Eminem Drops New Album The Death of Slim Shady

Eminem has dropped his latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).

This new concept album is all about Eminem’s career highlights and controversies. He gave us a sneak peek with tracks like “Houdini” and “Tobey.” Eminem says this record marks the final chapter for his alter ego, Slim Shady. To promote it, he used gravestones and even put an obituary in the Detroit Free Press. He wants fans to listen to the songs in order because they tell a story. One funny line goes, “Kendrick’s album was cool, but it didn’t have any bangers/Wayne’s album or Ye’s, couldn’t tell you which one was lamer/Joyner’s album was corny, Shady’s new shit is way worse.”

In some parts of the album, Eminem clearly distances himself from Slim Shady by being as offensive as possible. In “Antichrist,” he mocks pronouns and “woke B.S.” with lines like promising to rap so hard that Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj would scissor. Another verse talks about Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking Casse in 2016:

But who else is as pitiless, actually witty and crass, hideous
Ghastly, and insidious as me, or spitting as nasty?
Next idiot ask me is gettin’ his ass beat worse than Diddy did
But on the real though
She prolly ran out the room with his fuckin’ dildo
He tried to field goal punt her; she said to chill
Now put it back in my ass and get the steel toe

The cover art shows Slim Shady in a body bag while in the “Tobey” video Eminem uses a chainsaw on Slim Shady.

I think it’s kinda wild how artists reinvent themselves.

Although Big Sean and BabyTron are featured on “Tobey,” Dr. Dre produced tracks like “Lucifer” and “Road Rage.” D12’s Bizarre also appears with a transphobic verse at the end of “Antichrist.” On “Road Rage,” Eminem talks about transgender rights: “So transgender rights, where do I stand? Oh I’m all for ’em; I really am pro/But intercourse with you would I have? No”—and keeps going from there.