During the 2024 NFL Draft, Detroit native and superstar rapper Eminem announced his upcoming album, titled The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace), which is expected to be released later this summer.
Fans were instantly excited about the prospects for a new Eminem album, particularly one that would bring about the return of the Slim Shady persona.
‘Houdini' is the first single from Eminem’s new album
On May 28, Eminem announced that his new single, titled “Houdini,” would be released on May 31. With “Houdini,” Eminem is really leaning into the persona that made him famous and taking fans back to the nostalgia of nearly two decades ago.
This track begins with a humorous voicemail with Eminem‘s manager, Paul Rosenberg. Paul says that he has heard the album, and tells Eminem “good f***ing luck.“
This is a hint of what is to come, as Shady will be bringing back the crass and offensive lines that propelled him to fame, but could also lead to his undoing. Eminem further played into the Slim Shady persona with a trailer video featuring magician David Blaine, as Eminem said in the video, “For my next trick, I’m going to make my career disappear.“
‘Houdini' takes older Eminem fans back to their youth
“Houdini” begins with the classic cadence and lyrics of Eminem‘s hit 2002 single “Without Me.” Marshall rhymes, “Guess who’s back, back again? Shady’s back, tell a friend!”
Marshall even keeps the same flow from “Without Me” as he opens the first verse, although the lyrics aren’t nearly as iconic as the rhymes from 20 years ago.
We see one instance of the old Slim Shady style early in the song as Eminem mockingly takes a shot at Megan Thee Stallion related to her shooting several years earlier. Marshall raps, “If I was to ask Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I have a shot at a feat?” This is referring to the fact that Tory Lanez shot at Megan’s feet during that incident. This line drew some criticism, but the backlash wasn’t as harsh as Drake's line on his 2022 album with 21 Savage.
Whether this is because of Eminem‘s known Slim Shady persona or because the diss was intended to be more of a joke rather than an attempt to misdirect blame and blur the lines of what happened during the shooting, we don’t know for sure. Most likely, it was a little bit of both.
This song sees return of Slim Shady and his offensive lyrics, with a twist
Overall, the lyrics in this song were decent, but aren’t particularly memorable. Em seemed to be having fun for the first time in a decade or longer, which is a good thing.
One thing that can be said about this track is that Eminem seems to have mastered the delicate art of rapping lines from Shady’s perspective while making it clear that he is joking. This seems to have insulated him from some of the backlash that other artists would find themselves facing.
For example, in the third verse, he uses several offensive lines and jokingly expresses how much he doesn’t care about backlash, name-dropping several people close to him, including his children. It sounds like a combination of Shady and the more recent angry Em, as he raps, “And I’ll probably get s**t for that / but you can all s**k my d**k in fact / F**k them, f**k Dre, f**k Jimmy, f**k me, f**k you / F**k my own kids, they’re brats.”
“Jimmy” is referring to Jimmy Iovine, one of the co-founders of Interscope Records.
In the music video, though, we see each of the people mentioned reacting, which shows that they were clearly in on the joke.
If Eminem has found a way to incorporate Shady lyrics into his songs while also making his music more lighthearted, he may have found a formula that could work in 2024. That would potentially allow him to recreate the old Slim Shady magic without ignoring the fact that he is two decades older, and has matured as he has gone through significant life experiences.
Eminem has suffered through many traumas in the time since “Without Me,” including the loss of his best friend and a near-death experience due to a drug overdose. He also clearly has a different perspective on life after nearly 15 years of sobriety.
Overall thoughts
The best part of this song is the music video, which was incredibly well executed. The video features a portal opening from 2002 and a younger version of Eminem/Slim Shady returning. We see 2002 Eminem and 2024 Eminem sharing the stage together and there are plenty of humor scenes, particularly those involving people such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem’s children.
It has been a while since Eminem has dropped new music, and it has been even longer since he has really leaned into the Slim Shady persona as he is on this song. If you’re somebody who doesn’t like potentially triggering or offensive lyrics, it might be best to hit the skip button when “Houdini” comes on or keep this song out of your playlist entirely.
For those who are Eminem fans, though, his latest single represents a glimpse into a bygone era. Musically and lyrically, this song gets a solid A-. His flow is worthy of an A, and the nostalgia is an A+.
Overall grade: 9.4/10 (A)
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