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The Death of Slim Shady-(Coup de Grâce) coverart
Studio album by Eminem
Released July 12, 2024
Recorded 2004; 2005; March 2021 – June 2024
Genre Hip-hop
Length 64:28
Label Shady Records, Aftermath Records, Interscope Records
Producer Eminem; Dr. Dre; Cole Bennett; Benny Blanco; Callus; Car!ton; Don Cannon; Cubeatz; Daniyel; Dem Jointz; Emile Haynie; Fredwreck; DJ Premier; Marvy Ayy; Carlton McDowell; John Nocito; D.A. Got That Dope; Mr. Porter; Luis Resto; White Gold
Stream &
Eminem chronology
Curtain Call 2 The Death of Slim Shady-(Coup de Grâce) coverart
(2022) (2024)
Other album covers for The Death of Slim Shady

(Coup de Grâce)

Template:Other Album Covers/TDOSS

Cover art for singles from The Death of Slim Shady

(Coup de Grâce)

Template:Singles Covers/MTBMB
Singles from The Death of Slim Shady

(Coup de Grâce)

Template:Singles/TDOSS
viewedittalk

The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) is the twelfth studio album by Eminem. It was released on July 12, 2024, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. The album was produced by Eminem, alongside Dem Jointz, Fredwreck, Cubeatz, Cole Bennett, DJ Premier, and frequent collaborators Dr. Dre and Luis Resto, among others. It features collaborations with White Gold, Sly Pyper, Bizarre, JID, Dem Jointz, Ez Mil, Skylar Grey, Big Sean, BabyTron, Jelly Roll and 2 Chainz. "Houdini" and "Tobey" were respectively released as singles on May 31, 2024 and July 2, 2024.

Background[]

Eminem referenced his alter ego, Slim Shady, in several of his breakout hit songs like "My Name Is" and "The Real Slim Shady". The image of Slim Shady is synonymous with how Eminem appeared as a young man on stage and in videos, including his bleached blonde hair. The provocative persona was described by Time in 2002 as a "nightmare projection" and "raging fantasy id".[1]

On March 19, 2024, long-time producer and collaborator Dr. Dre revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that Eminem was working on his next studio album and that it would be releasing in 2024.[2] On April 26, during the 2024 NFL draft event in his hometown Detroit,[3] he shared a video in the style of real crime show Unsolved Mysteries that poses the question "who killed Slim Shady?".[4] A reporter dressed in a trenchcoat lists the enemies Shady has made over the years, with rapper 50 Cent commenting on the persona.[5] The teaser also incorporated clips of "My Name Is", "The Real Slim Shady", and "Without Me".[6]

The album and tentative release date were announced at the end of the 56-second long video, along with the opportunity to pre-save the record.[7]

A fake obituary for Slim Shady appeared in the May 13 issue of the Detroit Free Press newspaper as promotion for the album. Eminem is pictured in overalls and a hockey mask as his Slim Shady persona, while the obituary reads, "Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be the tools he used became calling cards that defined an existence that could only come to a sudden and horrific end. His complex and tortured existence has come to a close, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this character departed this world."[8]

On May 21, 2024, Eminem made a cryptic post to his social media, containing a video with an iMessage chat addressed to "All Contacts" with the message "...and for my last trick!" Eminem changed his social media profile pictures to match the rabbit-in-a-top-hat emoji used in the post. Following the post, fans took to social media to express their concerns and theories about Eminem's potential retirement.[9]

On May 28, 2024, Eminem posted a joint video with magician David Blaine. The video shows a FaceTime between Eminem and Blaine, with the former asking for help and a magic trick to which the latter responds by eating a glass of wine. He then previews the track "Houdini" by playing a short instrumental snippet. At the end of the clip, the song title and release date are revealed.[10] It was released on May 31, 2024, as the lead single, along with an accompanying music video. The single was a commercial success, reaching the number one spot in twelve countries and on the Global 200.

On June 28, 2024, Eminem posted a teaser for the album's second single, titled "Tobey", a collaboration with Big Sean and BabyTron. The short black-and-white clip depicted Eminem wearing a Jason mask and wielding a chainsaw while standing next to the featured artists, with an instrumental snippet playing in the background. The song was released on July 2. A Lyrical Lemonade music video for the track was released on July 8, following a 3-day delay due to unfinished production.[11]

On July 9, 2024, Eminem revealed the album cover on his social media pages before releasing the album 3 days later.

On July 11, 2024, Eminem posted a "public service announcement" on Twitter that the album is "conceptual", and advised fans to listen to the songs in order.[12]

Tracklist[]

The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) track listing
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. Renaissance  Eminem; Resto[a] 1:38
2. Habits  White Gold; Eminem[a]; Narza[b] 4:58
3. Trouble  Fredwreck; Dem Jointz 0:42
4. Brand New Dance  Eminem; Resto[a] 3:27
5. Evil  Don Cannon; Cubeatz; Eminem[a] 3:50
6. All You Got  Eminem 0:24
7. Lucifer  Dr. Dre; Callus; Eminem[a] 4:22
8. Antichrist  Eminem; Resto[a]; Foulmouth[b] 5:14
9. Fuel  Mr. Porter; Eminem[b] 3:34
10. Road Rage  Dem Jointz;Dr. Dre; Eminem[b] 3:38
11. Houdini  Eminem; Resto[b] 3:47
12. Breaking News  Eminem 0:37
13. Guilty Conscience 2  Fredwreck; Dem Jointz; Eminem 5:26
14. Head Honcho  Eminem; Ez Mil[b]; Aossey[b]; Resto[b] 3:55
15. Temporary  Skylar Grey; Eminem[a] 4:58
16. Bad One  Eminem; Resto[b] 4:30
17. Tobey  Daniyel; Bennett; McDowell; Nocito; Car!ton; Marvy Ayy; Eminem[b] 4:45
18. Guess Who's Back  Eminem 1:03
19. Somebody Save Me  Benny Blanco; Emile; Eminem[b] 3:50
Total length:
64:28
Digital download pre-order bonus track 1
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
20. Kyrie & Luka  DJ Premier 4:13
Total length:
68:41
Digital download pre-order bonus track 2
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
20. Like My Shit  Eminem; D.A. Got That Dope 3:49
Total length:
68:17

Notes[]

  • [a] signifies a co-producer
  • [b] signifies an additional producer


Sample credits[]

  • "Habits" contains excerpts from the South Park episode "Safe Space".
  • "Lucifer" contains a sample from "Land of Milk and Honey", written by Dries Holten and Hans van Hemert and performed by Mouth and MacNeal.
  • "Road Rage" contains interpolations from "Ha" written by Terius Gray and Byron Thomas" and performed by Juvenile.
  • "Houdini" contains a sample from "Abracadabra", written by Steve Miller, as performed by the Steve Miller Band, and an interpolation from "Without Me", written by Jeff Bass, Kevin Bell, Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, Marshall Mathers, and Malcolm McLaren and performed by Eminem
  • "Somebody Save Me" contains a sample from "Save Me", written by David Ray Stevens and Jason DeFord and performed by Jelly Roll.
  • "Kyrie & Luka" contains a sample from "Move the Crowd", written and performed by Eric B. & Rakim.

Personnel[]

Musicians

  • Eminem – vocals
  • Luis Resto – keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4–13, 15–17, 19)
  • Sly Pyper – additional vocals (track 2)
  • Dem Jointz – guitar, keyboards (track 3)
  • Steve King – guitar (track 4)
  • Curt Chambers – bass, guitar (track 7)
  • R Palmer – spoken word (track 7)
  • Bizarre – additional vocals (track 8)
  • Traci Nelson – additional vocals (track 8)
  • [[Teeba – bass (track 9)
  • JRGotTheHits – drums (track 9)
  • Cocoa Sarai – additional vocals (track 10)
  • David "Preach" Balfour – keyboards (track 10)
  • Steve Miller – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Devin Scillian – newsreader (12)
  • Kimberly Gill – newsreader (12)

Technical

  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering (tracks 1–)
  • Mike Strange – mixing (1–6, 8, 9, 12–17), engineering (all tracks)
  • Steve King – mixing (track 4)
  • Dr. Dre – mixing (tracks 7, 10, 11)
  • Tony Campana – engineering
  • Dem Jointz – engineering (track 3)
  • Don Cannon – engineering (track 5)
  • Quentin "Q" Gilkey – engineering (tracks 7, 11)
  • Fredwreck – engineering (tracks 7, 11)
  • Lola Romero – engineering (tracks 7, 11)
  • James Johnson – engineering (track 17)
  • Milan Becker – engineering (track 17)
  • Tom Kahre – engineering (track 17)
  • Jeffery "Champ" Massey – engineering assistance (tracks 7, 11)
  • Jeremy Zumo Kollie – engineering assistance (tracks 7, 11)
  • Vic Luevanos – engineering assistance (tracks 7, 11)

Critical reception[]

Detroit Free Press gave the album a positive review by saying "The production is tight, the wordplay dependably clever, the vocal flow confident and versatile." At the same time adding that the album is in the same league as his previous albums, The Eminem Show, and Encore the latter being literally as the track "Brand New Dance" was largely recorded in 2004.[13] Complex stated that the album was "just vintage Slim Shady shit".[14] Billboard stated that the best track on the album was "Somebody Save Me", calling it a "teary-eyed end to the Slim Shady journey".[15]

Clash stated that "The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) doesn't quite feel like an ending, but neither does it feel like a continuation", and later stated that it features some of Eminem's best rapping in decades.[16]

Meanwhile, The Independent gave the album two out of five stars, stating that "if [it] was conceived to let Mathers have his cake and eat it – to indulge his earlier, purposefully offensive wordplay under the guise of struggling against the Shady persona within – the reality is the worst of both worlds".[17] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick described the album as "funny, shocking, contradictory, utterly outrageous, offensive, sentimental, clever, dumb and occasionally even (whisper it) wise".

Rolling Stone concluded "He’s still young — barely into his fifties — but he takes a bizarre amount of pride in clinging to opinions he formed in his teens, and making those his whole point. Still blaming his problems on women, scared of trans folks, enraged by the idea of weird people doing weird shit, still moaning about his mom? He begs to get cancelled by audiences who don’t think about him and have no idea he thinks about them."[18]

References[]

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20110204052358/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002562,00.html
  2. https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/dr-dre-new-eminem-album-this-year-update-snoop-dogg-missionary-kimmel-1235636828/
  3. https://deadline.com/2024/04/eminem-announces-new-album-1235895884/ Eminem Announces New Album, Which May See The Death Of A Main Character
  4. https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/eminem-death-of-slim-shady-bloody-teaser-1235665921/ Eminem Announces New Album The Death Of Slim Shady With Bloody Teaser
  5. https://people.com/eminem-dropping-new-album-the-death-of-slim-shady-8639385 Eminem Dropping New Album The Death of Slim Shady This Summer
  6. https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/793375-eminem-announces-new-album-the-death-of-slim-shady-2024-hip-hop-news Eminem Announces New Album The Death of Slim Shady For 2024
  7. https://www.nme.com/news/music/eminem-announces-new-album-the-death-of-slim-shady-coup-de-grace-3750971 Eminem announces new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
  8. https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2024/05/14/eminem-slim-shady-fake-obituary-ad/73688624007/
  9. https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/eminem-tease-slim-shady-death-for-my-last-trick-post-1235688561/%7C Eminem Continues to Tease Slim Shady's Demise In Cryptic 'For My Last Trick!' Post
  10. https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/05/28/eminem-teases-houdini-single-im-gonna-make-my-career-disappear/73887362007/ Eminem teases "Houdini" single, arriving Friday: 'I'm gonna make my career disappear'
  11. https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/eminem-tobey-big-sean-babytron-trailer-1235720584/ Eminem Recruits Fellow Detroit Natives Big Sean & Babytron for Ominus 'Tobey' Single
  12. {{cite tweet|user=Eminem|number=1811429414728831127|title=Public service announcement: the "death of slim shady" is a conceptual album, therefore, if you listen to songs out of order they might not make sense. Enjoy.
  13. https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2024/07/12/eminem-death-of-slim-shady-review/74376974007/
  14. https://www.complex.com/music/a/dimassanfiorenzo/8-takeaways-from-eminems-the-death-of-slim-shady-coup-de
  15. https://www.billboard.com/lists/eminems-the-death-of-slim-shady-album-all-tracks-ranked/evil/
  16. https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/eminem-the-death-of-slim-shady-coup-de-grace/
  17. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/eminem-review-death-of-slim-shady-b2578645.html
  18. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/eminems-the-death-of-slim-shady-coup-de-grace-review-1235060317/ |access-date=2024-07-15 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}
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