The Death of Slim Shady: Has Eminem’s Fatal Act Come Too Late?
Eminem’s newest album could be his last, coming towards a bumpy last part of his career. Does the album prove Shady’s back…or is it a dud?
There’s no doubt since 2017, Eminem’s discography has been bumpy. And there’s also no doubt that the Detroit rapper’s more than three decade long career has made many question if he really should’ve continued for as long as he has. Some wonder if he’s still relevant. As someone who has always had a soft spot for Eminem, I set out to see if that was the case with his newest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).
The Album’s Development
Many had speculated that Eminem was working on another album. This was confirmed in March of this year when Dr. Dre went on Jimmy Kimmel Live and confirmed something was in the works.
Further promotion happened in April, during the NFL Draft in Detroit. Eminem released a teaser video, structured as a true crime documentary. The question: who killed Slim Shady? Then, in May, Slim Shady’s fake obituary was published in the Detroit Free Press. Next, came the singles.
After doing some promotions with David Blaine, Eminem dropped “Houdini” on May 31st. The single was an instant hit, topping the Billboard Global 200. It’s accompanying music video, which combines newer trends with recognizable looks of the “Without Me” video, also drew in quite the reception
The next single would be “Tobey”, a collaboration with BabyTron and Big Sean. A more introspective song, it also introduces a small dose of a horror aesthetic. In it, Eminem questions why people still doubt him as the GOAT (greatest of all time, if you didn’t already know, lol). The title references Tobey Maguire’s name, who is often considered one of the best actors to play the role of Spider-Man.
Finally, just before the July 12th album release, Eminem released a message. On X, he stated that The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) was a conceptual piece, and that it must be listened to in order.
How is The Death of Slim Shady?
If this is Eminem’s last album, I think he went out pretty well, though it’s hard to not see areas of improvement.
However, we’ll go through positive things first. Despite his age, Eminem is one of the best rappers ever on a pure technical level. A huge part of the album is Eminem rapping, and the Slim Shady persona of old creeping in to spit some bars as well. The rhyme schemes are intricate, but Eminem puts them together well. It’s also compelling to hear the old Eminem voice and flow tackle these schemes from now.
This album also has a lot of great supporting artists across the board, which isn’t always the case. Rappers Big Sean, BabyTron, Ez Mil, JID, and singers Skylar Grey and White Gold help Eminem a lot. They all put in hard work, and are almost always contributing to the song, rather than taking away.
Of course, everyone’s going to want to know which songs are the best ones to check out. There were several highlights for me, chief among them being “Guilty Conscience 2”. Stans will remember the original song on The Slim Shady LP (1999) being a song where Dr. Dre and Eminem are the angel and devil (respectively) in different scenarios. This new song highlights the war between Em and the Shady persona he has used continuously over his career. It’s something Eminem has done before, but here, it feels particularly intense, especially with “Slim Shady” embodying more of the 1990’s-2000’s voice we all know.
Aside from that song, the singles released prior to the album, “Houdini” and “Tobey” are both great as well. The former’s retro vibe makes it a bouncy song with great wordplay, while the latter is a great motivating song that’s ominous, yet hopeful. There’s also “Fuel”, which features some incredible disses towards Diddy, and “Antichrist”, which is playfully creepy and hilarious, and features a nice vocal cameo from Em’s old bandmate from D12, Bizarre.
How Does it Compare to Other Albums?
The common consensus with Eminem is that his older music, particularly his first three albums, are incredible. Then there was a mid-period that took some bad turns (anyone remember 2009’s Relapse?), but still had good stuff, culminating in The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013). Everything else seems up for debate.
For the sake of brevity and analysis, it would be best to compare this new album to everything Eminem has done since 2017. That year’s album, Revival, was one of his largest critical disasters. It has it’s moments, but it’s a pop-meets-rap album that feels misguided. I can’t really say a lot of it was for me, hence, there isn’t a lot of replay value. So, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) is definitely better than that.
From there though, it gets tricky. Em followed Revival up with two surprise albums with no buildup. Kamikaze came in 2018, and Music to be Murdered By came in 2020. With these, the comparison becomes tighter. Kamikaze has some of the most passionate raps Eminem has ever spit for us, but it’s a small album with a few noticeable clunkers. Music to be Murder By has more variety, but there are only a few true hits. There’s even a B-side to that album that I sometimes forget exists.
I think, at least for now, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) will fall somewhere in the middle. It’s right below Kamikaze due to preference of the strong songs, but it’s more focused than Music to be Murdered By. If you’ve been having trouble with Eminem’s recent discography, I think this could be a small antidote. It certainly has retro vibes, but also has a nice modern sound to things.
Eminem’s Future in the Game
There are some that feel Eminem should’ve exited the game after The Marshall Mathers LP 2. With each subsequent album, more controversy seems to ensue, and rap fans become divided over his legacy.
Personally, as I stated in the beginning of the article, I have a soft-spot for Eminem. He was the first rapper I ever heard, and he essentially got me into the genre. Naturally, I’ve seen ebbs and flows in his work. Every artist has them. But I think he’s produced enough great work to be considered one of the best to ever do it.
The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) certainly isn’t perfect. I think it’s an album that detractors will overcriticize, and supporters will overpraise. There’s certainly some underwhelming songs on this. “Road Rage” has an awful chorus and is mostly repetitive except for a somewhat hilarious Lizzo tangent. “Head Honcho” is solid, but more of a showcase for Em’s protege, Ez Mil. And there’s also a lot of repetitive punchlines, particularly in the first half of the album. There’s a ton of jokes featuring Caitlyn Jenner and an old punching bag of Shady’s, Christopher Reeve.
I’m also not sure how I feel about the more sentimental songs on the album. “Temporary” and “Somebody Save Me” are songs where Eminem deals with being there/not being there with his family. The most notable of these family members is his daughter, Hailie. I know it feels weird to say you aren’t as on board with these emotional songs as everyone else, but I don’t know. I feel an album grappling with alter-egos should focus on that. Weirdly, these songs feel like distractions (he’s also done a lot of these types of songs).
The above reel from Instagram shows a trend that occurred a couple of years ago. Millennial women, for some unknown reason, thought that Gen-Z was trying to cancel Eminem. So, they starting rapping over Eminem beats to insult us. If this bizarre trend highlights anything, it’s that Eminem still sparks conversation.
Do these influencers have a point? I don’t think so. Like every artist, Eminem is subject to criticism. He’s said some outrageous things and made some bad songs. Is, and should, Gen-Z try to cancel him? Again, I don’t think so. Eminem’s style, wordplay, and jokes haven’t changed too much over the course of his career. If you don’t like his music, just…don’t listen to it.
Overall, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) does more right than wrong for me. It’s a strong album at a time where Eminem can be inconsistent. It’s got enough wordplay, production value, and good concepts to keep coming back to. Eminem might not be Gen-Z’s favorite rapper, but I think he’s still a considerable lyrical threat. Is this his last album? Maybe. But only Slim Shady is now dead. Eminem is still alive and well!
