Eminem might be synonymous with hip-hop/pop culture today, but in 2000, he was merely an ascendant icon who hadn't been around long enough for literally everyone to know who he was. So it shouldn't be too surprising, then, that rock star Tony Iommi, a member of Black Sabbath, wasn't aware of Slim Shady when he was recording his solo album, Iommi, 17 years ago. It turns out, that might have been the only reason Em didn't end up on the project.

According to the folks at Loudwire, Ryan J. Downey sat down with Iommi for an interview at the Musicians Institute on Monday (Oct. 23) and revealed that Shady had actually requested to be on Iommi, but because the rocker didn't know who Em was at the time, the collaboration never happened.

What makes the story more interesting is just how feasible an Em-Tony Iommi collab actually was. It turns out, Em's fellow Detroit superstar Kid Rock had actually collaborated with Iommi for the project, but the song didn't end up making the final cut. Also, his band Black Sabbath had once collaborated with Ice-T for a song called "Illusion of Power." So yeah, an Eminem collab could have very well been in play.

It doesn't feel all that likely that we'll ever be hearing an Eminem-Iommi collab now, but we should be getting some new Shady music in the near future. Em, who's somewhat fresh off delivering a devastating freestyle aimed at Donald Trump, is said to have a new album in the works. 2 Chainz hinted that he'd be on the project.