Eminem gave his fans the first taste of his upcoming 12th album “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce),” dropping this summer, with the release of its first single “Houdini.”
The song begins with a classic Eminem trope, enlisting his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg to share his distaste for the album that’s to come. “Hey Em, it’s Paul. I was listening to the album … Good f—ing luck, you’re on your own,” says Rosenberg.
“Houdini” is somewhat of a callback to his 2002 single “Without Me,” beginning with the singsong rhymes, “Guess who’s back, back again / Shady’s back, tell a friend.” The song, produced by Eminem and his longtime collaborator Luis Resto, cites Steve Miller Band’s “Abracadabra” in the chorus and references Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting incident on one of the lines. “If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I have a shot at a feat? I don’t know, but I’m glad to be, back,” he raps.
The music video for the song is a direct homage to “Without Me,” as Eminem steps into a portal back to the year when the song came out. The clip, shot in a comic strip style like the video for “Without Me,” features guest appearances from 50 Cent, Pete Davidson, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Alchemist, among many others, and sees two Eminems — one from 2002, and another from the current day — rapping along to “Houdini.”
Details surrounding “The Death of Slim Shady” have been relatively scarce since he announced the album last month. In March, his longtime collaborator Dr. Dre went on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and revealed that Eminem was working on a new project and that he worked on several songs slated for inclusion. He also said that he was scheduled to hear the album for the first time the day after the appearance on TV.
On May 13, a fake obituary for Slim Shady appeared in the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, along with a photo of Eminem in overalls and a hockey mask. References were made to his music spiraling from “playfully deranged” to exposing fans to his “nihilistic worldview.”
Earlier this week, he released an Instagram Reel with magician David Blaine where he announced “Houdini” as the first single. “For my last trick, I’m going to make my career disappear,” he told Blaine.
