lose Yourself." As the song's notes built up, Eminem stormed back onto the stage and the crowd roared with thunderous cheers. The performance ended with a shower of gold confetti raining down on the crowd.
In addition to Eminem, the Activision event also included performances by Usher, Will.I.Am, N.E.R.D., Jane's Addiction, Chris Cornell, David Guetta, Deadmau5 and DJ Z-Trip.
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