Eminem’s album “The Death of Slim Shady”: Everything we know

Eminem published a fake obituary in Detroit Free Press Earlier this month (May 13), where he said goodbye to “controversial rapper” Slim Shady.

“Slim Shady left a lasting impression” DFP The headline reads with the subheading “Fans will never forget controversial rapper.” The newspaper obituary was accompanied by a photo of Eminem in a Jason Voorhees hockey mask.

Fans began to speculate that Eminem had intentionally included the quotation marks of ‘Will Never Forget’, and theories arose that this could be the title of a possible first single from The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce).

“I bet ‘Will Never Forget’ is a single (or something related to the album, maybe the right name),” said one fan wrote to X. A Eminem Brazil fan Account wrote: “Let the theories begin. Will ‘Will Never Forget’ be the first single from TDOSS?”

“Shady is a product of Detroit who began his career there as a renegade splinter in the thriving underground rap scene of the mid-to-late 1990s. He first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully wacky single ‘My Name Is,’ which – along with its uniquely striking video – introduced the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience,” the obituary reads. “Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be his tools became calling cards that defined an existence that could only come to a sudden and horrific end. His complex and tortured existence has come to an end, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which that person left this world. May he truly find the peace in the afterlife that he could not find on Earth.”

Eminem will reunite with his frequent collaborator and mentor Dr. Dre for The death of Slim Shady. The West Coast legend revealed everything about Em’s upcoming album when he appeared at Jimmy Kimmel Live! March.

The late-night cameo with Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent was Dr. Dre’s first in three decades and came after he was previously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“Let me tell you something, let me explain something to you right now: Eminem is working on his own album that’s coming out this year,” Dre said. “And I actually talked to him and he said it was okay if I announced it here on this show. So, he’s coming out with an album soon, I have songs on it and it’s awesome. I’m going to hear the whole album for the first time tomorrow.”

Eminem is the Easter Bunny who hands out eggs in the garden. He cryptically hinted at a possible release on the horizon with a tweet on May 20. The tweet included a text message in invisible ink that, when revealed, reads: “…and for my last trick!”

The text was sent at midnight on May 31st, a Friday, and fans immediately began speculating that this could mean new music was on the way before the end of the month.

“Here he literally announces he’s quitting on May 31st lmao,” one person wrote.

Other than the contact being a photo of a rabbit wearing a top hat, which Em had also set as his profile picture for his X account, there wasn’t much other information.

Dr. Dre has his hands all over Eminem’s upcoming album, which could be a sign of more frequent collaborations. In 2022, Em posted a photo in the studio alongside Dre and Snoop Dogg. “Just a couple of guys… hanging out,” the Detroit icon captioned the post.

Months earlier, they teamed up for their first collaboration in over 20 years, “From the D to the LBC.” The single landed on Shady’s Curtain up 2 Greatest Hits compilation and was their first collaboration since The Marshall Mathers LP.

“Sometimes you have to go back to really move forward,” actor Matthew McConaughey once said. Eminem granted XXL with a rare interview in 2022 in which he admitted that he returns to his first three albums when he is in a creative slump and looking for new inspiration. It is possible that his first three major label projects could play an influential role in The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce).

“When I look back at my catalog, the first three albums, I’m definitely proud of them,” he said, before changing his mind when it came to Encore“Sometimes I go back and listen to them when I’m at a point where I need inspiration. Sometimes it helps me to go back to those songs. But then I think, man, I could have done that vocal so much better. I could have put that word with that word. I always do that shit.”

Em revealed the first single from the upcoming album in a video with magician David Blaine shared on social media on May 28. In the clip – a FaceTime call with the magician – the rapper asks if they can do a “stunt.” Blaine suggests “something like this” and drinks a glass of wine before chewing up the vessel. Em responds, “So, as a final trick, I’m going to make my career disappear.”

The screen goes black and the title “Houdini” appears with the date May 31, 2024.

The album’s first single debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 15, becoming his highest-charting hit since his No. 1 collaboration with Rihanna, “The Monster,” in 2013 and 2014. The song also marks Em’s 23rd top 10 hit.

“Houdini” achieved even greater success on the global charts, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US, making it his first chart-topper on both lists since September 2020.

Eminem is looking to heat up the summer as he announced on July 1 that the project will be released on July 12. In typical Em fashion, the rapper revealed the release date for The death of Slim Shady with a horrific trailer showing the birth of a demon baby.

Em returned on July 2 with the album’s second single, uniting different generations of Detroit with Babytron and Big Sean joining him on “Tobey.”

Slim Shady has had enough of the disrespect and addresses his feud with Melle Mel. “So when I get insulted by a pioneer/ Who was one of the reasons I’m here/ They tell me to just forget that shit/ Melle Mel shouldn’t get a response, the man is a legend, b—h, me too,” he raps.