Eminem has released his first new album since 2020.
The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) begins with “Renaissance” and ends with “Somebody Save Me,” and the rapper released a PSA on X saying the 19 tracks need to be listened to in that order.”The Death of Slim Shady is a conceptual album, therefore, if you listen to songs out of order they might not make sense,” he wrote on social media. “Enjoy.”
Eminem kicked off The Death of Slim Shady‘s rollout with “Houdini,” which landed at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for his highest charting entry of the decade. He followed-up with “Tobey” featuring Big Sean and BabyTron earlier in July, which debuted at No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album also boasts features from Jelly Roll, J.I.D, Skylar Grey, Bizarre, Ez Mil and more. In total The Death of Slim Shady has 19 tracks, most of which are littered with controversial lyrics. The concept album comes into play as the 51-year-old rapper battles his younger self in a politically correct world.
The album, which also features three scene-setting “skits,” is filled with disses as many fans have come to expect (and look forward to). For what it’s worth, P Diddy seems to get it the hardest in the album. Of the multiple bars directed toward the defamed rapper, Em calls out his sexual assault claims in the track “Fuel.”
“I’m like a R-A-P-E-R / Got so many S-As, S-As,” Eminem raps on the track. “Wait, he didn’t just spell the word ‘rapper’ and leave out a P, did he?” Eminem asks, making a play on Combs’ stage name.
Slim Shady also gets his two cents in on the Nicki Minaj and Meghan Thee Stalian fued in “Antichrist.”
“’Cause I can spit a bar that is a / Cross between Nas and GZA, Biggie Smalls and RZA / So hard, Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj’ll scissor (cut it out),” he sings.
“It’s still the press’s wet dream / too many head shrinks / My head thinks foul, I’ve said things when jestin’ / they should arrest me for my testes.”
The same track also takes aim at Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Kim Kardashian while also referencing Taylor Swift, “Dang, Dre, look at what you made me do / Maybe you the one they should blame,” Eminem raps, referencing the title of Swift’s 2017 song “Look What You Made Me Do” from her “Reputation” album.
“Say they wish I wasn’t so angry (yeah) / They wanna see me goin’ off the deep end like Ye, ayy (nah) / Rather see me do like Kim Kardashian they say (yeah), yeah / And find a way to get rid of all of this rage.”
Among the tongue-in-cheek comments, there is also a little heart added into the mix. Skylar Grey brings a softer texture to break up the lengthy album.
Eminem goes from madman to poet in a matter of minutes. “Temporary” is a beautiful tribute to his daughter Hailey and continues the fan-favorite lineage of songs about the father-daughter dynamic like “Mockingbird” and “When I’m Gone.”
The posthumous Jelly Roll feature “Somebody Save Me” also pays homage to the rapper’s daughter and acts as an apology for missing crucial moments of her childhood. In the finale of the hour-long album, Eminem relives all of his regrets from the point of view of his deceased self.
Listen to The Death of Slim Shady Here!
