Eminem New Album 2013 News: Did Slim Shady Try to Save Detroit From Bankruptcy? [Video]

It's doubtful that even a rap icon like Eminem could have prevented his native city of Detroit from declaring bankruptcy last month, but at least he did try to help the city generate some revenue.

As we reported last month, Slim Shady turned down an offer to star in "Elysium," an upcoming American science-fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp. As a result, Blomkamp, who also wrote and directed "District 9," asked Matt Damon to play the lead role instead.

According to Yahoo! News, Em was only willing to take on the acting gig if the movie was produced in his home town. However, because Blomkamp and TriStar Pictures were unable to bring the shoot to Michigan, he backed out of the deal.

In a recent interview, Shady's longtime friend, rapper Obie Trice, told Vlad TV that the 40-year-old rap icon "was trying to bring job opportunities to Detroit," long before the city went bankrupt in mid-July.

"I guess he was trying to bring job opportunities to Detroit but a lot of those movie companies bring they own crew from L.A. anyway," Obie said. "I'm sure there's people that work on set that's Detroit natives but I don't think it was as lucrative as they thought it would be by doing that tax reduction thing."

Trice, who is also originally from Detroit, went on to reveal his thoughts about the "D's" bad fortune stating, "I think it's going to get worse before it improves," he said. "I hate to say that... We just got a lot of things in the city that needs to be fixed."

Back in 2011, Eminem also tried to help give the Motor City an economic boost by starring in a non-traditional car ad featuring the 2011 Chrysler 200. The two-minute ad aired during the 2012 Super Bowl and delivered a powerful message that Detroit is resilient, tough and determined. At the end of the music video-like commercial, Eminem looks directly in the camera and says "This is the Motor City. This is what we do." The ad then ends with the words "The Chrysler 200 has arrived. Imported from Detroit."

Watch Obie Trice's interview with Vlad TV below: