Lest you think Eminem doesn’t suffer for his art, Slim Shady pulled back the curtain on Monday (June 10) to provide fans with a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of the video for his “Houdini” single. The minute-long clip starring the rapper’s not-so-super alter ego, Rapboy, features the caption, “I do my own stunts. #Houdini video shoot behind the scenes – don’t try this at home!!!”
It opens with Rapboy doing a series of jumps off a bed onto a crash pad, repeatedly face-planting on the black mat you don’t see in the finished product. He then does another round of face plants — this time from a kneeling position — onto a dusty rug while complaining to the director about his motivation. “Oh, you want me to smash my f–king face!?,” video veteran Marshall says, adamantly noting that he can’t be responsible for what his cape does when his mug hits the dirt.
“Don’t do the recoil,” director Rich Lee counsels Em, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer argues, “that’s my head bouncing off the carpet!” Lee, however, begs to differ and shows Em on an iPad that he is, in fact, bobbing his head as he drops to the ground. “Can you make my nose not as f–king pointy?” the MC asks while changing the subject while viewing the playback.
Cut to one of the oldest tricks in the book as Rapboy “climbs” a building and gets blown around by a wind machine, appearing to struggle mightily against gravity while actually just standing on a slight incline shot from the side. “Holy s–t, that’s actually not easy,” a winded Em, 51, says after repeated takes. “I need a break.”
The rest of the clip consists of Em doing multiple takes of set-ups where he does tuck-and-rolls and practices a fight scene. It ends with a blonde-haired Marshall kicking a door open so hard he loses one of his shoes.
The video that makes nods to Em’s 2009 “Without Me” visual features cameos from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, as well as Marshall’s three kids — Hailie, Alaina and Stevie — as well as former SNL star Pete Davidson. The song is the first single off Eminem’s upcoming 12th album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), which is expected out this summer.
In the meantime, Eminem landed his 23rd career top 10 debut when “Houdini” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 2, kept out of the top spot by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help,” which has been at the peak for four consecutive weeks. The “Houdini” debut is the rapper’s highest-charting single since “The Monster” featuring Rihanna spent four week at No. 1 in December 2013-January 2014.
Watch the “Houdini” BTS video below.
