Eminem Announces New Album ‘The Death Of Slim Shady’ With Bloody Teaser
Shady’s back, and he’s hinting that it’s for the last time.
Eminem teases The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), a new album due out in summer 2024.
The Rock Hall-inducted emcee breaks the news by way of a viral video in the style of real crime show Unsolved Mysteries, which tells a narrative of how Em meets his end and asks the question, “who killed Slim Shady?”
It’s a tongue-in-cheek job, and features fellow rapper 50 Cent (who declares “he’s not a friend, he’s a psychopath”), vintage footage of the Detroit rapper, a bloody knife, and a pixelated, bearded Em in the hot seat.
“Through his complex, tongue twisting and oft criticized rhymes, the blonde anti-hero known as Slim Shady has had no shortage of enemies,” explains the trench-coated narrator of the parody program, Detroit Murder Files. “The same rude lyrics and controversial antics might have ultimately led to his demise.”
The Death Of Slim Shady is the followup to the rapper’s 11th studio album from 2020, Music to Be Murdered By. That album landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, for Em’s historic 10th consecutive leader. Prior to that Eminem delivered another surprise with Kamikaze, which dropped in 2018 without any warning.
Eminem was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, in a class that included Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.
Em’s longtime collaborator Dr. Dre did the honors at the Rock Hall, and it was Dre who announced that a new Eminem album was on the way, spilling the beans on late night TV last month.
“Let me tell you something, let me explain something to you right now: Eminem is working on his own album which is coming out this year,” Dre said to cheers from the studio audience for Jimmy Kimmel Live, for his first late night appearance in 30 years. “And I actually talked to him and he said it okay for me to make that announcement right here on this show. So he has an album coming out, I’ve got songs on it and it’s fire. I’m actually gonna hear the entire album for the first time for tomorrow.”
The Rap God has dominated our news feeds in recent days. With the 2024 NFL draft upon up, Em, a Detroit Lions superfan, teamed up with commissioner Roger Goodell for a new ad hyping the 89th annual draft, taking place in Marshall’s hometown from April 25-27.
Also, the official video for Eminem’s 2004 song “Mockingbird” flew past 1 billion views earlier this week on YouTube, and the MC posted a single, powerful image on Instagram on Sunday honoring his 16th sober anniversary.
Lars Brandle
Billboard
