Eminem has launched the release of his 12th album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), with the new single Houdini.
Does the song make his career disappear? Not necessarily, as Eminem enters a time warp and revisits 2002 – specifically, his Without Me music video (“Guess who’s back, back again / Shady’s back, tell a friend,” goes the intro) – and enlists his mates for a fun trip down memory lane.
In the music video, the rapper lined up cameos by 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Pete Davidson, Dr. Dre and more.
As for the song itself, the chorus finds Eminem sampling the Steve Miller Band’s Abracadabra and referencing Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting incident in another verse: “If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me/ Would I really have a shot at a feat? I don’t know, but I’m glad to be back.”
Houdini was produced by Eminem and his longtime collaborator, Luis Resto. Best of all, the start of his music video goes classic Eminem, with manager Paul Rosenberg saying, “Hey Em, it’s Paul. I was listening to the album… Good fucking luck, you’re on your own.”
You can watch the music video for Houdini below.
At the time of writing, we still don’t know much about Eminem’s upcoming full-length. The rapper announced the release of The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) last month.
The announcement was made via a teaser video, in which a true crime reporter detailed Slim Shady’s untimely passing and stated, “Through his complex and oft-criticised, tongue-twisting rhymes, the blonde anti-hero known as Slim Shady has had no shortage of enemies.”
The video then turned to 50 Cent, who quipped, “He’s not a friend, he’s a psychopath.”
The true crime reporter added, “The same rude lyrics and controversial antics may have ultimately led to his demise. Join me as we recreate the events that led to the murder of Slim Shady.”
At the end of the video, Eminem appeared and said, “I knew it was only a matter of time for Slim.”
The Death Of Slim Shady follows his surprise 2020 album, Music To Be Murdered By.
2024 also marks the 27th anniversary of his Slim Shady EP and the 25th anniversary of The Slim Shady LP – a fitting time to revisit the alter ego. While there’s no release date, you can pre-save/pre-add the latest (and possibly last) Slim Shady journey to your streaming library here.
