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Shady’s back, back again. Eminem is in album mode and his The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) is slated to arrive this summer.
The Detroit icon has cryptically dropped easter eggs and hints about the project while many details in regards to possible features and a concrete release date have remained under wraps. Eminem officially announced the project following his appearance at the NFL Draft in April in support of his hometown Detroit Lions.
The album announcement came in the form of an Unsolved Mysteries episode featuring Em meeting his demise in search of “who killed Slim Shady?”
The Death Of Slim Shady will serve as the rapper’s 12th studio album, and first since 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 to give Eminem his historic 10th consecutive leader.
Em has been no stranger to the element of surprise as he dropped his 2018 Kamikaze album out of the sky without any sort of warning for fans, which also topped the charts. He’s been laying low on the music front and is yet to drop off any new tunes in 2024, so the lead single — if there is one — will be his first offering of the year.
Fittingly enough, Dr. Dre was the first to spill the beans about the project when he revealed that Eminem had an album ready in the stash during his first late-night TV appearance in 30 years back in March.
Find the complete list delving into what we know about The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) below.
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Fake Obituary Spawns Song Title Theory
Eminem ran a fake obituary in the Detroit Free Press earlier this month (May 13) where he bids farewell to the “controversial rapper” known as Slim Shady.
“Slim Shady Made Lasting Impressions” the DFP headline reads with the subhead, “Fans ‘Will Never Forget’ Controversial Rapper.” The newspaper obit came with a photo of Eminem in a Jason Voorhees hockey mask.
Fans began speculating that the ‘Will Never Forget’ in quotes was done purposely by Eminem and theories began surfacing about that serving as the title of a possible lead single from The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce).
“I bet ‘Will Never Forget’ it’s a single (or sth related to the album, maybe the real name),” one fan wrote to X. An Eminem Brazil fan account wrote: “Let the theories begin. Will ‘Will Never Forget’ be the first single off TDOSS?”
“A product of Detroit who began his career there as a rogue splinter in the flourishing underground rap scene of the mid to late 1990s, Shady first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully deranged single ‘My Name Is,’ which — along with its uniquely eye catching video — exposed the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience,” the obituary reads. “Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be the tools he used 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 a close, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this character departed this world. May he truly find the peace in an afterlife that he could not find on Earth.”
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Dr. Dre Spills Eminem's Album Tea & Reveals His Involvement
Eminem will be reuniting with his frequent collaborator and mentor Dr. Dre for The Death of Slim Shady. The West Coast legend spilled the beans on Em’s upcoming album when he revealed details of the project and his involvement during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March.
The late-night cameo with Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent marked Dr. Dre’s first in three decades, and came after being honored with 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 which is coming out this year,” Dre said. “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.”
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Eminem's Last Trick Is A Cryptic Teaser
Eminem is the Easter Bunny leaving eggs around the yard. He cryptically teased a possible release on the horizon with a May 20 tweet featuring a text message made with invisible ink that reads when uncovered: “… and for my last trick!”
The text was sent on May 31 at midnight which is a Friday and fans immediately began speculating that could mean new music is on the way before the month expires.
“This is literally him announcing he will be dropping may 31 lmao,” one person wrote.
There wasn’t much other tidbits of information except for the contact being a photo of a rabbit with a top hat, which Em also made his X account profile picture.
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Dr. Dre's Involved, Could Snoop Dogg Be Too?
Dr. Dre has his hands all over Eminem’s upcoming album, which could signal more frequent collaborators involved. Back in 2022, Em posted a photo in the studio alongside Dre and Snoop Dogg. “Just a few bros.. hangin out,” the Detroit icon captioned the post.
Months prior, they teamed up for their first collab in over 20 years with “From the D to the LBC.” The single landed on Shady’s Curtain Call 2 greatest hits compilation and marked their first collab since The Marshall Mathers LP.
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Eminem's Early Albums Providing Inspiration Decades Later
“Sometimes you gotta go back to actually move forward,” actor Matthew McConaughey once said. Eminem granted XXL with a rare interview in 2022, where he admitted to going back to his first three albums when he’s in a creative funk and seeking newfound inspiration. It’s possible his first three major label projects could have 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 tune when it comes to Encore. “Sometimes I go back, and I listen to them if I’m in a spot where I need some inspiration. Sometimes it helps me to go back to those songs. But then I think, Man, I could’ve done those vocals so much better. I could’ve connected this word with this word. I always do that kind of s–t.”
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The First Single
Em revealed the lead single off the upcoming album in a video featuring magician David Blaine shared on social media May 28. In the clip — a FaceTime call with the magician — the rapper asks whether they can do a “stunt.” Blaine suggests “something like this,” and proceeds to down a glass of wine before chewing up the vessel. Em responds, “Well for my last trick, I’m going to make my career disappear.”
The screen goes black and the title “Houdini” appears with the date May 31, 2024.
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"Houdini" Conjures Up a Huge Debut
The lead single from the album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated June 15, becoming his highest charting hit since his No. 1 Rihanna collab “The Monster” in 2013-2014. The track is also Em’s 23rd top 10.
“Houdini” pulled out an even bigger trick on the global charts, arriving at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. It’s his first chart-topper on both tallies, which kicked off in September 2020.
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The Release Date
Eminem is looking to heat up the summertime as he announced on July 1 that the project will arrive on July 12. In typical Em fashion, the rapper revealed the release date for The Death of Slim Shady with a horrifying trailer featuring the birth of a demon baby.
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"Tobey" Single Featuring Big Sean & Babytron Arrives
Em returned on July 2 with the album’s second single, and he’s uniting different generations of Detroit with Babytron and Big Sean joining him on “Tobey.”
Slim Shady is tired of the disrespect and addresses his feud with Melle Mel. “So when I get dissed though and by a pioneer/ Who was one of the reasons why I’m here/ They tell me I should just let that s–t go and slide/ Melle Mel shouldn’t get no reply, that man is a legend, B—h, so am I,” he raps.
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Body-Bag Album Cover Art Is Revealed
Eminem revealed the cover art for The Death of Slim Shady on July 9. The artwork features a wide-eyed Em with his vintage blond-bleached hair inside a body bag getting zipped up. The colorful letters spelling out the album title seems to be inspired by The Slim Shady LP.
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Tracklist Revealed
Em’s tracklist surfaced on Apple Music Tuesday night (July 9), but without any of the features available, so those remain a surprise for the time being. The Death of Slim Shady boasts 19 tracks in total, including a follow-up to the Dr. Dre-assisted 1999 “Guilty Conscience.”