American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter Shelby Mitchusson originally uploaded her video performing Eminem's "Lose Yourself" back in September. But it is only now getting its much deserved internet cred after being shared on Reddit by fans who were just as wowed by it as we are.
Shelby not only signs the entriely of Eminem's hit song from his movie 8-Mile, but does it with such emotion and gusto, you can't belive she wasn't in collaboration with the hit rapper from the very beginning.
As one of the top Reddit comments from user Arachnocentric observes, "Ok, I expected it to be silly, but it's actually really, really well done. I could see Eminem signing while singing along, and the gestures just seem to "work" in the context of the song. Very cool."
All sign language interpreters will tell you that signing is not only about getting the gestures right for each word, but also about facial expressions and body language to convey the nuances of language that get lost without the audio cues from vocal language.
Shelby clearly does her job exactly right — her timing, facial expressions, and dancing to the beat of Eminem's song capture it perfectly for a whole new audience that we're pretty sure even the star rapper didn't think he would be able to reach.
Although Shelby only uploads her ASL interpretation videos in her free time, we're happy to read that she says this won't be her last. Aside from "Lose Yourself," she has also posted videos of herself at live performances for Sara McLachlan's "I Will Remember You" and Skillet's "Sick of It."
It's amazing to watch Shelby's "range" in interpreting the music of different genres into ASL. And we can't wait for her to upload even more.
"I have a deep love for interpreting music and would love to share more as I am always interpreting music. As always your feedback is wanted! Again, thank you all — I'll upload more soon," she wrote on her Youtube channel.
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