Misogyny, homophobia, racism. Slim Shady, Eminem’s platinum blonde alter ego, has said everything bad and politically incorrect that could be said over the years. Marshall Bruce Mathers III’s evil twin has attracted fierce controversy for his anti-women rhymes – in pieces like Kim or Kill You – or for those against homosexuals in The Real Slim Shady. “Sometimes I think what the old me would say if he saw how things are today, he would probably say that everything here is gay,” sings Eminem in his newly released single Houdini. It would also probably be one of the kindest things he would say. But current society is certainly not the reason why Marshall Mathers decided to kill Slim Shady on the new album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), which will be released this summer. Rather, we could talk about a coup de théâtre, the perfect epilogue of an artistic mask that contributed to making Eminem one of the most famous rappers of all time. This, in fact, could really be his last album, a wonderful ending for an artist who managed to divide everyone. Yes, because Eminem was too white for blacks (and rap purists), too black for whites. Those who hated him really hated him, like Benzino who even called him the Hitler of rap.
Houdini, why Eminem kills Slim Shady
The Death of Slim Shady it will most likely be a murder in grand style, judging by the rhymes of Houdini, the famous magician originally from Detroit (just like Eminem) known for his skills in creating illusions and performing seemingly impossible tricks. The song, thanks to the touch of long-time collaborator Jeff Bass of the Bass Brothers, revisits the sound of the early 2000s. And of course it quotes the legendary slogan «Guess Who’s Back?». The video clip directed by Rich Lee is a tribute to the 2002 success Without Me and contains cameos from 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Pete Davidson, Mr. Porter, Royce Da 5’9, The Alchemist comedian Shane Gillis and even the artist’s manager Paul Rosenberg appears.
The single was anticipated by the rapper on his social media by publishing a video that shows him in a FaceTime call with the magician David Blaine. At the end of the video, Eminem asks Blaine how far they can go with magic, expressing the desire to do something special, thus announcing the release of the song: «My last trick, make my career disappear». A truly giant career. The American newspaper Rolling Stone has in fact included the rapper “among the 100 best musical artists of all time” and among “the 100 best authors of all time”. Eleven albums published, over 220 million copies purchased worldwide (i.e. it is among those that have sold the most). In the United States he has achieved fifty platinum records and ten number one albums in the charts. And that’s not all. She has won fifteen Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, seventeen Billboard Music Awards and even an Academy Award for 8 Mile. In November 2022 he was inducted into the «Rock and Roll Hall of Fame».
The career of Eminem, the last white pioneer of rap
But more importantly, Eminen influenced entire generations of kids and artists. Her music is not only a social denunciation that delves deeply into the heart of America, but it is also a cry of release, a form of satire and rebellion. Her attempt to emerge on the music scene in the 1990s was heavily influenced by the rise of Vanilla Ice, whose meteoric success with Ice Ice Baby he overshadowed many aspiring white rappers of the time. But Vanilla Ice was perceived as a manufactured product, not a genuine one. On the contrary, the boy who grew up in the slums of Detroit with a passion for hip hop had no shortage of authenticity. And this was his strength. Thus he managed to establish himself in a genre dominated by blacks, where he was repeatedly accused of cultural appropriation. His sharp rhymes and his flow did the rest. Professor Anthony Kwame Harrison, a sociologist specializing in hip-hop, praised Eminem’s abilities, saying that “his exceptional talent for rhyming and songwriting made him the last pioneer of white rap.” And if the time has really come for Marshall Bruce Mathers to kill the irreverent and ruthless Slim Shady, we are certain that it will be a battle with rhymes as sharp as knives.
