Rap god Eminem is back with his 12th studio album “The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce). ” In this album, Marshall Mathers battles it out with the infamous Slim Shady in a fight for redemption.
A Battle Against Himself
Since 2005, the opposition has stated that Eminem is lagging behind young rap artists. But his main rival has always been his past self or rather his younger self. Eminem’s second major alter ego, the sociopathic and violent Slim Shady, from his second studio album, The Slim Shady LP (1999), provided Mathers with the freedom to express his most violent and perverse impulses. While trying to grow up through albums such as “Recovery” and “Revival,” Mathers regresses to his old self, but with a fresh outlook.
Controversial Comeback
The album’s lead single “Houdini” is quite combative. The video features Mathers dressed in a superhero outfit fighting the resurrection of Slim Shady. It feels like it is a competition for him to see how many controversies he can include in one album. Sadly, so much of it sounds like it was written a decade ago and it’s trying too hard, Mathers is spitting bars about ‘PC police’ and ‘Gen Z’.
Outdated References
In the course of the album, Eminem’s lyrical preoccupations appear perverse. He makes fun of Christopher Reeve, the late actor of Superman, which is quite outdated and very unkind. Songs like “Habits” and “Road Rage” contain obscene jokes which are not as sharp and intelligent as the prior songs. The production, especially on songs such as “Houdini,” leaves much to be desired, frequently using generic loops.
A Glimpse of Hope
All in all, the album does not live up to the expectations, yet there are some tracks where Mathers does show his potential. The song Tobey with Babytron and Big Sean is also noteworthy with its high tension in the track. However, Mathers doesn’t come into the video until 3 minutes and 20 seconds into the video, allowing other artists to take the limelight. His characteristic clarity of the language is still there though the material brings the album to a lower level.
A Grim Finale
The second half of the album is much darker. The songs such as “Temporary” with lyrics referring to his daughter Hailie and “Somebody Save Me” that are about Mathers’ problem with substance abuse and the pressure of stardom. These tracks present the listener with a more personal side of the artist in question, but they are overshadowed by the general negativity of the album in question.
Final Thoughts
The song “The Death Of Slim Shady” by Eminem tries to combine the old rude character of the singer with the new, more civilized one. But this leads to a rather fragmented album that is still unable to establish a clear identity. Although Mathers still has the lyrical ability, the topics are stale and unoriginal, which makes fans yearn for the time when Slim Shady’s shocks were still shocking.