The cover for the latest Eminem album, ‘The Death of Slim Shady.’
Eminem is back. After a four-year layoff following Music To Be Murdered By, the latest Marshall Mathers project dropped to wide anticipation, both because of the Detroit MC’s unwavering stature and its salacious title. It tacitly promised reflections on and performances inspired by his Slim Shady era before a minute of minute even went public. A concept album through and through, here’s everything you need to know about the latest Eminem album, The Death of Slim Shady.
The Narrative The Death of Slim Shady Eminem Engages With
Tipped off in the music video for “Houdini,” the LP’s lead single, the return of the blond-haired Marshall Mathers wasn’t just a guiding light for this project’s creation, it is a literal narrative element that runs through these songs. Largely contained in the first half of the project, we catch some interplay scene work between the current-day MC and his 1999 version, often playing out as the proverbial “devil/angel on the shoulder” dynamic.
While the crux of this project is the return and subsequent demise of the “old Em,” it’s unclear whether that side of him was ever truly absent. At the risk of being too granular, it seems like Mathers’ understanding of what made Slim Shady such a groundbreaking alter ego was a combination of irreverence, raunchiness, pop cultural reflections and antagonism towards certain fans & critics. All of those are definitely here in spades, but what sets that lyrical content apart from his work on “Music To Be Murdered By” or “Kamikaze” (other than just how hard he leans into the bit)?
The Weight Of A Legendary Career
You can make the argument that it’s the specific subject matter, but sadly when he makes references to the same touchstones from his first three albums, it comes off as dated. Those moments, like the South Park allusion on the first track, are easy to roll your eyes at, but ultimately easy to move on from as well. Renewing spats with The Eminem Show boogeymen like Christopher Reeves, however, is a bit more profoundly perplexing. It’s almost like he’s doling out fan service without understanding why the hip hop world holds his first projects in such high regard; this writer revisits The Marshall Mathers LP for the S-tier lyricism and hunger of a song like “The Way I Am,” not it’s anger towards the paparazzi specifically.
As he mentions in the opener, “Renaissance,” expecting rap’s greatest acts to simply reissue their early work is a fool’s errand in multiple ways. But the highest highs on that project are perfectly in line with that argument. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that the most compelling music arrives when Eminem links up with the newer generation.
Standout Guest Appearances & Emotional Highs
Next to J.I.D. on “Fuel” or BabyTron on “Tobey,” their energy seems to spill over onto his performance, particularly on the latter. Rather than firing broadly at Gen Z or cancel culture, he reflects specifically on his feud with Melly Mel and how despite his one-of-a-kind career, he still doesn’t get his due. Again, maybe it’s a disagreement with the core principle of the album, but it’s just a shame that more of these sorts of tracks don’t make their way into the final project.
While no one’s fandom is inherently more justified or valuable than anyone else’s, giving into those who call at every juncture for Eminem to “fire back” get their wish on this project. Genuine emotion is what this writer connects with the strongest in the first act of Mathers’ career, and when he taps into that, like in the letters to his daughters with “Temporary” and “Somebody Save Me,” the results are genuinely moving.
A Final Word On “Late Stage” Eminem Following The Death of Slim Shady
All that said, when you’re past the dozen album mark and rightfully included in GOAT conversations the way Eminem is, no one album will do much to change your ranking unless it’s far to either extreme (e.g. Jay Z with 4:44 or contrarily, Kanye West with JESUS IS KING.) Your opinion of Marshall Mathers coming into this record will almost assuredly hold coming out of it, and likely color your experience with it in the time between. While it has plenty of moments during its runtime, what makes The Death of Slim Shady so frustrating at times are those moments, the seed of what made his early music so compelling and an unwavering commitment to everything else.
You can find The Death Of Slim Shady and all of the Eminem catalog wherever you stream your music.
