Eminem has recently stirred up attention by publishing a fake obituary for his alter ego, Slim Shady, in a local Detroit newspaper. This follows the announcement of his upcoming album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace).
The obituary honors Slim Shady’s influential role in the “underground rap scene of the mid to late 1990s.” It states, “Shady first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully deranged single ‘My Name Is,’ which – along with its uniquely eye-catching video – exposed the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience. That audience was soon exposed to the extreme darkness of the muse/rapper, as he led millions of music fans down a road that glorified a demonstrably nihilistic worldview.”
Accompanying the tribute is a photo of Eminem dressed in dungarees and a white hockey mask, captioned, “Fans Will ‘Never Forget’ Controversial Rapper.”
The announcement of the album came through a video featuring fellow rapper 50 Cent, who describes Slim Shady as a psychopath. In the video, Eminem remarks, “I knew it was only a matter of time for Slim.”
Additionally, Eminem has released an image, presumably the album artwork, depicting a figure with a knife wound to the chest.
Eminem’s 12th studio album is set to be released later this year. His previous album, Music to Be Murdered By, came out in 2020.
