Whatever the reasons that pushed Eminem to release The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)it certainly has nothing to do with money, nor the need to become even more famous. It's not because he had something strong to say or opinions, feelings and ideas to share. He didn't even do it to remind us that he is an extraordinary artist, since he already reiterated it at the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. I would say that things are much simpler: being a sensitive soul, Eminem needs confirmation. He needs someone to pat him on the back every now and then and say: “Not bad, come on, you tried.” The song with which he came back, Houdinicontains a joke about consolation prizes and this album is exactly that. Eminem has become a collector of consolation prizes and now he can display The Death of Slim Shady in the display case with the others. Not bad, come on, he tried.
The Death of Slim Shady It's the album of a panicked star who tries too hard to reassure everyone and especially himself that he's the same as he once was. In the lyrics he reiterates how strong he was when he was young and repeats tricks that are old in 2024. “He was just a kid from Detroit who knew how to kill it in the recording studio,” he recalls in the nostalgic Habits. One thing is for sure: that boy had no intention of recycling the same jokes his whole life. But Eminem can't imagine anything else anymore. How the hell did this happen?
He has a devoted Gen X fan base that craves his virtuosity and therefore still sells a lot of records, that's a fact. His albums have always had a precise reason to exist, for example in Kamikaze he was taking it out on mumble rap. This is not the case The Death of Slim Shady where he continues to boast about having a sharp and controversial writing style, but none of the yes men present in the studio had enough courage (or respect) to push him to give more, which if you think about it is pretty sad. Every time he raps words like “woke”, “cancelled” or “transgender” the image of the owner of Playboy Hugh Hefner in the series Girls Next Doorwhen none of the girls have the courage to tell him that the sailor hat makes him look like an idiot.
There is a central concept: Marshall Mathers has killed Slim Shady. It is not the first time he has tried and it certainly will not be the last. Dr. Dre produces the two liveliest tracks, Lucifer And Road Rage. JID excels in the otherwise flaccid Fuelwhile the verses of Ez Mil, Babytron and Jelly Roll shine. They are all here to pay homage to Eminem, while trying (and failing) not to overshadow him.
As for the rhymes, The Death of Slim Shady is a mashup of all the Netflix stand-up specials you watched with your uncle on Christmas 2017, when he was too drunk to drive you home. Eminem doesn't have much to offer. He takes on Caitlin Jenner (google her name, it's a story that was discussed ages ago), Michael Jackson (who's long dead), and the Gen Z internet police (which is a topic, according to him). The best diss against a celebrity is a joke about David Carradine that The Weeknd made eight years ago. He doesn't mention Drake, he makes lame jokes about Kanye and André 3000's flute, he misses an opportunity to rap about Diddy. The best pun is in Bad One: “You said you're looking for miniature golf / Thought you said men to jerk off”
The Death of Slim Shady arrives in time for the 25th anniversary of the major label debut The Slim Shady LP. At the time of that cult album, the rapper's creative possibilities seemed endless. He was a new, fresh voice, who before becoming a superstar rapped about shitty jobs and high school bullying, not the problems of fame.
The following year he achieved an even greater success with The Marshall Mathers LP. Having found his way of rapping, Eminem decided at a surprisingly young age to stop looking for new ideas. He's turned 50, he's not old, but perhaps out of pride he clings to opinions he formed in his teens and tries to make them a strength. He still blames women for his problems, he's afraid of trans people, he gets angry at the idea of strange people doing strange things, he continues to complain about his mother. And in the meantime he begs to be erased by a segment of the public that doesn't give a damn about him and doesn't even have an idea that they're talking to him.
It's sad to think that no one who worked on the album told him to make up some new jokes or listen to some new music. It must be said, however, that Eminem doesn't seem particularly open to hearing other people's opinions. “I suck my dick better than you” is a joke that doesn't work the way he thinks it does.
Listen The Death of Slim Shady brings to mind one of the rapper's strongest songs, Purple Pills with D12 way back in 2001. It contained one of his classic full-speed outbursts. “Mr. Mischief with a trick up his sleeve / To roll up on you like Christopher Reeve.” At the time, you could laugh at the joke or get angry or even feel bad about it. But no one, not even his worst enemy, could have imagined that two decades later Eminem would still be making jokes about Christopher Reeve and would actually repeat one for an entire song, when he would have only needed three seconds to do it. Brand New Dance It's sad enough in itself, but it becomes even sadder when Eminem hides behind the fact that it was an old outtake that had been censored (sure, right) because it was too daring (sure, right), perhaps embarrassed by the fact that this is the best he can give today.
This is not the future we imagined for Eminem in 2001. Not even Christopher Reeve would have wished such a fate upon him. All these years later, one wonders if anyone will ever have the courage to tell him that he could still have a lot to say if he only wanted it enough to get a move on.
From Rolling Stone US.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
